Democrats Trade Insults As Caucuses Near

[demdave]

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Bickering to the last, Democrats traded insults Sunday as they reached for the finish line in a close and caustic Iowa caucus race, the first step toward picking President Bush's rival.

"We are going to win," said Rep. Dick Gephardt, echoing the hopes of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards in a contest impossible to predict.

While four rivals raced between Iowa's state lines, Dean sought to regain the political initiative with a trip to Georgia, where former President Carter answered campaign critics of Dean, and a surprise guest upon his return to Iowa. After remaining in the political shadows for months, Dean's wife, Judy, made her first appearance on the campaign trail - after Dean was told it might help him win.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IOWA_CAUCUS_RDP?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=POLITICS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT