US: Former frontrunner Mr Howard Dean may have helped staunch the bleeding in his campaign for the Democratic nomination with several television appearances on Thursday evening, but the latest opinion polls show how much lost ground he has to make up in New Hampshire, writes Conor O'Clery in Concord, New Hampshire
According to a Boston Globe survey yesterday, Senator John Kerry has extended his lead over the seven-strong field with 34 per cent support, three points more than the day before, and Mr Dean has dropped two points to 19 per cent.
The former Vermont governor, whose popularity plummeted after a raucous concession speech at the Iowa Caucus, at least has the consolation of holding on to second place in the poll, taken before his major effort at rehabilitation. Retired general Wesley Clark also dropped two points to 14 per cent, though other polls have put him in second place, and Senator John Edwards of North Carolina remains steady at 11 per cent.
The survey indicated that voters disenchanted with Mr Dean were moving towards Mr Edwards with only three days of campaigning before Tuesday's primary election. Another poll showed that whereas seven in 10 New Hampshire voters saw Mr Dean favourably late last year, a third now see him unfavourably, a third favourably and a third remain undecided.
In a scene reminiscent of Bill and Hillary Clinton's hand-holding television appearance after the Gennifer Flowers scandal during the New Hampshire primary 12 years ago, Mr Dean and his wife of 23 years, Dr Judith Steinberg Dean, gave their first joint television interview on Thursday night.
Sitting with fingers entwined on a sofa in a Vermont inn, the couple reassured the public that the Iowa outburst was not typical. "I say things that I probably ought not to say," Mr Dean told Primetime interviewer Diane Sawyer, after watching a tape of his Iowa rally, "but I lead with my heart, and that's what I was doing right there, leading with my heart." Mrs Dean, who has never before given a TV interview, giggled and said shyly, "I thought it looked kind of silly," then quickly added, "but I thought it looked OK."
Mr Dean frankly admitted his character flaws. "Do I do things that are a little nutty? Sure, I do things that are a little nutty," he said. He was having a great time in Iowa. "Look at me . . . I was trying to pump up 3,500 kids who gave me three weeks of their lives." At a hockey game the previous evening his son had helped score a goal. "I went 'Yahoo' and jumped up in the air. That's presidential? Probably not. So I'm a dad. I'm a human being."
Mrs Dean said Monday's outburst was untypical of her husband. "He just doesn't get that angry," she said. "You know, he's just, he's very kind, very considerate, and it just doesn't happen."
Referring to Mrs Dean's absence from the campaign, Mr Dean said his marriage was more important than being president and he would not use her as a campaign prop and "She didn't sign on to this." "Do you feel like a prop, dear?" he asked her. "No," she replied. "Howard asked me to do this interview and I did." She said she would continue with her medical practice if he were elected president.
In their final, two-hour, televised debate on Thursday evening, the Democratic candidates vied with each other to appear presidential and refrained from attacking each other. However, Gen Clark was forced repeatedly to defend his Democratic credentials, having voted for Nixon and Reagan. He also refused to disavow a remark made, at one of his rallies, by film-maker Michael Moore that President Bush was a military deserter - a reference to the lack of any record showing that Bush completed his National Guard commitment during the Vietnam War.