Big news day in Iowa politics. 4 articles on the our two targeted races. The
Harkin campaign continues to try to clear its act, and the Norris race tries
to draw its distinctions.

The DM Register pagelink is:
http://DesMoinesRegister.com/news/stories/c4789004/politics-front.html

These are the texts of the 4 stories. Let me know any suggestions or actions
you want. I will be working on sample LTEs on the two races.

The Iowa Poll story is important, I think, because it is usually pretty
representative of the moment it is taken, which was during this week of
controversy. Iowans are usually careful to react to news like what has been
happening, although when they do, it would be hard to get that turned around
also. FYI and for what its worth!

Lyle Krewson
Iowa EVEC Coordinator



Front Page, above the fold ‹

Campaign manager resigns over tape
By THOMAS BEAUMONT
Register Staff Writer
09/28/2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sen. Tom Harkin's campaign manager resigned abruptly Friday, becoming the
second casualty in an unfolding controversy stemming from a tape-recorded
meeting of Republican rival Greg Ganske and his financial supporters.


The departure of Jeff Link from the Democratic senator's campaign came as
Harkin acknowledged a junior research staffer asked a former Harkin
congressional aide to record the Sept. 3 Ganske meeting at the Hotel Savery
in Des Moines. The aide then passed the tape and a transcript to a newspaper
reporter.

While apologizing for the incident, Harkin downplayed its significance as
"shenanigans" and the product of "youthful exuberance."

"One young staffer got carried away and went over the line of acceptable
campaign practices," Harkin told supporters and the news media at the Hotel
Fort Des Moines on Friday. "Juvenile antics? Yes. Dennis the Menace capers?
Yes. Criminal activity? Hardly."

Republicans, meanwhile, said questions remain as to whether the Harkin
staffer was the sole campaign worker involved. They have called for a
criminal probe.

While Harkin hopes Friday's campaign changes will put the controversy behind
his re-election bid, major discrepancies exist between versions of what
happened according to his campaign and according to the man believed to have
recorded the meeting. Those differences could have a bearing on whether a
crime was committed.

Harkin said Friday that a 21-year-old campaign researcher asked a Des Moines
businessman who had worked for Harkin in the 1970s to tape the meeting. But
the businessman, Brian Conley, 53, of Des Moines, claims to have taped the
meeting on his own and turned the tape over to the Harkin campaign in
disgust over remarks Ganske made during the meeting.

The Republican Party of Iowa and Ganske's campaign say Conley's recording of
the meeting was illegal because he intended to use it to damage Ganske, a
four-term congressman challenging Harkin's bid for a fourth term. Lawyers
for Harkin and Conley say no laws were broken because the tape was made by
an invited participant, which they say is legal.

Iowa criminal-law experts have said that if someone has permission to be at
a meeting, they can tape it and use it for any purpose as long as it is not
to bring harm to anyone.

Harkin said Rafael Ruthchild, whose responsibilities for the Harkin campaign
included videotaping Ganske during public appearances, asked Brian Conley to
record the meeting.
Ruthchild resigned from the campaign Thursday, according to his lawyer,
Steve Wandro of Des Moines. Ruthchild could not be reached for comment
Friday.

"These young people need careful management and supervision. My campaign
manager (Jeff Link) has taken responsibility for this lack of management and
supervision, and he has suggested that he step aside and a new management
team be brought in," Harkin said. "I have accepted this suggestion."

Harkin said he did not recall Conley's work for his U.S. House office in the
mid-1970s and he hadn't spoken with him in many years.

State Republican Party Chairman Charles Larson Jr. said Friday that Conley,
an aide to Harkin's U.S. House staff in 1975 and 1976, was directed to tape
the meeting by top members of the Harkin campaign. He cited a source he
would not identify.

Larson said Harkin's statement was "clearly an attempt to divert attention
from the facts, pawn off responsibility onto a 'young staffer,' and then
shrug it all off as a 'Dennis the Menace caper.' "

"Are we supposed to believe this 'young man' acted alone in directing a
53-year-old business executive to change his voting registration, pose as a
Ganske supporter, attend and secretly record a private meeting, and then
transcribe and distribute it to the press?" Larson said. "Then I guess he
would have us believe that Dennis the Menace controlled Mr. Wilson."

