Dean Speech

From the DNCC via email, Howard Dean’s convention remarks:

I was hoping for a reception like this. I was just hoping that it would be on Thursday night, instead of on Tuesday night.

I may not be the nominee, but I can tell you this: For the next hundred days, I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure that John Kerry and John Edwards take our country back for the people who built it. Because tonight, we’re all here to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic party.

I’m proud of John Kerry’s leadership, and I intend to stand shoulder to shoulder with him as we fight for the things Harry Truman promised in 1948: health insurance for every American, a real jobs plan to create jobs instead of destroy them. Standing up for middle class and working Americans who got a tax increase, not a tax cut. And a foreign policy that relies on telling the truth to the American people before we send our brave American soldiers to fight in foreign lands. I’d like a commander-in-chief who supports our soldiers and our veterans, instead of cutting their hardship pay when they’re abroad, and their health benefits when they get home.

I’m Howard Dean. And I’m voting for John Kerry.

I’m voting for John Kerry and John Edwards because I’m tired of seeing hard-working Americans struggling with jobs that pay less than they did four years ago. I’m voting for John Kerry and John Edwards because I want a president and vice president as good and as strong as the American people. And I’m voting for John Kerry and John Edwards because I want to see America restored as the moral leader of the world.

America’s greatness rests on far more than the power of our arms. Our greatness is also measured by our goodness. It is in the capacity of our minds, the size of our hearts, and the strength of our democracy.

As I’ve traveled America, I’ve seen that strength. I’ve seen it in the people I’ve met and their desire to take our country back for the American people. I saw it in a college student in Pennsylvania who sold her bicycle and sent us a check for $100 with a note that said, “I sold my bicycle for democracy.” I saw it in a woman from Iowa who handed me $50-all in quarters. She saved it from her monthly disability check, because she wanted to make America well again. And I saw it in the 19-year-old from Alabama who had never been involved in politics before he got in his car and drove up to Vermont, because he didn’t feel like he was being heard in Washington.

He was just one of so many. They learned that politics was too important to be left to the politicians. They didn’t just pack their bags-they backed their hopes that we can take our country back. And you know what? We will.

We’re not going to be afraid to stand up for what we believe. We’re not going to let those who disagree with us shout us down under a banner of false patriotism. And we’re not going to give up a single voter, or a single state. We’re going to be proud to call ourselves Democrats, not just here in Boston. We’re going to be proud to call ourselves Democrats in Mississippi, proud to call ourselves Democrats in Utah and Idaho. And we’re going to be proud to call ourselves Democrats in Texas.

Never again will we be ashamed to call ourselves Democrats. Never. Never. Never. We’re not just going to change presidents, we’re going to change this country and reclaim the American dream.

To everyone who supported me — you’ve given me so much, and I can’t thank you enough. But this was never about me. It was about us. It was about giving new life to our party, new energy to our democracy, and providing hope again for the greatest nation on earth.

And so, today, even though you have already given so much-I want to ask you to give one more thing: Give America President John Kerry. Together, we can take our country back. And only you have the power to make it happen.

Dean Releases Delegates

Dean also released his 201 delegates yesterday and urged them to vote for Kerry (via Washington Times / AP). I’ll be interested to see how many delegates refuse to let go …

Dean: "We are going to do what the Christian conservatives did 20 years ago"

The Guardian reports on Howard Dean’s reception yesterday in Boston (“greeted like a star by party delegates”). More important, Dean is calling for a ground-up resurgance in Dem politics:

“We cannot, as Democrats, decide we are only going to work hard in the places we can win,” he said. “The only way we can win is to run.”

Mr Dean, whose rhetorical skills set the Democratic base on fire last autumn, is touting a long-term strategy to reverse the conservative right’s dominance of American public life. “We are going to do what the Christian conservatives did 20 years ago,” he told a meeting of delegates from Washington DC. “It is not enough to vote. You have got to run for office, you have got to run for the local council, you have got to run for the school board.”

