Since the March primary election, a common goal to defeat President Bush in November is uniting former Democratic rivals, placing the incumbent on the defense and leaving Californians to wonder: will the west coast be left out of the 2004 presidential race?

The answer is yes.

In the eight-month race for the presidency, Democratic nominees will mostly target Midwestern states, according to The Chronicle's Washington Bureau Chief Marc Sandalow.

In addition, last week the Bush administration chose 17 Midwestern states in which to air image-enhancing television commercials.

"I think it's a mistake for Democrats. They take for granted that they will get California," said Derek Wray, 26, a criminal justice major at SF State.

Even though California is not on the list of places presidential candidates will visit, other trends make this this year's race for president unique.

According to officials, a new found unity among former Democratic rivals is unlike years past: instead of attacking each other, Democratic candidates have turned their attention to defeating the president in November.

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont, once political foes, are working as allies according to different sources of American media, including The Chronicle, The New York Times and USA Today.

"During the campaign, we often focused on what divided us, but the truth is we have much more in common, beginning with our fervent desire to send George Bush back to Crawford, Texas, in November," Dean told The New York Times.

Dean the Kerry campaign on Thursday, March 25 in Washington D.C. at the Democratic National Committee gala.

As acting chair of the SF Democratic Party, Jane Morrison commented on unity within the party. "We'd like to get a good Democrat in office," Morrison said, while emphatically adding, "Bush is the biggest disaster I've seen, locally and internationally, and I've been volunteering in politics for 50 years."

Not all students on the SF State campus would agree with Morrison, however. Diana Bautista, 24, the vice president of the SF State College Republicans, said that President Bush is merely doing the best he can with a bad hand.

"Right now we are in an unsafe homeland security situation," she said. "He (the President) has handled it well. He dealt with what he was given. I don't support Kerry because he flip-flops from one decision to another. I respect someone who sticks to it."

Diane is not alone in her opinion. The USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll reported that 49 percent of people thought Kerry would change his positions for political reasons, as opposed to 37 percent who said that Bush would.

Although Bush may appear more consistent in his decision making, Democrats such as Morrison will never be convinced.

"I don't know anyone who supports Bush," Morrison said. "They'd have to be insane, and you can quote me on that," she said, with a laugh.

Democrats and Republicans may never see eye to eye, however, the fact that Democrats have come together to reach shared goals is encouraging for those in the party.

In addition to Dean's offer to hand Kerry his 600,000-person e-mail database, Senator John Edwards is allegedly meeting with Kerry this week to discuss other fundraising tactics with the Democratic leader, according to the same source.

With all the attention focused on shared aims of the Democratic Party, the Bush campaign has also started its engines, though they will not be rolling through California either.

"California's 55 electoral votes will be either the foundation of the Democratic base, or a surprise that lards a Republican landslide," Sandalow wrote.

Sandalow called it a "California Catch-22," in an article, where he outlined details behind why California will be left behind by those in the presidential race.

Nationally, however, what Democrats are doing to reach their shared goal of ousting Bush is apparently working, according to most recent opinion polls.

The USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll also reported that Kerry currently leads Pres. Bush in popularity 52 percent to 44 percent, since securing the Democratic nomination for president.

"People say Kerry would handle domestic issues better," Richard Benedetto wrote in USA Today.

It's an opinion that Democrats share. Mary Beth Cahill is one of Kerry's campaign managers. Cahill told National Public Radio that over the course of the primaries those involved with the Kerry campaign learned that Pres. Bush is out of touch with the issues. According to Cahill jobs, the economy, and equal access to health care and Social Security are most important to Americans.

"Instead he will bring up fake issues," Cahill told NPR, referencing Bush's war supporting, anti-abortion and pro-death penalty agenda.

The poll continued to support opinions expressed by Cahill when findings also reported that two-thirds of participants believe the economy is more important than the war on terrorism.

As reflected in the polls, the race will be a close call on all fronts, which is why voting this November takes on perhaps an even greater significance than in elections past.

Despite unity among Democrats and the common goal to remove Bush from presidency among those in the party, the poll reported that even though more people said they would vote for Kerry, 52 percent still think Bush will win.

Morrison, however, is one democrat hopeful that Bush will not. On support for Kerry she said, "I've had a lot of people call in to see where they can send money, or volunteer to help with his campaign. It's interesting to see this starting so early in the year," Morrison said.