Who Will Be the Next Alpha Democrat?

Addressing a small audience of Democratic insiders -- 65 of whom will cast ballots next month -- and an audience of several hundred onlookers, the hopefuls sounded several common themes. They bowed to the party icons of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. They promised to cede not an inch of ground to Republicans in any precinct in any state.

And each of them, mindful of their audience, pledged to do more to empower party activists at the state and local levels.

"We have to break the consultant culture in Washington," said former Rep. Martin Frost of Texas, who until recently was a part of that Beltway culture as a 13-term member of Congress. (Frost lost his seat in November as a result of the controversial redrawing of his state's political lines, a move engineered by Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a fellow Texan.)

The race for party chairman is focused on a small universe of roughly 450 members of the Democratic National Committee, the governing body of the party, who will make their selection at their winter meeting next month in Washington, D.C. The new chairman will replace Terry McAuliffe, whose four-year term is ending.

As part of the selection process, the candidates agreed to a series of regional road shows, appearing before members of the DNC and their invited guests. The first two question-and-answer forums were held in Georgia and Missouri. The final gathering will be next weekend in New York City.

Handicapping the race is nearly impossible, given the small electorate and the one-on-one nature of the campaign, conducted mostly over the telephone and in private meetings. But most observers agree that Dean is the front-runner by dint of his considerable name recognition and his wide grass-roots support, with others vying to emerge as the most viable alternative.

On Saturday, at least, they were treated as equals. The seven hopefuls sat elbow-to-elbow onstage in a crowded Sacramento hotel ballroom, working to distinguish themselves in a variety of ways.

Former Rep. Tim Roemer of Indiana spoke of his service on the Sept. 11 commission and attacked President Bush on his strongest political suit, the fight against terrorism.