Dean Supporters Vow to Fight for VP Spot

AP: Dean Supporters Vow to Fight for VP Spot

Message from a group of Howard Dean supporters to John Kerry: Pick the one-time presidential candidate as your running mate or face a floor fight at the Democratic National Convention.

The National Draft Dean for VP Committee has not contacted either Dean or Kerry about its efforts, but it expects to approach the former Vermont governor before Democrats gather in Boston for the convention July 26.

“Howard Dean shifts the dynamics of the race,” said Michael Meurer, co-chairman of the draft committee, who argued that Dean on the ticket would stop progressives from voting for independent candidate Ralph Nader.

YARRRRRHHHH!!!

AP says Dean wins Vermont, according to NPR.

Kerry “leading” in Georgia.

Who's the Big Winner? Iowa

The state of Iowa is by far the biggest winner so far. The caucuses were becoming more and more irrelevant in recent years, but now they appear to have set the tone for the whole race. From the DesMoines Register

Howard Dean’s departure from the 2004 Democratic presidential campaign Wednesday leaves standing the two candidates who emerged the strongest from the Iowa caucuses.

Voters in 16 other states have agreed with the decision Iowans made a month ago, when John Kerry and John Edwards finished solidly first and second in the caucuses. That accord reinforces Iowa’s decision and helps its chances of retaining its leadoff nominating position, Iowa Democrats and political observers agree.

“It reaffirms what Iowans know, and reaffirms for the rest of the country that we are a good place to start the process,” Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Read my commentary here.

Dean Statement from "Blog for America"

The official word from Dr. Dean:

A Beginning not an End
Today my candidacy may come to an end—but our campaign for change is not over.

I want to thank each and every person who has supported this campaign. Over the last year, you have reached out to neighbors, friends, family and colleagues—building one American at a time the greatest grassroots campaign presidential politics has ever seen. I will never forget the work and the heart that you put into our campaign.

In the coming weeks, we will be launching a new initiative to continue the campaign you helped begin. Please continue to come to www.deanforamerica.com for updates and news as our new initiative develops. There is much work still to be done, and today is not an end—it is just the beginning.

This Party and this country needs change, and you have already begun that process. I want you to think about how far we have come. The truth is: change is tough. There is enormous institutional pressure in our country against change. There is enormous institutional pressure in Washington against change, in the Democratic Party against change. Yet, you have already started to change the Party and together we have transformed this race. Along the way, we’ve engaged hundreds of thousands of new Americans in the political process, as witnessed by this year’s record participation in the primaries and caucuses.

The fight that we began can and must continue. Although my candidacy for president may end today, the most important goal remains defeating George W. Bush in November, and I hope that you will join me in doing everything we can to support the Democrats this fall. From the earliest days of our campaign, I have said that the power to change Washington rests not in my hands, but in yours. Always remember, you have the power to take our country back.

Gov. Howard Dean M.D.

Posted by Howard Dean at 11:52 AM

Dean Out: The Reports

Fox News: Dean Ends Campaign but Vows to Keep Fighting

CNN: Dean suspends presidential campaign

Washington Post: Dean Ends Campaign for Presidency (Former Vermont Governor to Continue Political Advocacy)

NYTimes.com: Dean Says His Run for the White House Is Over

MSNBC: Dean Talks to Edwards

MSNBC.com is reporting that, according to anonymous sources, Howard Dean has been in talks with John Edwards as late as yesterday. No official word on whether or not this could lead to an endorsement.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said that Dean had a lengthy conversation on Tuesday night with John Edwards, the lone remaining credible challenger to front-runner John Kerry. Dean did not reach an agreement to endorse Edwards, who has been actively seeking Dean’s backing, they said.

Dean, former governor of Vermont, has said Edwards would be a stronger candidate against President Bush than Kerry, whom he has denounced as beholden to special interests.

Dean Officially Done

Howard Dean no longer “actively seeking” the Democratic presidential candidacy. He says he will support whoever the Democratic nominee for president will be. C-SPAN continues live coverage online.