John Frew, who ran Harkin's first Senate campaign in 1984, replaces Link
with six weeks remaining until the election. Link, who is Harkin's former
Senate chief of staff, also ran Harkin's 1996 campaign before managing the
2002 effort until Friday. Link could not be reached for comment.

Friday's announcement came at the end of a week that began with Harkin and
Link saying they had no knowledge of the taped meeting.

Conley's name emerged Wednesday as the person believed to have made the tape
under a much different scenario than outlined by Harkin. A Des Moines lawyer
issued a statement Tuesday in which he said his client, now believed to be
Conley, claimed to have attended the meeting by invitation and recorded it
in lieu of taking notes.

The lawyer, Brent Rosenberg, said his client did not go to the meeting
intending to record it, but decided to hand his tape over to Harkin's
campaign out of disgust after hearing comments Ganske made about his
willingness to attack Harkin "with a smile on our face."

David Wiggins, a West Des Moines lawyer hired by Harkin to look into the
incident, said Conley approached Ruthchild with his invitation, and
Ruthchild encouraged him to attend and record the meeting. Ganske and his
campaign finance chairman spoke at the meeting, along with the White House's
political director, who participated by speaker phone.

Des Moines police began talking to members of the two campaigns Thursday as
well as to Kathie Obradovich, the Lee Enterprises political reporter who
received the recording and transcript from the Harkin campaign. Lee
Enterprises publishes the Quad-City Times and other Iowa newspapers.

In still another strange twist in this saga, Des Moines police Sgt. Bruce
Elrod denied Friday published reports that a detective had said Conley had
asked for immunity from criminal prosecution in exchange for his cooperation
with the investigation.

"The detective did not either confirm or deny that a request for immunity
was made," Elrod said.

Detective Bill Boggs was quoted by Obradovich as confirming the request for
immunity. Boggs had called Obradovich in connection with the case.

Wiggins, the attorney hired by Harkin, said it is common for a lawyer to
immediately ask for immunity from prosecution as an investigation begins.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Front page, right column ‹

Harkin opens up sizable lead over Ganske
By JONATHAN ROOS
Register Staff Writer
09/28/2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin has widened his lead over Republican opponent Greg
Ganske over the past three months, according to a Des Moines Register poll
that was taken this week as Iowans were learning details of an unfolding
campaign controversy.


The Democratic incumbent has opened a 20-percentage-point lead over Ganske,
a congressman from Des Moines, in the latest Iowa Poll of likely voters. His
lead in late June was 9 points.

Among adults who say they definitely will vote in the Nov. 5 election, 54
percent say they would support Harkin if the election were held now, and 34
percent would back Ganske. The rest would either prefer another candidate or
are undecided. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5
percentage points. 

Experts say it's too soon to know whether support for Harkin will be
undercut by a Republican-initiated criminal investigation of a Sept. 3
incident in which a former Harkin congressional aide made an audiotape of a
Ganske campaign meeting. A Harkin campaign staff member then passed the
recording and a transcript along to Kathie Obradovich, a Lee Enterprises
newspaper reporter, who gave Ganske's staff a copy. On Friday, Harkin's
campaign manager quit, and Harkin said a junior staff member arranged for
the taping, which was done by Brian Conley of Des Moines.

The poll did not find significant shifts in opinion during the five-day
period that it was taken. Polling began last Saturday, as reports of the
taping incident began to surface, and was completed on Wednesday, when
Conley acknowledged through his lawyers that he had taped the meeting and
shared the recording with the Harkin campaign.

Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University,
said it's unlikely the eavesdropping controversy would make much of an
immediate impression on voters. What is important is the long-term impact,
he said.

Hard-core Republicans will be convinced Harkin is not trustworthy, while
hard-core Democrats will believe Harkin is under attack, Schmidt said.

That leaves the voters who are undecided or just leaning toward one
candidate. Most of those voters don't follow every detail of an evolving
scandal, but are left with an overall impression that something wrong has
happened, Schmidt said.

For Harkin, "his campaign appears to be the aggressor, the offender here,"
said Schmidt. "Harkin is going to have a hard time getting that deleted from
people's hard drives."

J. Ann Selzer, the Register's pollster, said it will take Iowans some time
to sort out the controversy, which "has kind of flopped both ways," so it's
not surprising that the poll did not detect any significant opinion swings
this week.

