WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, elder statesman of Florida's Democrats, said yesterday that he is "seriously considering" running for president in 2004.
Graham said that as his misgivings about national security and the flagging economy grew a year ago, he began seriously contemplating seeking his party's nomination.
"I've become increasingly concerned about the way the war of terror is being conducted and the lack of ideas of what to do with our economy," he told reporters in his Miami office. "At this stage, I'm not thinking about who other candidates might be, Republican or Democratic. What I'm thinking about is: Does Bob Graham have something special to bring to a campaign? Does he have some ideas that might be exciting to the American people?"
Graham, 66 and a senator for 16 years, has been in the spotlight this year because of his work after the Sept. 11 attacks as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said a number of "thoughtful Americans" from his state and across the nation has urged him to run.
But concerns about the Bush administration's policies in dealing with the economic slump, the fight against terrorism and the possible war with Iraq are what Graham said are his chief motivations.
"I believe I have some ideas in terms of what we ought to be doing in pursuing the war on terror and rebuilding our economy to give more opportunity for Americans," Graham said.
Florida's senior senator said his experience in politics - he first ran for the Florida Legislature in 1966 and served as governor from 1979 until his election to the Senate in 1986 - makes him a viable candidate.
The quiet, affable and relentlessly methodical Graham, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has dipped his toes into presidential politics before. Vice President Al Gore considered tapping Graham as his running mate in the 2000 election, eventually choosing Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut. Graham said yesterday that he has not taken the obligatory first step of opening an exploratory committee to raise money for a run.
"That's several steps beyond where I am," he said.
The field is sizable: Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts, John Edwards of North Carolina and Lieberman are considered contenders, as is former House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri. Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, while thought to be a long shot, also plans to run.
"Graham certainly can go toe-to-toe with any of those people, at least in terms of stature and resume and experience," said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, which does extensive opinion surveys in Florida.
Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report and a top political handicapper, said Graham could be an appealing candidate if he can set himself apart from the other politicians in the mix. Graham is popular in a large, Southern state, Rothenberg said, and he is a true centrist in both ideology and temperament.
However, as the limping Democratic Party struggles to redefine itself, Rothenberg said, Graham may not be stirring enough to galvanize the support needed during primary season.
"I think he has a long record, both in the state and on the Hill, and he can talk about his experience - he can talk about seniors issues, heath care issues. The question is whether or not he's going to distinguish himself from rest of field," Rothenberg said.
But, Coker said, "I'd never dismiss Graham as a player if he decided he wants to do it. I don't know if I'd bet on him, but I'd never underestimate him."
Gwyneth K. Shaw and Maya Bell write for the Orlando Sentinel, a Tribune Publishing newspaper.