More soon…

Dean on Fox: I won't quit

Chris Wallace questioned Howard Dean on Fox News Sunday. Among the tidbits:
Dean said he did not get a lot of support from the Democratic Party machine.

He blamed the Washington media for bad coverage because he didn’t “bow down and kiss their ring.”

He vowed to fight on beyond Wisconsin, and said “no one has told me that” when asked about staffers who were going to leave the campaign Wednesday.

“Washington is sclerotic right now, both parties are wallowing in their special interests … Washington needs a good kick in the butt, and that’s what we’re going to give them.”

At one point, Wallace got into a bit of an exchange with Dean over who was to blame for the mistakes in Dean’s campaign.

Dean Campaign Shows Signs Of Ending

Boston.com reports, that Dean’s campaign is showing signs that it is about to end.

His calendar for next week is not booked beyond Wednesday, when he plans to return home to Burlington, Vt.

His staff, some of whom are already planning to leave his headquarters for good on Wednesday, has not sought a new contract with the main air charter company that has been flying him around the country, aides say.

Dean himself said yesterday he does not know whether he will continue campaigning in a manner resembling the appearances that have filled his calendar for the past two years.

[. . .]

Turning serious, he told a group of reporters who joined him on a dairy farm tour: “I’m going to go back to Burlington and kind of regroup and figure out how to tackle 10 of the biggest states in the country at the same time.”

Yet moments later, when asked if he would remain an official candidate heading into the March 2 “Super Tuesday” voting in those 10 states, Dean said, “I don’t know the answer to that question yet.”

In response to a similar question, he replied, “We haven’t had any discussions about that. We’re not going to for a while. A lot of it depends on whether we win Wisconsin or not.”

According to Boston.com, a sense of pessimism has begun to permeate the campaign. Staffers are talking openly about vacation plans and the pros and cons of working on other campaigns.

Now Dean Won't Quit If He Loses Wisconsin

The New York Times reports that Dean has reversed his position and now says he will stay in the race even if he doesn’t win Wisconsin on February 17, 2004.

Then - February 5, 2004:

The entire race has come down to this: we must win Wisconsin.

We must launch our new television advertisement on Monday in the major markets in Wisconsin. To do that, I need your help to raise $700,000 by Sunday. Please contribute $50 today so that we can reserve the air time…

We will get a boost this weekend in Washington, Michigan and Maine, but our true test will be the Wisconsin primary. A win there will carry us to the big states of March 2-and narrow the field to two candidates. Anything less will put us out of this race.

Now - February 9, 2004:

Asked today whether he would drop out if he lost next week, Dr. Dean said, “No.”

Dean Campaigns in "Must-Win" Wisconsin

Howard Dean is beginning his campaign drive in Wisconsin, which he has said he must win (otherwise he says he will drop out).

Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean kicked off a do-or-die campaign blitz across Wisconsin Monday, telling voters they have the power to “keep this debate alive” and nominate someone who can unseat President Bush.

“The way to beat George W. Bush is with a candidate who already has stood up to him … on issues that mattered — like health care, investing in our children, the national debt and the Iraq war,” said Dean, drawing sustained applause from hundreds of backers at a Madison hotel.

“Democrats who watched the popularity polls and cut bad deals with the White House are not the right people to stand up to George Bush this fall,” Dean said.

The former Vermont governor who once was considered the party’s front-runner made the comments in taking a swipe at the party’s new leader, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, another White House rival.

Kerry and Edwards Take to Virginia

Washington Post reports on how John Kerry and John Edwards are trying to woo voters in Virginia.

Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner endorsed Sen. John F. Kerry for president yesterday, as Kerry and Sen. John Edwards campaigned among constituencies that could prove crucial tomorrow in the state’s first Democratic presidential primary since 1988.

The candidates made separate visits to African American churches in the Richmond area, where they appealed for the support of traditionally Democratic black voters. Edwards then traveled to Tennessee, which also holds a primary tomorrow. Kerry, a decorated military veteran, drove on to a rally in Chesapeake, a stronghold of Virginia’s large military community.

