WASHINGTON — The one-time candidate of the future wants to show he isn't a man of the past.
In the 1980s, then-Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado, under the banner of "new ideas," led a drive to revamp the Democratic Party's agenda. He was an early favorite to win the party's 1988 presidential nomination, but saw his ambitions derailed by scandal.
Now, in an unexpected resurrection, he says he is "testing the waters" for a White House bid in 2004 and will deliver a series of policy speeches over the next six weeks to determine whether he can build sufficient support to run.
"The issue is, do you have something to say that is not being said?" Hart, now a Denver lawyer, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "I think particularly in the national defense and homeland security areas, I have a unique voice."
The 66-year-old Hart said he would decide whether to enter the Democratic race in March, after assessing the reaction to his speeches on national security, foreign policy, the economy and civic engagement.
Speeches a Barometer
The decision, he said, will turn on "public response to the speeches, what the other candidates are saying, and whether what I have to say is sufficiently different to justify speaking on my own."
In conversation, however, it is clear that Hart is strongly drawn toward the possibility of running. He has begun to explore how he might run a "volunteer, low-budget, small-dollar, mass democracy" campaign, and he said he believes he is better prepared to serve as president today than when he sought the Democratic nomination in 1984 and 1988.
"I've seen things that I didn't have the chance to when I was [in the Senate]," he says. "I still have the same energy level, and I have 15 years more experience."
In another measure of his interest, Hart's supporters on Sunday opened a Web site -- www.garyhartnews.com -- to provide information about the prospective campaign and begin building a network of enthusiasts. Hart also appeared Sunday on ABC's "This Week" to discuss a possible campaign.
In his heyday during the 1980s, Hart was what Bill Clinton became in the 1990s: the leader of the forces inside the Democratic Party seeking alternatives to conventional liberalism. Hart's "neo-liberal" agenda tried to move Democrats to the center on economics -- emphasizing growth over income redistribution -- and offered ambitious ideas on military reform while maintaining traditionally liberal positions on most social issues.
