Rallying the Faithful At the Union Hall

DES MOINES, Jan. 18 -- Teamsters President James P. Hoffa Jr. was greeted at the Steelworkers local union hall here Sunday morning like a rock star, surrounded by beefy guys as he pushed his way through tenacious reporters clamoring to know why his man is slipping in the polls.

"The people with the best organization are going to get people to the more than 2,000 caucus sites," the labor leader said as moved through the crush. "I think that's critical, and that's what Mr. Gephardt has."

Right on cue, the crowds parted and several hundred fired-up union members began chanting "Hoffa! Hoffa! Hoffa!" as he made his way up front for the rally for Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.).

Within seconds, Hoffa shifted the crowd to his old friend, "Gephardt! Gephardt! Gephardt!" And within the hour, about 2,000 volunteers and members from 21 unions would be going door to door for Gephardt for the second day in a row -- what Hoffa and Gephardt see as the trump card to victory.

A few hours later, a similar crowd in Newton -- with Hoffa again leading the charge -- again passionately welcomed Gephardt. It was an encouraging start of the last day before the caucuses, for a man who woke up in fourth place in a Des Moines Register survey, and whose entire 37-year political career could be riding on Monday's Iowa vote.

The usually reserved candidate seemed to have a newfound exuberance these past few days as he made his last pitch at more than a dozen events around the state, ending with a raucous rally of 500 back in Des Moines on Sunday night featuring Chuck Berry singing his greatest hits.

He rode on the press bus for the first time all month, insisting that he remains optimistic. Asked what he did to stay healthy, he said: "I eat three mushy, soggy sandwiches a day, I drink a lot of water -- I get no exercise other than running up on stage."

Gephardt told the workers and the seniors who showed up for him what they wanted to hear and what he has been saying all along -- that George W. Bush has to go, that he offers them no hope for jobs, health care and good trade policies to protect their futures.

"I don't care about being president," Gephardt shouted at the union hall. "I don't need the job! I don't need the title! But America needs a leader that comes from a life experience of the people."

After the event, Gephardt was greeted by a bigger media presence than he has seen in weeks -- a mob of 20 camera crews and more than 50 journalists. Gephardt said he was confident of winning. "We . . . have the best organization. We have the most steadfast voters," he declared. "People are going to come out."

-- Lois Romano