Edwards, who is from North Carolina, is looking to Virginia and Tennessee to turn the race for the party’s nomination into a one-on-one battle with Kerry, while the Massachusetts senator, coming off a sweep of the caucuses in Michigan, Washington and Maine this weekend, seeks his first victories in the South.

Wesley Clark has also been making the rounds in Virginia, as has Al Sharpton. Howard Dean was not in Virginia at all, instead focusing on Wisconsin, his “must-win” primary.

Dean Loses AFSCME Endorsement

CNN reports that Dean lost the backing of a major labor union Saturday when the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees withdrew its endorsement.

AFSCME endorsed Dean in November, citing his record as Vermont governor, his position on the issues and the strength of his campaign. Union leader Gerald McEntee told Dean in a meeting Saturday in Burlington, Vermont, that his union was withdrawing its support.

Cross-posted from California Yankee.

Dean's Real Problem

Nobody likes him. In a poll of the Wisconsin electorate (a must win state) Dean’s favorability rating was only 18% while Kerry’s was 42%. Favorability is always a tricky poll, but a 24 point spread demands a negative interpretation. FYI: Bush’s rating is 54% in the same poll.

(Source: Univ. of Wisconsin Poll — Download pdf here … see page 4 for favorability data)

Dean doesn't answer calls from latin american voter

From the wireless election connection

Rigo Lozano, 23, is changing his support from Dean to Kerry. Lozano says he is affiliated with the League of United Latin American Citizens. He says he has been trying to reach Dean for the last 60 days to give him the league’s endorsement —he even travelled to Columbia to reach Dean, but “again no avail.”

AP: Dean Campaign Fires More Than a Dozen Staffers

Bloomberg News is reporting that AP indicates that the Dean campaign has laid off headquarters and field staffers. Also, reports indicate that Dean’s campaign war chest has withered to about $8.5 million

Dean Labor Endorsements in Question

AP is reporting through CNN that Howard Dean’s labor backers are concerned about his slipping in the polls. Dean is expected to meet with some of his labor backers this week.

Dean, who doesn’t expect to win any of Tuesday’s contests, will explain his strategy for staying in the race during meetings later this week with his three labor backers: the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Service Employees International Union and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

“I expect frank, honest discussion” about Dean’s troubled campaign, “and determining the best course of action going forward,” said Sean McGarvey, political director of the painters union. Whether that means shifting or pulling back resources remains to be seen, he said.

Meanwhile, other unions are exploring a political future with John Kerry and John Edwards. Some presidents of unions that endorsed Gephardt are meeting with Edwards in Columbia, South Carolina, on Tuesday, and with Kerry in Boston on Thursday.

“It’s too early to tell what will come out of the meetings,” said Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell.

Armed Liberal: Lessons from the Dean Bubble

Lots of people are talking about the collapse of the Dean campaign (and a collapse it certainly has been, and while the race to the nomination isn’t nearly done, there’s no other word for what happened to him), and I wanted to toss in my $0.02 by suggesting a few things to consider.

First, people have talked about the ‘echo chamber’ effect of the online tools the campaign used; I think it’s not so much the fault of the tools as a misinterpretation of reality on the part of those who used them.

Here’s the model:

Read The Rest…

Dean Spent $6.5M on Staff, Consultants

That’s a lot of maple syrup. Here’s the Yahoo! / AP story:

Presidential hopeful Howard Dean lived up to his campaign slogan “people-powered Howard” last year, making campaign staff and consultants one of his biggest expenses as he spent all but about $8.5 million of the record $41 million he raised.

Dean spent more than $6.5 million on staff salaries and related expenses, and more than $2 million on consultants. Ads were another big cost, accounting for at least $7 million, and he spent at least $4.5 million on direct mail, campaign finance reports showed Saturday.

Dean campaign "jumped the shark"

Political pundits on Fox Live this morning were sounding the death knell for the Dean campaign after replacing Joe Trippi last night. One reporter mentioned a comment on the Dean Weblog that the campaign had “jumped the shark.” Two internet references in one story.

The pundit spin on the Dean campaign continues to drive reality, which dovetails nicely with this post by Jay Rosen of NYU.

