Missouri Dems enthused by Gephardt's possible bid

ST. LOUIS -- It didn't take long for Dick Gephardt's Democratic colleagues in Missouri to rally to his side, with one even making predictions after word leaked Thursday the longtime congressman will announce his second bid for the White House later this month.

"With Al Gore dropping out and with a crowded field, Gephardt will win the Iowa caucuses and become the front-runner," said former Sen. Thomas Eagleton.

Eagleton expects the Democratic primary will become a race between Gephardt, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. "I'll put my money on Gephardt," Eagleton said.

The Associated Press learned Thursday that Gephardt, the outgoing Democratic House leader who has represented south St. Louis and its southern suburbs in the state's 3rd District since 1976, has invited supporters to a Jan. 22 fund raiser for a presidential exploratory committee.

"I think Dick Gephardt will make a great president and I'm going to support him 100 percent," said St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, a thought echoed by Missouri Gov. Bob Holden and others on Thursday night.

Gephardt, whose father was a Teamster, has close ties to traditional Democratic groups like organized labor. Robert Kelley, president of the Greater St. Louis Labor Council, said his friend has been the "most active champion of working people in Congress over the last decade.

Ran in 1988

Gephardt ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, winning the Iowa caucuses before his candidacy lost steam and ran out of money.

Other announced candidates in the Democratic field for 2004 are Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. The field is soon expected to grow to at least a half-dozen.

National Democratic leaders, including Gephardt, have come under heavy criticism since Republicans took control of the Senate and retained control of the House in this year's midterm elections. Afterward, Gephardt said he would not seek another term as the Democratic leader in the House, leading to speculation he planned to run for president.

But the criticism that came after November's elections means Gephardt will have to define his agenda quickly to energize discontented members of his party, said Harriet Woods, a former Missouri lieutenant governor and unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate.

"We need a healthy debate on what we're going to offer people that will cause them to choose a Democrat in 2004 instead of an incumbent Republican," Woods said. "The sooner we get that debate going the better off we'll be."