Penelas tries to shake ghost of 2000
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/.../9277943.htm?1cBOSTON - Alex Penelas took on one of his biggest political challenges Thursday, seeking votes before a ballroom of loyal Florida Democrats -- some still reeling from Al Gore's blistering e-mail that accused the Miami-Dade mayor of betraying his party.
The reception was polite as Penelas took the stage at a Florida delegate breakfast, reiterating his call for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, a stance squarely aimed at the liberal wing of the party. It also gives him the opportunity to align himself with the man he hopes to replace: retiring U.S. Sen. Bob Graham.
''He's the role model that I hope to follow,'' Penelas said of Graham, who opposed the war. ``If you want someone who has the courage to tell President Bush that he was wrong on Iraq . . . then my name's Alex Penelas and I ask for your vote.''
But for the mayor, the timing of the speaking engagement could not have been worse. The 10-minute talk before a room of energized Democrats would have been a prime opportunity for the contender who excels at retail politicking -- often stepping out from behind the lectern, Phil Donahue-style, to engage the audience.
And just a month out from the primary, Penelas' campaign, third in fundraising and third in the polls, could sorely use the buzz created from a stellar performance.
But Penelas may have been a tough sell in a week dominated by calls for Florida to avenge itself for the 2000 election. Gore himself drew repeated standing ovations Monday night for a speech laden with remembrances of 2000. And, as they had all week, speakers at the breakfast meeting Thursday drew raucous cheers for simply invoking 2000.
''You have an unusual burden, which is nothing less than restoring the integrity of the state of Florida,'' said former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, a Kerry campaign co-chairman, who followed Penelas to the podium.
The 200-plus Florida Democrats represent the movers and shakers of the party -- the grass-roots activists and some of the most likely voters to turn out for the Aug. 31 primary.
The Democratic race is a winner-take-all contest in which Penelas will face former state Education Commissioner Betty Castor and U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, who launched his campaign last summer with attacks on Penelas' Democratic credentials.
Deutsch, who stole Castor's thunder on Wednesday by appearing with anti-Bush filmmaker Michael Moore to push for election-machine monitoring, sought Thursday to upstage Penelas, declaring from the lectern that he's calling on U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate the state's electronic voting machines.
''We are going to make sure every vote is counted,'' Deutsch said.
The mayor himself steered clear of controversy; his one brief reference to the 2000 election a suggestion that Bush was ''declared'' president.
Penelas has countered Gore's criticism that he abandoned him during the razor-thin 2000 presidential race by noting that he helped raise money for the former vice president and that Gore won Miami-Dade by 30,000 votes.
Penelas, who touts himself as the Democrat best positioned for a bruising general election, able to appeal to moderates and Republicans, suggested that most voters are ready to look beyond 2000.
''Al Gore said it himself on Monday,'' Penelas said. ``We need to focus on the future, not the past.''
But many of the activists who make up the Florida delegation were unmoved. Memories of 2000, they said, burn too brightly.
''It was a good political move for Mr. Penelas to show up here, but he'd be better off going somewhere else,'' said Stuart Joseph, a Jupiter political activist.
``We've made up our minds in here. The flap with Al Gore, it resonates. Look what happened: George Bush's election wasn't just a political loss, it was a worldwide tragedy.''