There is something almost nauseating about this cycle, when journalists can both predict the next turn in it and go on to excute that turn.

Dean Speech Simulblog

As it happens:

• Keeps jacket on, holds mike in hand.

• Opens with: “We really are going to win this nomination, aren’t we!”

• Says they have “regained” the momentum.

• “Stand with us, to the very end, which is January [believe he said 5th], 2005.”

• “We can regain the moral leadership that this country had held since the end of World War I to the start of the Iraq invasion … and we will.”

• “This time we can have a president who really is a uniter, not a divider, and we will.”

• “The biggest loss that we’ve had in this country since George Bush became president is our loss of community,” … our sense that “we are all in this together.”

• “The president played the race card, and that alone entitles him to a one-way bus ticket back to Crawford, Texas.”

FOX cuts before the speech is complete …

Dean predicts comeback, takes swipe at media

So say CNN:

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said Monday that he is making a comeback in New Hampshire, and predicted he would close the gap with Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts before the Democratic primary Tuesday.

“I think we can. It’s very close,” he said in an interview on CNN’s “Wolf Blitzer Reports.” “We’ve been surging in the last few days …

… After taking a drubbing for his growling performance after coming in third in the Iowa caucuses, Dean took a swipe at the news media.

“I never worry about the news media being fair. The news media does what the news media does. They’re an entertainment businesses at least as much as the news media,” he said.

“I think you report the news, you create the news and that’s what you guys do. And that’s fine.”

Challenged by Blitzer that the media did not create his performance in Des Moines, Dean said, “But you chose to play it 673 times in one week. That’s your privilege.”

Dean Alleges Dirty Attacks in Iowa (And Blames Iowa)

And he’s blaming Iowa as much as his opposition. Here’s the take at ABC News, which reports:

Howard Dean said Saturday he was surprised by the “under the table” campaigning he faced during the Iowa caucus and said the state needs to prevent such negative attacks if it wants to keep the nation’s leadoff presidential vote.

Dean said his rivals “had their folks really beating up on the people who went in, trying to get them to change their minds in caucus.”

“I think Iowa is going to have to change the way it conducts its caucuses if it wants to continue to be first,” he told reporters in an interview on his campaign bus in New Hampshire.

It's Never A Good Sign ...

… when you’re pandered to by the Washington Post … especially when it sounds like this: Dear Dean Team: Tips on Defusing Your H-Bomb.

Word to avoid: Warts. An ugly word. “I am not a perfect person, believe me. I have all kinds of warts.” Too much information! Witches have warts. Kissing frogs gets you warts. There’s genital warts — don’t want to go there. Presidents do not, should not, have warts. As your candidate the doctor knows, warts are viral and incurable. You just have to wait for them to go away. We don’t have time to wait for his warts to go away. He has to quit talking about them.

And the issues are …. where?

Headline Of The Week

From the Hartford Courant: ‘Going Postal’ Is Out; ‘Going Dean’ Is In!

Courtesy ED.

Humor Post: "Hardcore Dean"

I debated about putting this on Op-Ed, but I think it’s in the spirit of good fun. So if you haven’t had the email already, enjoy this mp3 of Hardcore Dean.

Personally, I think it makes him sound cool.

Arguing with Iowa: Edwards a big winner

Everyone will post thoughts about Iowa. Here are mine:

Howard Dean looked like a pro wrestler on WWE Raw during his acceptance speech. Doesn't sound like a president, and makes for lots of fresh video for Republicans. Here's the audio if you can stomach it, courtesy of Blogs for Bush. BTW, this schtick is the big thing on "Fox and Friends" this morning. Probably will play big on all the conservative talk radio today as well. I expect an SNL skit next week.

John Kerry talks about some new band he's listening to: George Bush and the Special Interests. And I agree with Instapundit, what's up with universal healthcare in his victory speech?

