House Minority Leader Gephardt (D-Mo.) Forms Exploratory Committee for Possible Presidential Run
House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) on Saturday announced he has formed an exploratory committee to raise funds for a second campaign for president, the Los Angeles Times reports (Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 1/5). In a statement announcing his potential campaign, Gephardt said that President Bush "is leading the country either down the wrong path or not leading at all" on several issues, including health care. Gephardt has recently championed a universal health coverage plan, among other issues, USA Today reports (Lawrence, USA Today, 1/6). Gephardt said, "I've been through every health care fight there's been. I think I know what can pass and what can't pass. I led the effort with the Clinton health care plan, and we failed. I'm sorry we failed. But it had a lot of components that you just could not politically sell. I've thought a lot about this" (Seelye, New York Times, 1/6). Gephardt ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 (USA Today, 1/6).
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