Titus is master of free media as Gibbons opens his war chest

By J. Patrick Coolican

Monday, Sept. 25, 2006 | 7:16 a.m.

When former Democratic governors Bob Miller and Richard Bryan saw the podium, they knew it wouldn't do. A nearby door allowed in too much light, threatening to bleach out the camera shots.

So the two rearranged the furniture, putting the podium directly in front of a banner for Dina Titus, whom they had come to endorse for governor. Then Bryan moved an American flag, completing the televisual scene.

Titus, the state Senate minority leader, likes to call hers a "truly grass-roots campaign," and indeed, sometimes that means dignitaries moving furniture. Standing alongside two former governors burnished her, though, especially with Bryan saying Titus is as smart as anyone he has met in 50 years of Nevada politics.

Wednesday's event gave a lift, a dose of free media for Titus and a show of Democratic unity. Nevertheless, it was an indication of where the campaign is at the moment. Tonight she will get some more attention during her first debate with opponent Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., at 6 p.m. on KVBC-TV, Channel 3.

Titus is fighting for attention and money so that she can get her message out. Gibbons , on the other hand, has a big financial advantage that he is using to hammer her with 30-second ads that say she'll raise taxes. Instead of fighting for money and press coverage, he has mostly been in Washington for the last days of the congressional session.

While Miller and Bryan lauded Titus, neither went so far as to attack Gibbons directly - and that could be a missing element of the Titus campaign. She's been without visible surrogates to pound away while she stays above the fray.

Recall, for example, the 2004 presidential campaign's Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, its message all but said Sen. John Kerry fought for the wrong side in Vietnam, while President Bush continued to praise his service, no matter how disingenuously.

"Third-party attacks, depending on how relevant the third party is, are often more devastating," said veteran Republican consultant Pete Ernaut. "In a perfect world, you'd want your party going positive, and somebody else going negative."

Nevada Democrats agreed, though they said they're not concerned. Democratic consultant Gary Gray said surrogates can help. But one of Titus' strengths, he said, is "standing on her own two feet. It's good to have somebody say, 'This is me, this is where I stand,' and Dina does that masterfully."

Dan Hart, who managed Democrat Jim Gibson's unsuccessful primary bid in the governor's race, said voters haven't made up their minds yet, which means Titus still has time to raise money.

"There's nobody better at using free media than Dina Titus," Hart said. "So I'm not disturbed at where she is in the scheme of things. I think she's within range, and if she executes, if she has enough money to be competitive, she can win this."

Maybe. But note that the Gibbons camp picked up a surrogate of its own recently in state Sen. Bob Beers, who lost in the Republican primary to Gibbons. Beers can snap a verbal towel if necessary, though he showed the depth of Republican confidence during a decidedly nonchalant and off-message interview this week.

Here's a shortened version of a short phone call:

How's the campaign going?

"I think I lost."

What about all that stuff you threw around in the primary about Gibbons getting his job back as a Delta Air Lines pilot by playing hardball with a Delta lobbyist in Carson City?

"Haven't honestly thought about it."

What are you doing this weekend?

"I may be painting, stripping wallpaper, laying tile. Whatever she needs me to do."

She is Sarah, his wife.