I have more experience than anybody in the race, including the two Democrats. I have a better record of accomplishment than any of them. Hatch may be best remembered for his role as the leading Republican on the Judiciary Committee in the 1991 confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. That dour image is not the Hatch many in Washington or Utah know, and they're puzzled why he would undertake an arduous race for president that seems like a lost cause from the outset. He said that even if Bush wasn't in the race, Hatch probably wouldn't do much better because his reputation as a deal-maker in the Senate raises suspicions among conservatives.
Money is a problem, too.
Jack Anderson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist who's a native of Utah, recently said after an appearance at Utah State University that Hatch has little chance of winning. He's a good man. Hatch was born in Pittsburgh during the Depression. His father, Jesse, was a skilled tradesman. His mother, Helen, was a full-time homemaker, and the family was active in the Mormon church.