Presidential Candidates Always Attack, Never Defend

Iowa's Tom Harkin, the third Democrat to announce, promises a $ hard-hitting campaign based on unabashed liberalism and fiery populist oratory

Combat. If one noun sums up Tom Harkin's political program and persona, it is combat. The Iowa Democrat proudly describes the strategy that won him five terms in the House and two in the Senate: "Always attack, never defend." He believes that a pugnacity gap kept Democrats out of the White House through the '80s. Now, as he runs for President, he proposes to fill that gap by waging class warfare against George Bush and guerrilla operations against Democrats he considers timid. "The only thing Americans like less than a dirty fighter," he says, "is someone who won't fight back."

He...

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