But if you did support me, I'd love you a little bit more. Bradley's focus on youth may have more to do with the fact that showing up at a packed high school guarantees an instant crowd, something Bradley has had trouble with lately. Bradley's camp says 30 percent of the vote in Iowa should be seen as a moral victory because most of the party's establishment backs the vice president. The Gore campaign quickly noted that Bradley is spending more money than the vice president in Iowa, and investing more campaign time in the state. There's going to be a winner and a loser.
Second place is for losers.
Pete D'Alasandro, Bradley's Iowa political director, said Bradley needed to finish better than the 31 percent that Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy took against President Carter in the 1980 Iowa caucus. However, Kennedy's showing was widely viewed as a sound defeat that seriously damaged any hopes he had of ousting Carter, who went on to win the nomination. The Bradley campaign Wednesday is expected to announce an endorsement by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, the first governor to sign on with their campaign. As if on cue, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is also expected Wednesday to endorse Gore. Although Dean is scheduled to travel to New Hampshire to make the endorsement, the governor's staff would release details.