Graham Ends Democratic Presidential Bid

Florida Sen. Bob Graham ended his bid for the presidency after struggling to gain momentum or raise cash in the crowded Democratic field, while leaving open the possibility of another Senate campaign or even a vice presidential run if asked.

Graham, who said his candidacy failed because he got in the race behind several of his rivals and had a hard time raising money, became the first Democrat to drop out of the 10-way competition.

“I felt the best prepared and most able Democratic candidate to be elected president,” he said in a statement Monday night. “I have concluded that is not to be. A combination of factors has convinced me, reluctantly, that my dreams for the presidency are not attainable.”

Graham, 66, is one of the most popular politicians in Florida, but he attracted only single-digit support in national presidential polls and could not reach his goal of raising $15 million to $20 million to fund his candidacy.

After seven months of campaigning mainly as an opponent of the war in Iraq, he raised about $5 million and had less than $1 million left in the bank – not enough to run a credible nationwide campaign.

His departure could benefit other candidates, such as Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who hoped to get a fund-raising boost from Jewish donors in Florida who were committed to their home state senator. Within an hour of Graham’s announcement, long-shot peace candidate Dennis Kucinich urged Graham’s anti-war supporters to join his campaign.

Graham said he has not decided whether he would run for re-election to his Senate seat, which he has held since 1987. He declined to endorse any of the remaining Democratic presidential candidates, saying any would be preferable to President Bush, even if they supported the war in Iraq. He would not rule out accepting a vice presidential nomination.

“That’s not a decision for anyone other than the nominee,” he said on CNN’s “Larry King Live” program, where he announced he was leaving the race.

Graham based much of his campaign on his vote against the military conflict in Iraq. Yet anti-war activists preferred Howard Dean’s fist-pounding indignation to Graham’s calm, measured arguments against Bush’s foreign policy.

But his judgments were harsh.

He accused Bush of endangering Americans by abandoning the fight against terror to wage war in Iraq, a country that he said did not pose an immediate threat to the United States.

He said the White House had a “Nixonian stench” with a pattern of keeping information from the American people and called Bush’s tax cuts “immoral” and “an economic dagger pointed at the backs of all Americans.”

He went so far as to suggest impeachment. “If the standard of impeachment that the Republicans set for Bill Clinton – a personal, consensual relationship was the basis for impeachment, would not a president who knowingly deceived the American people about something as important as whether to go to war meet the standard of impeachment?” he said in July.

Several Democratic presidential candidates issued statements Monday night praising Graham and his contributions to the campaign.

Graham’s decision on a possible re-election bid would be closely watched in the Senate, where Republicans currently hold a 51-48 majority, with one independent. Republicans in Florida have said Graham would be vulnerable if he runs again.

Matt Corrigan, a University of North Florida political scientist, said Graham could face a shifting landscape in the state.

“One of Graham’s great appeals is he’s been really able to attract everyone from liberal Democrats to moderate Republicans and I think some of those Republican votes would go away with his attacks on the president,” Corrigan said.

But he said Graham still remains a strong candidate for re-election and he still is clearly the favorite against the field of lesser-known Republicans.

Graham delayed his entry into the race to recover from major heart surgery in January. His campaign strategy focused on courting conservative, rural voters, so-called NASCAR Democrats who normally don’t vote in large numbers.

Graham sounded like he was committed to stay in the race as late as Saturday, when he told a meeting of the Democratic National Committee: “I will win the presidency by leading America with honor out of the quagmire of Iraq.”

But in recent days some of Graham’s top presidential operatives announced they were leaving. His top campaign aides were left to speculate about their jobs until he appeared on CNN.

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