Selzer said it would probably take a "smoking gun" revelation or a clear
showing there has been a pattern of "dastardly deeds" by a candidate to
produce a huge opinion shift.

Poll participant Stuart Fischer, a 41-year-old Republican from Le Mars who
plans to vote for Ganske, said Thursday night he's fed up with the negative
campaigning in the bruising Senate race and warns that the taping incident
could hurt both candidates.

"I think it was kind of a setup, but it's one of those things you read and
hear about and wonder," Fischer said. "I don't think either side is going to
come out smelling like a rose in that situation."

Patricia Blakesley, a 54-year-old Democrat from Manchester, said her support
for Harkin is firm. She believes Ganske has overreacted to the taping
incident.

"I am really not happy about the campaign that either of the candidates is
running," said Blakesley, a homemaker. "A lot of voters just want them to
talk about the issues and not about each other."

The new Iowa Poll shows 27 percent of likely voters who support Ganske and
25 percent of those who back Harkin could still be persuaded to vote for
another candidate in the Senate contest.

Harkin's lead over Ganske has fluctuated considerably. Last December the
Iowa Poll showed the Democratic incumbent outdistancing his Republican
challenger by 23 percentage points in a hypothetical matchup. Ganske fended
off a challenge from Bill Salier to win the Republican nomination in the
June 4 primary. The victory may have given Ganske a bounce in the late June
Iowa Poll, which showed Harkin leading Ganske, 50 percent to 41 percent.

Ganske also was a mystery to much of the Iowa electorate at that point. Said
Selzer: "You had people saying they would vote for him who did not know
him." As more people have focused on the race and the candidates have waged
dueling ad campaigns, overall perceptions of Ganske have turned more
negative.

In the new poll, 28 percent of likely voters say they don't know enough
about Ganske to say how they feel about him. That's down from 45 percent in
June. Among those who do have an opinion, 51 percent say they have favorable
feelings about Ganske and 49 percent look upon him unfavorably. In June,
nearly two-thirds of likely voters said they had a favorable opinion of the
Republican nominee.

Harkin, still the much better-known candidate, fares better. He is viewed
favorably by 67 percent of those likely voters who have an opinion about
him. That's a drop of 4 points from June.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside page article ‹

Man next to Conley at meeting says he didn't see a tape recorder
By THOMAS BEAUMONT
Register Staff Writer
09/28/2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retired Des Moines physician Ken Schultheis said Brian Conley displayed no
tape recorder when he sat beside him at a U.S. Senate campaign meeting for
Republican Greg Ganske on Sept. 3.


Conley is suspected of making a recording of the meeting and giving it to
the campaign of Ganske's Democratic opponent, Sen. Tom Harkin. Harkin's
campaign has admitted sending the transcript to a newspaper reporter, which
prompted Republicans to allege wrongdoing.

"We sat elbow to elbow and I didn't see one," said Schultheis.

Schultheis said he introduced himself to Conley, who sat alongside him near
the speaker's table at the Hotel Savery, where Ganske and his finance
director sat when they addressed the two dozen previous financial donors in
attendance.

Schultheis, 60, said the event was not a fund-raiser for big-dollar donors,
but "more of an informational meeting."

Schultheis said he had contributed no more than $500 to Ganske's Senate bid.
Conley, a Democrat who had previously registered as a Republican,
contributed $50 to Ganske last summer.

Conley, who has declined repeated requests for comment, turned the tape over
to the Harkin campaign because he was upset at some of Ganske's comments,
according to one version of events.

"I certainly didn't appreciate the claim that he was surprised or angered by
the comments," Schultheis said. "He didn't look angry to me."

------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Latham/Norris article, front section, page 4 or so ‹

 Politics


Latham-Norris contest heats up 4th U.S. House District candidates clash on
budget, farm bill, other issues
By LYNN OKAMOTO
Register Staff Writer
09/28/2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Rep. Tom Latham of Alexander is more convinced than his Democratic
challenger, John Norris, about the need to go to war with Iraq.

"I am convinced . . . that there is a very real and credible threat today,"
said Latham, 54. "There is no question the case has been made by Saddam
Hussein himself that he should be eliminated. He has thumbed his nose at the
United Nations, at the world. He is someone who is a real threat to peace."

