[Announcer:] Meet the new dean of Democratic fund-raising. We'll explore the surprise twists in the presidential money race and the stumbles that may lie ahead. Dick Gephardt's daughter comes out.
[Chrissy Gephardt, Daughter Of Richard Gephardt:] Not only did they accept me, but they accepted my partner, Amy. And it was really sort of a surreal experience, actually.
[Announcer:] Chrissy Gephardt shares her personal story and talks about her father's views on gay rights. He's an expert as playing to the cameras. Would that be enough to make Jerry Springer a senator? Now live from Washington
[Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics. Judy Woodruff, Cnn Anchor:] Thank you for joining us. Well, if anyone still questioned whether Howard Dean is in the top tier of Democratic presidential candidates, just take a look at his war chest. At this hour, the Dean camp is reporting more than $6.6 million raised in the second quarter, which ends at midnight. As our Kate Snow reports, the former Vermont governor's haul is stunning the political world and worrying his primary rivals.
[Kate Snow, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] People- powered Howard is having a huge day.
[Joe Trippi, Dean Spokesman:] The rest of the campaigns kind of laughed at us and sort of rolled their eyes and went, yes, right. Well, I think today they're saying, oh, man.
[Snow:] On his Web site, a slugger's bat kept a running tally of second-quarter fund-raising, the goal constantly being re-upped: $6.5 million, then $6.75 million, then $7 million. Donations poured in Monday at the rate of $50,000 an hour. "History is being made," Dean wrote, in an e-mail early Monday to supporters. Eight days ago, Dean sat down with NBC's Tim Russert. Critics say he bombed. Supporters say it energized Dean's base. Since that Sunday, Dean has raised nearly three million bucks online, his total more than any other candidate for this second quarter.
[Harold Ickes, Democratic Consultant:] To some extent, you'd always rather not be the front-runner this early, because now the attention of the fourth estate will turn on them. The other candidates will turn their fire on him.
[Snow:] Supporters of John Kerry and John Edwards were eager to say Dean's advantage would hurt the other guy more. Senator Kerry is on track to raise $5 million this quarter. "We're not going to beat Deans," say his aides, "but we've got a big war chest." Edwards, who won the money chase in the first quarter, will also come in around $5 million, depending on how much he gets out of a dinner featuring the Beach Boys. That could put him at the top of all the Democrats for money raised this year. And what about the rest of the candidates? Dick Gephardt is on track to raise $4 million to $5 million. Joe Lieberman's camp says he's aimed at raising $4 million. Bob Graham is fund-raising in his home state today, hoping to raise $2 million to $3 million in the second quarter. Dennis Kucinich will report more than $1 million. That's more than five times what he raised in the first quarter. Al Sharpton's campaign estimates he'll take in between $70,000 and $100,000. And Carol Moseley Braun has doubled her first quarter with $150,000. Judy, Moseley Braun's campaign treasurer says, "I'd like to steal some of Dean's fund-raisers, if I could." In fact, every campaign aide I spoke with today, all the other eight campaigns, most of them said they were watching Dean's Internet Web site, they had it up on their computers, Judy, and they wanted to how he was doing. They all said they were amazed by it. But they wonder whether it will hold Judy.
[Woodruff:] Well, these are numbers the politics watchers are poring over today. All right, Kate Snow, thanks very much. As impressive as Howard Dean's fund-raising may be, he is still no George W. Bush. As our senior White House correspondent, John King, reports, the president capped his second-quarter quest for campaign cash in Florida.
[John King, Cnn Sr. White House Correspondent:] Monday lunch hour in Miami: $1.8 million more for the most methodical fund-raising machine on record.
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] We're laying the groundwork for what is going to be a victory in November of 2004.
[Bush:] I'm getting ready. I'm loosening up for the task ahead.
[King:] In just six weeks, the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign has shattered the records, raising more than $30 million, as much, if not a little more, than all nine would-be Democratic challenges raised over the last three months.
[Unidentified Male:] It demoralizes the Democrats. It shows that this president can go spend an hour 10 minutes in a ballroom and raise more money than the Democrats can in a week of running around, rattling the tin cup.
[King:] It cost $2,000 for a speech that runs about 30 minutes, maybe a handshake or a photo, and an early glimpse at the themes Mr. Bush hopes will bring him a second term.
[Bush:] Terrorists declared war on the United States, and war is what they got. And to get our economy going again, we have twice led the United States Congress to pass historic tax relief for the people of America.
