Big names rally supporters in final days

By J. Patrick Coolican (contact)

Friday, Nov. 3, 2006 | 7:21 a.m.

Democrats want to run the country, but they still have trouble organizing political events. A rally for Democratic candidates on Thursday, starring former President Bill Clinton, started more than an hour late as party faithful had to wait listening to cheesy rock songs and speeches from a number of second-tier candidates.

Farther north, President Bush, known for his promptness, was busy knocking Democratic heads before thousands in Elko.

The visits by current and past presidents drove home the importance of Tuesday's election. Both parties are using high-profile surrogates to rally supporters for the final push.

On Monday, Rudy Giuliani was in Las Vegas for Rep. Jim Gibbons, the Republican running for governor.

On Wednesday night, former Vice President Al Gore, fresh off the success of his documentary and book "An Inconvenient Truth," was in town for Tessa Hafen, who's running against Rep. Jon Porter in the 3rd Congressional District.

On Thursday, a one-time member of Clinton's Cabinet, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, joined his former boss in appearing for state Sen. Dina Titus, the Democratic nominee for governor.

And fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your political stripe, this won't end Tuesday. The Democratic Party will host an early caucus in 2008 , which is already bringing all kinds of contenders, potentials, has-beens, never-weres and delusionals.

David Damore, a UNLV political scientist, said surrogates are most effective at winning free media, raising money and ginning up enthusiasm among the committed.

It's not a good sign for Republicans, Damore said, that there are so few places where Bush can safely campaign, or that so many candidates don't want him - or his low approval ratings - around.

Republicans at the moment suffer from a lack of suitable surrogates. A majority of the country disapproves of Vice President Dick Cheney. While Sen. John McCain is always in high demand, House Speaker Dennis Hastert is no-go because of what he may have known about inappropriate contact between former Rep. Mark Foley and congressional pages. Rep. John Boehner, the House majority leader, has faced similar questions, as has the chairman of the Republican National Congressional Committee, Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-N.Y.

Democratic candidates have sent Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry home from the surrogate campaign trail early after his attempt at a joke about Bush turned into a statement Republicans say shows he holds U.S. troops in low regard.

But Democrats, it seems, will always cheer loudly for Clinton.

He strode onto the stage to "Blue Suede Shoes." Titus said if the Constitution allowed it, the 42nd president would still be president, and with that, she induced Clinton's signature lip bite.

With his snowy hair and expressive features, he owned the audience, as always. He lurched into wonkery about renewable energy, but then settled on a political metaphor. Many Americans want to vote Democratic, he said, but have never done so before. He compared those voters to children on the diving board not quite ready to take the leap, even though they know how to swim.

"You've got to grab them by the hand and jump in to a better future for Nevada." The crowd went wild. Clinton worked the rope-line.