John Edwards had to be the biggest surprise of the evening. His biggest drawback is that he sounds like a cross between Jimmy Carter and Billy Graham. But he's got a couple of things going for him: he looks young (so did JFK), and he's preaching a "positive" message compared to The Howinator Dean and John "F'ing" Kerry. While there's no predicting his finish in New Hampshire, South Carolina is just around the corner, and he's an N.C. boy. This is a campaign to watch.

I have to wonder what Gephardt was thinking by putting all his bets on Iowa, of all places. He'd gotten some good endorsements in S.C., for instance, so why Iowa?

C-SPAN was another big winner. It was hilarious watching the Kucinish Kid and the "now the voting's over, let's break out the wine and cheese" lady. Also the ponytail guy with the cell phone trying to call in poll numbers. Now there are some strong visuals.

And nothing beats seeing Morton Kondracke in a safety orange touk freezing his butt off for FOX news.

What happens now that Lieberman and Clark are back in the mix? Good question. It will be interesting to watch from the sidelines.

Dean Wins!!!

This may come as a surprise, but Howard Dean has already won a primary - the non binding DC primary.

The Washington City Paper has a detailed look at how city leaders buckled in the face of being denied delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

The January 13 primary was supposed to be a binding election that highlighted the voting rights issues in DC. Instead it turned into the kind of joke that is all too common in DC politics. Remember, as Chris Rock said of DC, "You elected a crack-head?" It is worth noting that Al Sharpton finished a strong second.

Once Again ... Dean Can Blame Saddam

I wasn't dreaming: William Schneider is AGAIN on CNN TV, talking to Larry King, saying that the wind began going out of Dean's sails in Iowa a month ago with the capture of Saddam Hussein ...

A Good Question

CNN talking head asks about Dean: "Can you take that internet support and turn it into grass roots support ... that's very much in question."

Visit Blog For America and to get the take from the horse's mouth ...

Dean's Growing Trouble

According to Zogby's three day NH tracking poll Dean has lost fully 10 percentage points in little more than a week (down from 39% to 29%). Clark on the other hand has gained 10 (from 14% to 24%). Clark is now on the cusp of a statistical tie with Dean and with the Iowa outcome in question, Dean has real trouble. His surge to "front-runner" status may have done him in, for now he is expected to win. All Kerry has to do in Iowa is make a good showing. Dean has to win.

If Dean underperforms, he could very well lose, not only Iowa, but also New Hampshire. This would mean near death for the campaign. After all, the mantra of Dean's opposition is that "he can't win". Nothing like a couple of loses (regardless of the margin) to prove that point. Dean could easily have avoided this fate by "Forgeting Iowa" as I advised him to do in November. There is an on going discussion about the importance of the Iowa caucuses. They don't reflect how the nomination will turn out. It's not even a real vote, its an activist vote. But Dean, the "front-runner" has given it meaning by staying in the race. The only reason we care about the Iowa caucuses is because Dean is there and Dean's inability to recognize that could cost him the nomination.

A Precaucus Pilgrimage to Plains, Ga., for Dean

All things old are new again! Via ED / NYT:

Former President Jimmy Carter plans to appear on Sunday with Howard Dean in his hometown, Plains, Ga., providing a precious photo opportunity for Dr. Dean on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, which propelled Mr. Carter's own presidential bid nearly 30 years ago.

Dean is Back on the Offensive

Emboldened b the recent accusation from Paul O'Neill, Dean is once again reminding the public ... especially Iowa that he was the first to stand up against George W. Bush. From CNN:

"Remember who stood up to George Bush first," Dean said.

"It wasn't anybody from the ... city of Washington, D.C.," he said, referring to fellow candidates Sen. John Edwards, Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Dick Gephardt.

At a stop Monday in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Dean pressed his attacks, saying he was going on the offensive against his Democratic rivals. "I'm tired of being the pin cushion here." (CNN Election Express line dispatch)

"I think this race is about someone who is willing to stand up to George Bush all the time, not just six weeks before the Iowa caucuses," Dean said. "I ask Iowans again to support me in this caucus because I'll stand up for what's right in Washington."

