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 position of the national Democratic Party - i.e., they support "affirmative action" (which inevitably results in preferential treatment based on race)?

Note: the new committee member causing the controversy appears to be a Howard Dean supporter. Is this evidence that African-Americans are less likely to support Howard Dean?

Gore, Dean Plotted Endorsement in Secret

From Newsday:

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More links for this story are available at nikita demosthenes.

Dean's Campaign Book Due

Dean's campaign book is due out in December. I know many of you are axious to get your hands on it so in the meantime you can go read Chris Suellentrop's brief summary at Slate.

Excerpt:

Chapter 2: Howard Dean, Farmer. Devoted to Dean's summer jobs as a teenager. Dean writes two sentences about working as a sailing-camp counselor but an entire page about his work on a cattle ranch in Florida. There he earned "agricultural minimum wage," cleared land, dusted crops, and in a yearning-macho voice worthy of Apocalypse Now's Col. Kilgore, he remembers "feeling the cool mist of the herbicide on my bare chest as the plane went over."

Handicapping the Dem Field

PoliBlog has the latest Toast-O-Meter with this week's ranking of the Democrati field. Find out who's Toast and who's Wonder Bread.

Clark Working on SC Veterans

This report from CNN details Clark's South Carolina efforts. After pulling out of Iowa it seems that Clark is focusing his attention on the state he stands the best chance at winning. Moreover, South Carolina comes right on the heals of the New Hampshire primary, merely a week later. Considering Dean's sounthern problem, Clark stands a good chance even if Dean wins big in New Hampshire. Just like the republican primary of 2000, SC could play a major role in stopping the dark horse.

Dean's Supporters Get Him Out of a Jam

Late this last week Howard Dean announced that his supporters would decide whether or not he should refuse federal matching funs. As I discussed here, one of the motives behind the decision was Dean's inability to make the decision himself for political reasons. He would have been painted eight shades of hypocrite. Well, his people delivered ... and pretty close to unanimously. 85% for refusing matching funds, 15% against. So now the guiltfree Dean can keep his cash machine going all the way to November. As political calculations go, this one was pretty good.

Source: Dean for America

Flirting with Southern Disaster?

Gosh, I hate to keep talking about Dean but he seems to be the only one doing anything interesting at the moment.

Following on the heels of his confederate flag comments, Dean has apparently decided to make the southern vote just a little harder to win, telling a Tallahasee audience (not true southerners of course) that southerners need to stop voting on "race, guns, God and gays."

On a lighter note, I was right again. Dean also said Tuesday that Bob Graham is on his "short list" for VP.

Update: More from Dodd and Chris Muir.

Source: Tallahassee Democrat via Instapundit

Dean's Campaign Quandry

Alex Konetzki of Chicago Report posted this morning that he had recieved a mass mail from the Dean Campaign asking him to vote on whether should accept federal matching funds that would cap his campaign cash at $45 million. The natural question then was why would Dean put such a decision in the hands of his supporters? Of course Dean's public explanation is that "This is a campaign of the people, by the people and for the people." But there's a little more to it.

Dean has a record demanding that politicians accept matching funds and the cap that comes with them. To now deny matching funds would create fodder for a political feeding frenzy amid the Democratic contenders. So Dean conveniently gives himself an out by letting his "people" decide. This is a pretty good strategy especially since he can probably count on "the people" coming through for him.

To Dean's credit he addresses the apparent hypocrisy:

I have always been committed to public financing. But the federal matching funds law, though it was meant to provide an incentive for ordinary Americans to participate in the funding of our elections, is doing the opposite of what it intended. It could end up punishing a movement that has raised more from ordinary Americans than any campaign in history, while rewarding the campaign that has blatantly abused both the spirit and intent of campaign finance, selling off piece after piece of our country.

Other Sources: Newsmax

Dean Defends "Racist" Comment

I wrote last week that there is plenty of time in Primary 2004 for Dean to falter, such that Clark could still easily win the nomination. Well, I am not really accustomed to being right, but as my step-father used to say, "even a blind man can hit the broad side of a barn once in a while."

Today Dean is being questioned about a statement that was not quite so PC. The former Vermont Governor said he wants to be the candidate "for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks." Of course Dean is trying to put a positive spin on this misstep, and doing quite well, comparing himself to FDR. "What Franklin Roosevelt did was to get the Southern white working class to vote with the Southern African-American working class..."

Dean most likely isn't a racist in the least. But a couple of sound bytes like this will give ammunition to Clark et. al and make the nomination a little less than certain.

