IN MADISON, KUCINICH CALLS HIMSELF A PROGRESSIVE FOR PRESIDENT

Dennis Kucinich, the one-time "boy mayor" of Cleveland, arrived in Madison
Saturday night to proclaim himself the most progressive of the Democratic
candidates for president.

The state has suddenly become critical to candidates because of a new state
law that moved up Wisconsin's presidential primary from April to Feb. 17.

Kucinich, a Democratic congressman from Ohio, is the first of five
Democratic hopefuls expected to visit the state within the next few weeks,
and he left no doubt of his views.

He charged President Bush with creating an "administration of oil men" who
tolerated and were corrupted by the Enron scandal and who went to war in
Iraq simply to gain control of its oil.

"These guys were cooking the books, to create a pretext for going to war,
and they knew better," Kucinich said. "Where are the weapons of mass
destruction?"

Kucinich, who spoke Saturday night at a "Rally for Peace and Prosperity" at
Madison's Orpheum Theatre, is vegan who has sworn off meat, dairy, caffeine
and processed foods. He grew up in Cleveland in a large, struggling family.

"I have a deep sensitivity for people who are poor," he said.

Kucinich, 56, has taken flak for changing his stance on abortion in recent
years, switching to a pro-choice position. He supports national health
insurance, the legalization of medical marijuana, and a rollback of the
Bush tax cuts. He would slash military spending and create a Department of
Peace to "to counter violence in America," he said.

At age 31, he became the youngest mayor of a major American city, but he
was defeated in 1979 after the city went into financial default.