[King:] With no primary opponent, Mr. Bush can test more than themes. He lost California and New York by big margins last time. The chief strategist, Karl Rove, thinks they could be more competitive this time. And the primary season fund-raising goal of $175 million or more allows the luxury of organizing, polling and even TV ads in states that would not make the cut in a campaign short on cash. And while the Democrats are competing against each other, Mr. Bush can train his focus on next November.
[Unidentified Male:] Forty or 50 percent of this money on paid advertising. And the rest will be focused on grassroots organizing in these key battleground states, where they'll be able to hire workers for the first time, put them on the ground to go out and identify the vote and turn out the vote.
[King:] One downside for an incumbent is the price tag of flying Air Force One. But, like his predecessors, this president often schedules policy events around his fund-raising. Witness today's Medicare event this morning in Miami, so the taxpayers, Judy, pick up some of the travel costs.
[Woodruff:] It does defray the costs of these trips, doesn't it?
[King:] It does.
[Woodruff:] OK, John King at the White House. Well, one candidate who isn't even running already has money pledged and set aside for his use. The DraftWesleyClark.com group says that it will have $100,000 in pledges by midweek for what it calls its "General Fund." This money would be given to retired General Wesley Clark, should he decide to run. Clark is telling "Newsweek" that he'll make his plans known in the next couple of months. Well, now we turn to a different kind of political bottom line. And that is public opinion polls. Our Bill Schneider joins us now with some new numbers released just this hour. Bill, first, let me ask you about Iraq. Is it becoming a problem for the Bush administration?
[William Schneider, Cnn Sr. Political Analyst:] No. Or, more precisely, not yet; 61 percent of Americans do not believe that the Bush administration deliberately misled the public about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But the number who believe the administration did mislead them has been creeping up, from 31 percent three weeks ago to 37 percent now. So public concern on this is growing, not diminishing, especially because most Americans say it would matter to them a great deal if they were convinced that the Bush administration misled them about Iraq.
[Woodruff:] Bill, do most Americans, are they still saying they believe Iraq was worth going to war over?
[Schneider:] Well, yes, though not quite as much as a couple of months ago. Just after the war ended, for instance, in April, 73 percent said the war was worth fighting. Now it's down to 56 again, not a problem yet, but growing doubts. The big surprise, Judy, in this poll is that Americans do not seem to be angry over losses in Iraq since the war ended. When asked whether the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq since April has been unacceptably high, only a quarter of the public, 24 percent, says yes. Nearly three-quarters say those losses are to be expected because we knew Iraq would continue to be a dangerous place. The public is showing a lot of fortitude about Iraq. They are not ready to cut and run.
[Woodruff:] Let me ask you about a couple of domestic issues. The Medicare bill now making its way through Congress, what are people saying about that?
[Schneider:] Well, that's really not clear yet. They like the idea of prescription drug benefits, but they're not certain that the benefits in this bill are generous enough. Here is something that people are agreed on: that the new Medicare bill is a Republican plan. By 2-1, people say this is Bush's bill, not the Democrats' . If people like the bill, the president gets credit. If people don't like him, he gets blamed.
[Woodruff:] And, finally, Bill, on gay rights, we've had a couple of developments recently: a Supreme Court decision, deciding to permit gay marriages. What are people saying about gay rights?
[Schneider:] Well, as we reported last week, support for gay rights has been growing over the years. But most Americans, 55 percent, are opposed to same-sex marriage. Still, support for the idea has been slowly growing. You can see that only 27 percent thought same-sex marriages should be legal in 1996. By 2000, it was up to 34. And now it's 39 percent. If the Supreme Court follows public opinion, as it certainly did by decriminalizing gay sex last week, then, you know, gay marriage may be only a matter of time Judy.
[Woodruff:] And looking across the border to Canada, where they've already said yes.
[Schneider:] Yes.
[Woodruff:] All right, Bill Schneider, thanks very much. Still ahead: Could things get any worse politically for California's governor, Gray Davis? We'll have the latest on the state's budget fiasco. Plus: Can any Democrat give President Bush a run for his money? We'll talk about more about campaign dollars and Howard Dean's bonanza. And later
[C. Gephardt:] It was extremely painful. I thought, there's no way I can tell my parents, given that my father is in a very prominent political position.
[Woodruff:] Dick Gephardt's daughter, Chrissy, on the secret that is now out and how it may affect her dad's run for the White House.