(My brief editorial addition here)

Source: DesMoines Register

Tricky Dick Dean

Mud is slinging in the corn and caucus state. A Dean staffer is alleging that he was pushed and called a "faggot" by a Gephardt staffer. Gephardt's campaign is calling the whole thing a distortion and a "dirty trick", a buzz word they obviously hope will stick. Read the story at the DesMoines Register.

Dean Sweeps Iowa

From CNN:

When Democrat Howard Dean walks into Cresco High School in Iowa's rural Howard County Wednesday night, he will have reached a political milestone -- campaign stops in each of the state's 99 counties.

Dean Softens Tax Stance

Dean is doing a little back-tracking of his own. Dean has made himself an Democratic icon with his "repeal all Bush tax-cuts" mantra. Now, according to TNR and AP Dean is suggesting the repeal of 'some' Bush tax cuts. Why the sudden change. I would suggest that it is a combination of a couple of things. First, his inability to attain front-runner status even with his fund raising and media success is worrisome. Lieberman's success is proof that a contingency of moderates is not impressed with Dean so far. Second, the entrance of Wesley Clark into the campaign adds pressure on Dean to be "elect-able". What will be interesting is how diehard Dean-heads will respond to Dean’s overtures to the middle.

Dean-Clark in 2004?

Gen. Clark Reportedly Is Asked to Join Dean

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has asked retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark to join his campaign, if the former NATO commander does not jump into the race himself next week, and the two men discussed the vice presidency at a weekend meeting in California, sources familiar with the discussions said.

This is a very interesting development, should it come to past. Firstly, as I have argued (here, here and here) Clark is not in the best position to enter the race and a Dean-Clark ticket would generate some buzz. Of course, it also is a risk, as teaming-up this early would make for a larger target for critics.

Also, USA Today had a story on Clark's potential candidacy that is linked to from here.

Dems' Favorite Songs

Fox News has a list of the Democratic candidates' favorite songs. The list is quite telling I think:

Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun-- "You Gotta Be," Des'ree.

Al Sharpton-- "Talking Loud, Saying Nothing," James Brown. He called it "James Brown's song about the Republican Party."

Sen. John Edwards-- "Small Town," John Mellencamp.

Sen. John Kerry -- "No Surrender," Bruce Springsteen.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean -- "Jaspora," Wyclef Jean.

Sen. Joe Lieberman --"Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow," Fleetwood Mac; "My Way," Frank Sinatra.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich -- "Imagine," John Lennon.

Rep. Dick Gephardt -- "Born in the USA," Bruce Springsteen.

Sen. Bob Graham -- "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes," Jimmy Buffett.

Copycat Tit for Tat

There is an article at the DeMoines Register about Dean and Kerry's quibbling over who said what first. Dean claims that Kerry is stealing his foreign policy by calling for the involvement of the UN and Arabic speaking troops, a position Dean held in April. According to Kerry that position is implicit in statements he made way back in October of 2002.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any more elementary, Dean is also claiming that Kerry stole a line from one of his speeches. "He has a line that I used in my announcement speech that he uses often, that the flag doesn't belong to the Republican Party, it belongs to all Americans ... He's welcome to take whatever he wants out of my speeches."

Welcome to the big leagues Mr. Dean.

Read a bit of commentary here.

Dean Dables in Right Wing Conspiracies

From the Chicago Tribune:

Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean said Saturday that he holds President Bush personally responsible for engineering the drive to remove California Gov. Gray Davis from office, saying he believes the effort is another example of what Dean called the Republican Party's attempt to hijack democracy in America.

"The right wing of the Republican Party is deliberately undermining the Democratic underpinnings of this country," said Dean, the former Vermont governor who is the first presidential candidate to directly enter the fray of the California recall debate. "I believe they do not care what Americans think and they do not accept the legitimacy of our elections."

You can read my commentary here or on the TCP Op-Ed Page.

Howard, Dick, John, and Joe Pull Ahead

According to the most recent poll, one would think some presidential hopefuls should be dropping out soon. The poll’s margin of error is five points, so statistically Dean, Gephardt, and Kerry could be all tied. Lieberman struggles to remain with the leaders and the others are drawing insignificant support.

The laggards must realize they have no chance to win, so they are sticking around for other reasons. They may be in it for the press, or they may have other motives. Graham is probably sticking around just to increase his odds of becoming VP.

Dean Leads Big in New Hampshire

From the Primary Monitor:

WASHINGTON - Howard Dean has grabbed a commanding 21-point lead over rival John Kerry in the latest New Hampshire poll, in which voters said they prefer a take-no-prisoners Democrat, even if that candidate seemed unlikely to beat President Bush.
...
Dean, who trailed Kerry in polls earlier this year, led the Massachusetts senator 38 percent to 17 percent in the Zogby International poll conducted Saturday to Tuesday and released yesterday.

