Democratic leader and House Minority Whip Richard Gephardt spoke yesterday to a small crowd of campus Democrats and others as part of a visit in support of his party's candidates for Congress, but avoided revealing whether he plans his own New Hampshire campaign for the presidency in 2004.
Chuckling with down-to-earth Midwestern charm at being frequently mistaken for a CNN weatherman, a professional golfer or even Dan Quayle, Gephardt cheerfully opened a discussion that would turn to the more serious issues of health care, campaign finance reform and peace in the Middle East.
But Gephardt skirted the big question of the afternoon, whether he would pursue the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, with an assurance that he would focus on having his party win a majority in the House in the upcoming elections "and then see what happens next."
Gephardt became interested in grassroots politics at an early age. His continuing commitment to the "grassroots" level, he said, is seen in the recent success of the campaign finance reform bill.
"In the end, politics is about talking to people, talking about your issues," he said, "and instead it's becoming more and more about multimillion dollar television ad campaigning.
"The truth is, my party, the Democratic party, will never succeed in this country unless the people vote."
Gephardt also assured Dartmouth students that "being an American citizen is like winning the lottery. It really is -- we are so lucky." But with that luck comes the responsibility to "bring the universal values that this country stands for to the rest of the world," he added.
The congressman responded to questions about the global AIDS crisis, the death penalty and the Middle East with interesting stories and calls for bipartisan action. He reaffirmed his recent vote in favor of a resolution expressing support for Israel, but noted that it needed to be matched with a commitment to be "a leader for peace."
"This is a horror show that we have to bring an end to. People are scared. ... There is a sense of hopelessness on both sides, but they do want help," he said. "Clinton got the peace talks to the top of the mountain, and when he left office, it all came tumbling down."
When asked about health care, Gephardt said, "What the American people don't know is that we really do have universal health care. Unfortunately, it's called the emergency room." People with health insurance are paying the too-high hospital bills that could have been prevented with adequate care at the start, he argued.
He identified two main priorities: the expansion of Medicaid and Medicare and the coverage for prescription drug costs.
Gephardt said that a "more incrementalist approach" would serve better than the all-inclusive health care reforms proposed by the Clinton administration in 1993.
The congressman noted that his reason for being in New Hampshire was the upcoming congressional elections. The crowd responded enthusiastically to the idea that if the female democratic nominees in New Hampshire win the election, they will become the first female representatives from this state.
Notable among the non-student audience members, a C-SPAN news crew was present to videotape the proceedings.
