Graham near decision on continuing bid

? Democrat Bob Graham, still pledging to the party faithful that he will be the next president, said Saturday he was rethinking his strategy for doing it.

“We are looking at strategies to be the next president of the United States of America,” was his response to repeated questions outside a meeting of the Democratic National Committee whether he might end his campaign.

Graham told reporters he would decide in the next few days what course to pursue.

The Florida senator had a disappointing fund-raising quarter, which ended Tuesday, and senior staffers are leaving the campaign. Graham’s goal was to raise $15 million-$20 million, but he’s raised only about $5 million so far.

Advisers said Graham was trying to decide whether to drop out of the race or cut his staff and focus on fewer states.

Speaking to advocates inside the meeting, Graham showed no signs of backing off. “I will win the presidency by leading America with honor out of the quagmire of Iraq,” he said.

Graham, former head of the Senate Intelligence Committee and ex-governor of Florida, opposed military action in Iraq because he said it would distract from the fight against terror. He was among the first presidential candidates to allege the White House misled the public about justification for the war and possibly exposed an undercover CIA agent.

“We see an administration moonwalking on trying to come to who is guilty of the leaks that risked security for Americans,” presidential rival Al Sharpton told party members. “Where is Ken Starr when we need you?” Starr was the prosecutor who hounded Democratic President Clinton for years as special prosecutor.

Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, center, is kissed by his wife, Adele, at a ,000-a-plate reception in Coral Gables, Fla. Graham said Saturday he would decide in days whether to continue campaigning.

Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt roused Saturday’s crowd with a new speech in which he called Bush “the vanishing president.” He said many things have vanished since Bush took office — 3.3. million jobs, civil liberties, the contract bidding process in Iraq, a $5 trillion federal surplus, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and U.S. allies.

“Name one person who wants to be our ally,” he said. “The president says we have 30 countries with us in Iraq. Yeah, Togo sent one person. I mean, let’s get serious.”

John Edwards, a North Carolina senator, said Bush’s request for $87 billion for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq amounts to “billion-dollar giveaways for his friends in big oil.”

He criticized such large spending abroad when problems persist at home.

Edwards supports the part of the request — $66 billion — that would pay for military operations, but he voted Wednesday to cut $15 billion from the amount that would be used to rebuild Iraq.