Dean Plays The Blues

Howard Dean hits a blues club in Iowa, riffing on harmonica and guitar ... read the sordid details at WaPo. But will he steal the Willie Nelson endorsement from Kucinich?

Cash Pouring In, Dean Backs Off Thrift

Newsday is reporting that Dean's camp has backed out of its pledge to accept public campaign funding and to adhere to the thrift's associated spending limits. The change in tune follows recent fundraising successes. Newsday also notes:

Just five months ago, Dean committed to accepting taxpayer money and vowed to attack any Democrat who didn't.

Dean's Rural Strategy Creates a Major Player

This Atlanta Journal Constitution article offers an interesting analysis of Dean's focus on smaller rural population centers, rather than larger urban communities--including his efforts to tie nearly every issue to the growth of rural areas.

Candidates Argue Taxes

The 2004 Democratic hopefuls spent Monday night discussing how much of Bush's tax cuts should be repealed. Kerry, Kucinich, Mosley-Braun and Lieberman all agreed to repeal only those cuts effecting the rich, while Howard Dean lined up with Dick Gephardt and Al Sharpton to advocate reversing the Bush cuts across the board.

"I think it's very important that Democrats not promise more than we can deliver," Dean said. "We can deliver health care for every American, or we can have the tax cuts."

Source: NH Primary Monitor

Candidates Argue Taxes

The 2004 Democratic hopefuls spent Monday night discussing how much of Bush's tax cuts should be repealed. Kerry, Kucinich, Mosley-Braun and Lieberman all agreed to repeal only those cuts effecting the rich, while Howard Dean lined up with Dick Gephardt and Al Sharpton to advocate reversing the Bush cuts across the board.

"I think it's very important that Democrats not promise more than we can deliver," Dean said. "We can deliver health care for every American, or we can have the tax cuts."

Source: NH Primary Monitor

The Internet & American Politics

A pair of posts up on Winds of Change.NET today:

• Trent Telenko notes that Dick Morris, former politcal consultant to Presidents turned columnist and Fox News Channel talking head, has a very interesting column in the New York Post. What does the use of the Internet by the Dean campaign mean for the future of politcal campaigning in America? Is the power of TV declining? What is the role of money?

• Armed Liberal, meanwhile, steps into an ongoing discussion on this topic by Doc Searls and American Digest in "Blogging != Politics. He senses a shift of some kind, but is more cautious about the real impact of blogging. For him it's "a dojo - a training and practice ground - in which I hope to develop my own political thinking so I can take it out and use it in the real world." As usual, there are lots of good comments too.

Watch Howard Dean's Texas TV Ad

Dean takes it to the President's home state.

Centrist Democrats Reserved Toward Dean

Dean's gained momentum, but can he win the Democratic center? This Yahoo / AP article questions that prospect. Witness Al From, head of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council:

"Dean has certainly created a lot of excitement and has hooked on to what is the hot button issue," ... "His anti-war stance has helped him an awful lot. The enthusiasm is real. But in the long run, the Democratic Party will not elect a president who has not crossed a security threshold."

Dean's For Real, But Can He Win?

That's the question posed this morning by my hometown Philadelphia Inquirer. Read the article here; it offers a decent Dean position summary. Here's a taste:

It's tough to pinpoint when Dean caught fire as a presidential candidate, but it may have been the February day in Washington when he served up red meat to a ballroom of Democrats who were sick of defeat and hungry for inspiration.

Wearing the smirk of a kid with a firecracker, he began by bellowing: "What I want to know is why so many Democrats in Washington aren't standing up against Bush's unilateral war against Iraq... . I'm Howard Dean, and I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic party!"

The place exploded, like the Vet after a Jim Thome homer. Here was a candidate willing to frontally attack not only the President, but timid souls in his own party. The cheering, foot-stomping activists also knew perfectly well that "the Democratic wing" was a code phrase for liberalism.

And that's why so many Dean detractors are spooked.

Dean: Bush Owes U.S. Explanation on Iraq

A Dog Bites Man story from Yahoo and the AP. Nontheless, it's a bold attack:

"If we went there under false pretenses, then American soldiers died because we weren't given the right information," Dean, a staunch opponent of the U.S.-led conflict, told reporters at a news conference.

More Deansburyblogging

Today, from Garry Trudeau:

(Ed: Of course, this is further evidence that we've all jumped the shark.)

Retired Ohio Senator Endorses Dean

Metzenbaum has endorsed Dean; read more in this Yahoo / AP article.