Dean assures Iowans of his faith in caucuses

From ED / The Register:

Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean declared his faith in the Iowa caucuses and used his endorsement Friday by Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin to stem the fallout from the ill-timed release of Dean's past criticism of the caucuses.

It's Dean Against His Party

From ED / Dallas Morning News:

President Bush and the Republicans aren't the only ones to blame for Iraq and tax cuts for the rich, according to Howard Dean. His fellow Democrats are complicit, says the front-runner for his party's presidential nomination, and he intends to put a stop to it.

Dean gets boost at crucial time

From ED / The Globe:

Howard Dean reveled yesterday in the endorsement of a top Iowa Democrat, a needed boost for a presidential campaign that finds itself reacting to news and no longer setting the political agenda as the voting in Iowa and New Hampshire creeps closer.

How Important is Iowa Anyway?

Entrenched in an intense Iowa Caucus battle with Dick Gephardt, it is now being reported that Howard Dean called the caucuses a "waste of time" in 2000. Will the bad press hurt him?

Full Story

On Gun Control, Dean Aims for the Center

From ED / the Washington Post:

It was a brisk winter evening outside the Elks Lodge here on Dec. 2, 1998, but inside, Gregory Costa was on the hot seat. Angry members of Vermont's two largest gun rights groups had a pointed question for the National Rifle Association's state representative: Why did he go against the wishes of many of them and endorse Howard Dean for governor?

Unlikely scenarios: How Dean could lose primaries

From ED / CSM:

Consider this: Howard Dean wins the Iowa caucuses - but by a bare margin. In a surprise twist, John Kerry comes in a strong second, trumping Richard Gephardt.

Is Dean Dem's Albatross or Savior?

From ED / MSNBC:

Is Howard Dean the Democratic Party's albatross or its savior? That depends on who you ask. Having improbably emerged as the leading contender for the presidential nomination, Dean has been attacked by his fellow Dems for his lack of political experience, his policy positions and his electability. So harsh has the anti-Dean rhetoric been, the former Vermont governor recently quipped "I keep picking buck shot out of my rear end all the time." And that's from his own party.

Tide of Second Thoughts Rises Among Democrats

Courtesy e-democracy, this from the NYT:

Only a few weeks ago, Jenny Briggs, an Iowa State University graduate, was all set to enthusiastically support Howard Dean in the caucuses. But now, with the vote 11 days away, Ms. Briggs said she is having second thoughts as she watches Dr. Dean stumble through his difficult days of the presidential contest.

Dean Backtracking on Taxes

There are some rumors of a mutiny among Dean's economic advisors as to the former governor's declared intent to repeal all of the Bush tax-cuts. A Boston Globe story yesterday "quoted a Dean campaign official as saying that there was 'unanimous' agreement among Dean's economic team that Dean should support a middle-class tax cut to offset the pain of his call for repealing the Bush tax cuts." Under the guise of "tax reform" some think Dean is going to cut taxes for the middle class, which would contradict his own preaching since day one. The Dean people deny this but say that the "reform" plan is still under construction and will not be announced until after primary voting begins. Could Dean be setting himself up for a run to the center in the fall (or even earlier)?

(Full Story from the Boston Globe)

Bill Bradley Joining Gore in Dean Camp

That's the report from the NY Times. Check the Dean Blog RSS feed over in the right-hand column for the Dean spin.

Thank Carville

John Fund argues that changes in the primary system helped ensure a Dean nomination:

A year ago Democratic leaders were convinced a key to winning the White House was to minimize internal bickering and settle early on a nominee. That candidate could then speak for a united party against President Bush. The party has gotten its wish--a jammed early primary schedule virtually guarantees the Democratic candidate will be known by early March--but party leaders now seem to be having buyer's remorse. The nominee will be either the mercurial and error-prone Howard Dean or someone who may have a hard time exciting fanatic Dean supporters.

James Carville, the razor-tongued Democratic strategist, was among many party leaders who were certain of a cure for the Democrats' blues: "We've really got to get a presidential nominee," he said in February. "And the quicker the better." Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe listened to this siren song and helped engineer a change in the party's 20-year-old rule that no state other than Iowa and New Hampshire could vote for delegates before March.

