ST. LOUIS -- Rep. Dick Gephardt, a 26-year veteran of Congress and the former House Democratic leader, announced his second candidacy for president Wednesday, pledging to repeal most of President Bush's tax cuts to finance "quality health coverage for everyone who works in America."
The eighth candidate in a growing Democratic field, Gephardt sought to distinguish himself from lesser-known rivals for the party's nomination. "I think experience matters," said the Missouri lawmaker who sought the presidency in 1988.
"I'm not the political flavor of the month. I'm not the flashiest candidate around," he said. "But the fight for working families is in my bones."
Gephardt's health care plan, one of the most ambitious policy initiatives of the fledgling Democratic campaign, would give billions of dollars in tax credits to businesses and require them to invest the money in employee insurance benefits. To pay for it, Gephardt would repeal virtually all of Bush's $1.35 trillion tax cut plan, including politically popular benefits to middle-class Americans.
Addressing at least 500 friends, family and supporters at his former elementary school's gymnasium, Gephardt said, "I'm running for president because I'm tired of leadership that's left us isolated in the world, and stranded here at home," Gephardt said.
Gephardt, 62, ran for president in 1988 but his candidacy fizzled for lack of money.<
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