Posted on 05/06/2003 8:28:13 AM PDT by PhiKapMom
RNC RESEARCH
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“If ever Sen. Bob Graham needed to wow a crowd, it was Saturday afternoon when he -- along with the other Democratic presidential aspirants -- competed for the affections of more than 1,000 party activists in a state that could decide who will challenge President Bush next year, with the nation’s top political reporters watching. Graham bombed.” (Tyler Bridges, “Floodlights Glaring, Graham Opens To Mixed Reviews In S. Carolina,” The Miami Herald, 5/5/03)
South Carolina Party Activists “Gonged” Graham. “Graham … suffered the indignity of being gonged not once but twice -- a signal to the candidate and the audience that he had run over the allotted six minutes. State party activists interviewed afterward gonged him themselves. ‘He struck me as a super nice guy, but he was weak in this group,’ said Don Yonce, a retired real estate developer in Myrtle Beach. ‘He doesn’t have the vitality that the rest of them have. We need a tough guy. He’s a nice guy who ought to go home, play with his grandchildren.’” (Tyler Bridges, “Floodlights Glaring, Graham Opens To Mixed Reviews In S. Carolina,” The Miami Herald, 5/5/03)
“Bob Graham … Is Charisma-Free.” (Dick Polman, “Trying To Stand Out, For Better Or Worse,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/5/03)
Graham’s “Less Visible” Than “Second Tier.” “Sen. Bob Graham of Florida has much work to do if he is to become a major contender. During both the debate and an afternoon appearance at the state party convention, Graham often seemed even less visible than the three candidates generally consigned to the second tier: former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and the Rev. Al Sharpton of New York.” (Ken Fireman, “High Stakes, Low Visibility;” Newsday [New York], 5/5/03)
On Hot-Button Issues, Graham Receives Little Applause. In South Carolina, “Graham only received tepid applause when he said, ‘We remain unprepared to deal with terrorist attacks at home’ and ‘I know that the economy is running at one of the slowest rates in American history.’” (Tyler Bridges, “Floodlights Glaring, Graham Opens To Mixed Reviews In S. Carolina,” The Miami Herald, 5/5/03)
Graham Suffers “Lack Of Pizazz.” (Bill Adair, “Senate No Grand Stage For Graham,” St. Petersburg Times, 5/5/03)
Graham Has Failed To Live Up To Expectations. “‘There was an expectation that Graham would become a leader in the Senate, that he would stand out,’ says Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia. ‘Instead he has been relatively colorless.’” (Bill Adair, “Senate No Grand Stage For Graham,” St. Petersburg Times, 5/5/03)
Graham Hardly In Spotlight As A Leader. “Indeed, for most of his 17 years in the Senate, the Florida Democrat has played a supporting role while other senators got the spotlight.” (Bill Adair, “Senate No Grand Stage For Graham,” St. Petersburg Times, 5/5/03)
Graham’s One “Foray Into National Politics” Ended In Failure. “His one foray into national politics -- leading the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in the 1994 election cycle -- ended with the Democrats losing the Senate. And while his peers respect his intelligence, diligence and willingness to work across party lines, some of them think he’s a bit of a dork.” (Michael Grunwald, “Bob Graham’s Message To The Voters Is Simple: However Frightened We Are, It Isn’t Nearly Frightened Enough,” The Washington Post Magazine, 5/4/03)
Graham Campaigns: Ties, Notebooks And “Pedantic Snoozers.” “He wears a tie with the state of Florida on it every single day, although he’s planning to drop the habit once he starts his presidential campaign. And his stump speeches can be pedantic snoozers. Gore campaign aides still joke about a disastrous stemwinder Graham delivered at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon; he lost the crowd early, droned on anyway, and killed any slim chance he might have had to join the ticket. Then there are the notebooks.” (Michael Grunwald, “Bob Graham’s Message To The Voters Is Simple: However Frightened We Are, It Isn’t Nearly Frightened Enough,” The Washington Post Magazine, 5/4/03)
A Publication of the RNC Research Department
You got one - he's the President!
This is a total contradiction in terms.
Anyone even remotely familiar with Senator Graham's record and history in the arena of public performance, knows very well, he is about as interesting as watching wet paint dry!
If the Dems nominate anyone other then Joe Lieberman --- or perhaps even Hillary Rotten --- they're begging for a serious defeat at the hands of a popular president, an adroit politician and a remarkable leader overall.
Hard to take the man series either.
To this photo:
Put some ice on it Graham, you are a first class loser!
Yes, but the question is, are the other candidates really much better than he is? The number of honest Democrats is shrinking every day.
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