52:

Landrieu tries a makeover; but Republicans are out for blood (John Hill, 11/18/02, Baton Rouge Business Report) 

[L]andrieu's campaign underwent a major overhaul within a week. Even at Landrieu's launch of a bus tour at the Old State Capitol, Democrats looked grim. "I wish we could stop this momentum from going one way," said one long-time Landrieu supporter, acknowledging what people are feeling.

Republicans smell blood.

There was a poll - the data will not be released because the GOP doesn't want Democrats to know about it - by Terrell's pollster, Verne Kennedy of Marketing Research Institute of Pensacola, Fla., who works mostly for Republicans.

Taken the Thursday through Saturday after the primary of 665 voters who voted in the Nov. 5 primary and who said they would likely vote in the Dec. 7 runoff, Terrell was ahead. "Not by much, but she was ahead," said Kennedy shortly before jetting off to Washington to brief the White House and national Republicans. The runoff voters on Dec. 7 "will be a very Republican crowd," Kennedy added. [...]

What are the Democrats and Landrieu to do?

They've got a tight wire to walk: get the African-American voters turned on and turned out on election day and somehow still appeal to whites as someone who is supportive of Bush.

To energize African-American leaders, there was consideration about bringing in Bill Clinton, who, as political scientist Pearson Cross of Monroe says is the most popular president with African-Americans in all of history. But bringing in Clinton carries a major risk of energizing the white anti-Clinton, anti-Bill, anti-Hillary voters.

Is there a better way to unify and turn out the GOP than to bring Clinton in? Posted by Orrin Judd at November 19, 2002 12:08 PM