Norris, 44, a former chief of staff to Gov. Tom Vilsack and U.S. Rep.
Leonard Boswell, said war should always be a last resort. However, he
acknowledged he is not privy to information about Iraq that's been made
available to members of Congress.

"We have to make sure that this threat is real," Norris said. "If it's real
and American lives are threatened, I'll support the president. We should
never go to war because we want to go to war. It should always be because we
have to."

The two candidates for Iowa's 4th U.S. House District clashed on national
security, the budget, Social Security and the farm bill Friday, in one of
their first joint appearances of the campaign.

Both candidates took part in a taping of Iowa Public Television's "Iowa
Press." Norris was in the studio in Johnston, while Latham appeared by
satellite from Washington, D.C.

Here's an overview of their exchange:

BUDGET: Norris accused Latham of "irresponsible fiscal moves," including tax
cuts to millionaires.

"The real issue here is Tom Latham said he wouldn't dip into the Social
Security trust fund, and he has," Norris said. "That he wouldn't
deficit-spend, and he has. That he wouldn't raise the debt ceiling, and he
has."

Latham shot back that he and Congress have acted responsibly. He said he
didn't like having to raise the debt ceiling, but it had to be done. He said
increased security following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will cost the
federal government about $270 billion in additional spending over two fiscal
years.

"Apparently, he would prefer a government shutdown," Latham said of Norris.
"The fact of the matter is, we have had six balanced budgets. We have paid
off over $450 billion in the national debt."

Latham said tax cuts that Norris referred to were for small-business owners.
He said he would support deficit spending if necessary to protect national
security because the cost to America would be too great otherwise.

"I fought all my career to get federal spending under control, but this is a
national security issue," he said.

e in the budget problem and in the solution."

Whitaker contends Fitzgerald did not take an active role in the debate and
did not advise the Legislature and the governor publicly about what he
thought the options were.

Fitzgerald said the budget troubles hit all states. Iowa, he said, fared
better than most.

"The treasurer doesn't project revenue growth for the state," Fitzgerald
said. "But I have been very outspoken with the governor and the Legislature
that when we need to cut spending to balance the budget, we do it."

In a low-profile race, name recognition often is a key factor. Usually the
advantage belongs to the incumbent.

But Whitaker was an academic All-American on the University of Iowa football
team. He wears a 1991 Rose Bowl ring on his right hand, which he
acknowledges is gaudy.

But he said he'd get little political mileage from standing up and
announcing, "Vote for me, I played football for the Hawkeyes." He said votes
would come from people who agreed with him that College Savings Iowa needs
improvement or who agreed more state money should be invested in banks with
Iowa ties.

"People know who I am, for the most part," Whitaker said. "But if all I get
is the Republican Hawkeye vote, I'm not going to win. I need to make sure
it's part of my story - I'm very proud of my accomplishments at Iowa - but
that's not why I'm running."

The election for treasurer and other statewide offices is Nov. 5. The
treasurer in 2001-02 was paid $87,990.
SOCIAL SECURITY: Norris accused Latham of wanting to privatize Social
Security. Latham emphatically denied the accusation.

"I have never said that," Latham said. "I have said that we are going to
look at options for younger people. . . . But there's no talk by anyone
about privatizing Social Security."

A plan by President Bush would allow workers under 50 to invest a portion of
their payroll tax in the stock market, rather than having it go toward the
Social Security trust fund. Democrats call this "privatization," while
Republicans deny that charge.

FARM BILL: Latham, a farmer, explained why he voted against the farm bill.

"The policy is written to help the largest farmers only," he said. "It does
nothing to help folks today who are facing a drought situation."

Latham said under the farm bill that passed, the largest hog producers could
qualify for $450,000 of taxpayer money to build more facilities. "It is
simply outrageous," he said.

Norris criticized Latham for supporting a version of the farm bill that was
even worse. "He complains about having subsidies for the large hog
confinement operations," Norris said. "The bill he voted for had three times
as many."

MEDICARE: Both candidates said they support a bill in the U.S. Senate that
would give Iowa's hospitals and physicians a temporary boost of about $130
million in Medicare reimbursement.

"This is very, very important, and I think the top priority for us is to get
this reimbursement issue taken care of," Latham said.

"This is maybe a start," Norris said of the bill. "It's a drop in the
bucket." 

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