Iowa and New Hampshire promptly moved their voting dates to Jan. 19 and Jan. 27, respectively. That meant holiday-distracted voters would have only a few weeks to pay attention to the actual race once the New Year's bubbly wore off. That meant that for all of 2003, liberal party activists were in the driver's seat when it came to deciding who would raise the most money and be anointed the front-runner in media coverage. That turned out to be Mr. Dean, who tapped into activist rage over the Bush administration's war in Iraq and lingering anger over the disputed Florida recount in 2000.

But while "Bush loathing" is almost universal among Democratic partisans, it resonates with only about 20% of the electorate. Many of the people who don't approve of Mr. Bush's handling of his job are turned off by bitter attacks against him.

***

Democrats find themselves in this fix--either nominating an unelectable candidate or alienating his core supporters--in large part because they endorsed a quick rush to judgment through an early and hurried primary schedule.
There's no way to be sure that a more leisurely and conventional primary process would have produced a different or more thoughtful result. But it's safe to say that those who thought a lightning-fast selection of a Democratic nominee would leave their party better positioned against President Bush are having to relearn the law of unintended consequences. One has to ask, who's the real political blunderer: Mr. Dean, who has brilliantly used the party's new rules to his advantage, or the party leaders who made it all possible?

I think the Democrats would be better off with a Clark or a Gephardt, as they'd be more appealing to moderates, but Dean will at least energize the base. While I find it hard to see how Dean (or any other nominee, frankly) wins absent a huge setback for Bush, Carville's instinct strikes me as correct. The longer the primaries last, with Democrats bashing one another and providing fodder for Republican ads, the worse off the eventual nominee will be. Indeed, the brutal fight between Bush and McCain in 2000 compared to Gore's easy defeat over Bradley was almost certainly a factor in Bush's difficulty the first time around.

Cross-post from OTB

Bush Bracing For Matchup With Dean

Via ABC News 7, D.C.:

President Bush (website - news - bio) 's re-election team is bracing for a general election campaign against Democrat Howard Dean.

While Republican advisers welcome the matchup, they are not as cocky about the prospects as they once were ...

... "I don't think there's anybody who wins in a landslide," said GOP strategist Charles Black.

"Dean has proven himself to be a pretty darn effective campaigner, so I don't want to take anything away from him," Black said.

"I think Dean can consolidate the Democratic base, and that gets him up to 46 percent.

Dean Received Warnings About Nuclear Plant

This Knoxville News Sentinel / AP story suggests candidate Dean was soft on nuclear plant safety while Governor of Vermont. Read it here, and here's a taste:

Presidential hopeful Howard Dean, who accuses President Bush of being weak on homeland security, was warned repeatedly as Vermont governor about security lapses at his state's nuclear power plant and was told that the state was ill-prepared for a disaster at its most attractive terrorist target.

The warnings, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press, began in 1991 when a group of students was brought into a secure area of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant without proper screening. On at least two occasions, a gun or mock terrorists passed undetected into the plant during security tests.

During Dean's final year in office in 2002, an audit concluded that despite a decade of repeated warnings of poor safety at Vermont Yankee, Dean's administration was poorly prepared for a nuclear disaster ...

... Environmental groups sent Dean repeated letters about the plant's security and safety. During a 1998 federal security test, mock terrorists sneaked a fake gun past security and six times scaled, undetected, the plant's security perimeter fence.

The 1998 test was alarming because seven years earlier, protesters had managed to breach the same security by scaling the fence or rafting down an adjacent river. The 2001 security test again penetrated Vermont Yankee's security.

Dean held closed energy task force

Published on Monday, December 29, 2003, in The Washington Times:

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Howard Dean peddles hate for cash

At "Howard's Hatefest"...

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Classy.

D.C. Democrat calls Howard Dean supporter "poor white trash"

"White people don't understand our issues."

Is this racism?

If yes, is racism in this instance morally or legally wrong?

If yes to any of the above, isn't this the official pos