<DIV> <DIV> <H2>Kerry all but owns Michigan </H2> BY KATHLEEN GRAY AND PATRICIA MONTEMURRI DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS February 5, 2004 U.S. Sen. John Kerry's commanding advantage in polls leading up to Saturday's Michigan caucuses has diminished the state's once-heralded status as a must-win state. Two of the top Democratic presidential contenders have given up campaigning in Michigan. Candidates John Edwards and retired Gen. Wesley Clark on Wednesday wrote off campaigning in Michigan before Saturday's caucuses to focus on Tennessee and Virginia primaries Tuesday. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who was once the front-runner in the state, today visits Flint, Royal Oak and Detroit to help counter comments he made Tuesday that he was conceding the state to Kerry. Kerry, of Massachusetts, plans to campaign Friday in Detroit, Warren and Flint, but that's not enough for Detroit's mayor and the local NAACP president, who warned the candidates not to put too much stock in poll numbers. Detroit "is probably the most Democratic city in the country and to not come here, to not participate during this caucus, I think is pathetic and ignorant," said Kilpatrick, who likes Dean but hasn't endorsed a candidate. "Michigan is the home of the Reagan Democrats. It's the home of organized labor. It's the home of an 80-percent-plus African-American city that wants to be engaged," said Kilpatrick. But it may not matter anymore. Just two days left until Michigan's Democratic presidential caucuses, and where are the candidates? Where are the ads? Where is the buzz? "Michigan is moot and I hate saying that, because it discourages people from showing up to vote," said Craig Ruff of the Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants. "But it certainly smells like the candidates have ceded Michigan to Kerry." Kilpatrick and the Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, urged all contenders to show up at a town-hall meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight at Detroit's Northwest Activities Center. Dean and the Rev. Al Sharpton are the only candidates planning to attend. Anthony was upset about that. "You can't diss us in the winter and expect to come back and kiss us in the fall," he said. More than 90 percent of Detroit voters supported the Democratic presidential ticket in 2000. Kerry and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio have campaign events scheduled in Detroit on Friday. Kerry and Dean have both campaigned in Washington state this week for the state's caucuses, also on Saturday. Maine has caucuses on Sunday. Kerry is expected to win in Maine and Washington. Edwards' Michigan campaign spokesman, Brad Anderson, said his candidate's schedule wouldn't bring him to Michigan because of campaign commitments in Tennessee and Virginia, which have primaries Tuesday. Anderson said the North Carolina senator's schedule decision meant no disrespect to Michigan's African-American voters, and said Edwards got significant support from black voters in his South Carolina victory and in other states. "This is not about dissing the African-American community," said Anderson. Edwards "feels he has more time to get his message out in states like Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin." Dan Kildee, cochairman of Clark's campaign in Michigan, said Clark never expected to win Michigan. He said it makes more sense for Clark to campaign in Tennessee, where he has a chance to win. Kilpatrick said of Edwards' decision: "He's making a big mistake and it's going to kill his campaign." Ed Sarpolus of the Lansing-based polling firm EPIC/MRA said Edwards' message could resonate with Michigan voters. "Skipping a visit to Michigan is a mistake. The populist message for the black community and his focus on issues appeals to young, college-educated women," said Sarpolus. His firm's polling of 300 likely caucus voters showed the Kerry runaway is for real, with Kerry at 58 percent, Dean at 13 percent, Edwards at 12 percent and Clark at 7 percent. Sharpton and Kucinich had negligible support. Other political observers described the absences of some candidates as misguided. Michigan's 154 delegates "are the highest total of this presidential contest so far," said Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Melvin Butch Hollowell. "It's a mistake for Edwards and Clark to skip the state. . . . "Our voters want to see your face and look into your eyes." While disappointing, the lack of face-time in Michigan is understandable, said Ruff of Public Sector Consultants. "You have to play a type of guerrilla warfare and pick and choose the areas where you have the best opportunity to win," said Ruff. Mark Gaffney, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO, supports Edwards, although his union has not issued any endorsement. Gaffney said Wednesday he wouldn't second-guess Edwards' campaign strategy. Gaffney said polls indicate a race for second place between Edwards and Dean. And he said Dean could show strongly because he is backed by three politically active unions -- the painters union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Dean, who will campaign Thursday and Friday morning in Michigan, also wants to concentrate on Wisconsin's Feb. 17 presidential primary -- "the big enchilada," according to Dean's campaign manager Roy Neel. The Dean campaign also spent Wednesday trying to recover from televised comments Dean made Tuesday night that he doesn't expect to win Michigan -- a deflating statement that cast a pall over his staff. "I spent a long time on the phone with our field staff," Neel said during a conference call Wednesday with reporters. The campaign didn't dispute Dean's words, but said the former Vermont governor was "apoplectic" about how they had been portrayed by the media. "He did not mean to imply that we're not fighting in Michigan," said Neel. Contact PATRICIA MONTEMURRI at 313-223-4538 or <A href="mailto:montemurri@freepress.com">montemurri@freepress.com</A>. Contact KATHLEEN GRAY at 248-351-3298 or <A href="mailto:gray@freepress.com">gray@freepress.com</A>. Staff writer Chris Christoff contributed to this report. Copyright © 2004 Detroit Free Press Inc.</DIV></DIV><hr SIZE=1> Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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