Democrats depend on anti-Bush mood to win support

Democrats in California are counting on the anti-Bush mood to drive supporters to the polls as part of a national wave against Republicans in the midterm elections.

For the weakness of state Treasurer Phil Angelides, the Democrats' nominee for governor, Democrats in California are seeking to capitalize on public anger at President George W. Bush, analysts said.

"We know in our hearts, George Bush and (Governor) Arnold Schwarzenegger are doing the wrong things by America and California," Angelides told hundreds of cheering supporters at a labor rally in Los Angeles on Saturday.

But as Angelides is not a strong contender who lacked behind Schwarzenegger by 16 points in a recent opinion poll, Democrats are relying on a jumbled patchwork of other forces to rouse the party's voters to cast ballots Tuesday and keep Schwarzenegger from sweeping Republicans to victory in other races.

"There's a certain amount of emotion in all this," said Democratic strategist Darry Sragow. "It's Democratic voters making their voices heard."

Democrats hope their campaign might be boosted by the following factors:

-- The popularity of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is up for reelection, and former President Bill Clinton, the star of television ads for Proposition 87, an oil-tax measure for alternative energy;

-- A loosely tied alliance of niche campaigns to compensate for the weakness of Angelides;

-- Efforts by abortion-rights groups to draw women to the polls by warning of what they say are the dangers of Proposition 85, a parental notification measure; and

-- Support of unions who are using mail and radio ads in Spanish to inspire new Latino voters to cast ballots by portraying Schwarzenegger and other Republicans as anti-immigrant.

The combination of such efforts offers little hope for Angelides, but it is crucial in tightly contested races for lieutenant governor, controller and secretary of state, analysts said.

Trying to keep the momentum, Schwarzenegger has been on a hectic campaign tour these days.

"I'm not campaigning for myself, as you can see," the governor said in Pleasanton, an upscale suburb midway between Oakland and San Jose in Northern California. "I'm campaigning for the propositions, for infrastructure bonds. To me, that is extremely important."

For Democrats, who have dominated the state in recent years with the notable exception of Schwarzenegger, the dearth of enthusiasm for Angelides has heightened the importance of the national election climate, said an analysis published by the Los Angeles Times on Sunday.

With the election two days away, Democrats must counter not just Schwarzenegger's yearlong rise in popularity, but also what his advisors describe as a high-tech get-out-the-vote machine more ambitious than anything the Republican Party has tried before in California, said the analysis.

Source: Xinhua