Blogging For President

I have to admit, I am intrigued by the decision of Governor Howard Dean to use a weblog to further his campaign for the Presidency, and I applaud him for doing so. I can think of no better way to bring blogging fully into the mainstream, and I hope that we will see more candidates blogging about their campaigns.

I am also quite intrigued by the decision Governor Dean made to guest-blog over at Larry Lessig's weblog. I have no idea what the relationship was/is between Dean and Lessig (the latter was one of my professors for a class I took as a graduate student at the University of Chicago), or how Dean decided to blog at Lessig's site, but I think that this will also further the blogging phenomenon.

I wish, however, that Dean would spend his time writing serious posts, and not posts like this one, which looks for all the world like the kind of thing that a staffer would write for a standard stump speech. I understand the need for candidates to have a stump speech and stick with it, but the attractive nature of blogs are that they get us past the kind of standard pablum that we read and hear from Big Media outlets. Unfortunately, Dean appears determined to treat blogging as yet another forum where we are treated to more of the same in terms of serious thought. There is no originality to his writing, nothing that makes a person take note and say "Aha! There is a candidate with a mind of his own!" What was the purpose for this exercise again?

My thoughts are summarized by the comments of "Factotum," who said the following in the comment section to the post I linked to above:

Increasingly, Dr. Dean, you are sounding like the nicely packaged candidate - “listening” - and repeating your “message” over and over again here and elsewhere. Is this what we are to come to expect from your campaign?

What made your campaign exciting and interesting was that you took a stand on many issues, not just the war - did intellectual property JUST appear on your desk? Haven’t you had at least several months to do more than “listen?” What is your position on labor, not just disjointed remarks - but a policy position people can point to? Give us something as concrete on THESE issues as you do on health insurance policy.

Blogging may seem cool in the press - but blog without substance and I begin to yawn. I feel like you are falling right back into that famililar old political models - even far before you might normally feel the pull (after the primaries.) Ugghh.

Indeed. I'm not going to vote for a candidate based on the blog that candidate might keep. But if a candidate is going to blog, would it be too much to ask that the message be as original and vibrant as the medium? Originality, originality. My kingdom for originality.

(This post can also be found on my blog.)

Dean On Lessig

Howard Dean is guest blogging at Lessig's Blog; you may read the first post here. Link via Glenn Reynolds.

GOP Almost Completely Absent From NCLR

More on the Latino vote: News 8 Austin offers this report of the annual convention for the National Council of La Raza, the largest Hispanic organization in the nation. Summary: the Republican's were MIA (with the exception of Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-TX), and Dean lit em' up.

In a fiery speech, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean hit right to the heart of the crowd.

"Immigrants built this country. We ought to respect them and stop racial profiling them and keeping them out of our universities and making it harder for them to get by," Dean said.

Dean, Kerry Showdown Looms

Now the Boston Globe has dean in the NH finals:

With the nation's leadoff primary a litttle more than six months away, Kerry and Dean have emerged as the leading choices among likely Democratic voters in New Hampshire, with the two New Englanders consistently outpolling the seven other candidates for the party's 2004 presidential nomination.

Kerry has led by as many as 12 percentage points, but Dean's recent success in outraising the field, with $7.5 million in the quarter that ended June 30, the Internet and grass-roots effort that propelled it, and the media attention it has attracted, have raised the stakes for Kerry. A near-favorite son candidate in New Hampshire, Kerry could be severely wounded by a loss -- or merely a close victory -- in the Jan. 27 primary, especially if Dean surpasses him eight days earlier in the kickoff Iowa caucuses.

Dean's Surge Poses Challenges For Him, Others

The Stamford Advocate (CT) has picked up this AP story about the complications that arise from Dean's challenge ... some of the same we've been reading, but also some new insights.

Raising $7.5 million for his Internet-fueled campaign was the easy part. Now Democrat Howard Dean says he must urgently expand his presidential bid, broaden his message and soften the rough edges of his personality.

Lying In Wait For Dean

Newsweek has an analysis here of how the other Dems may - or may not - be accounting for the Dean campaign.

You'd think that Howard Dean's rivals would start attacking him-”big time”-now that his Internet-based fund-raising prowess has elevated him to what amounts to front-runner status in the Democratic presidential race. But each leading contender has his own strategic reason for laying off, at least until the fall, if not beyond - a scenario that could backfire by allowing Dean a free ride until it's too late to stop him.

Dean Aims to Expand Campaign Operations

From Yahoo / AP:

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is looking to expand his campaign operations into several early primary states, an opportunity created by his successful fund raising.

Joe Trippi, campaign manager for Dean, said Tuesday that the campaign may establish a more formal presence in Arizona, New Mexico, Washington and possibly Oklahoma as early as Aug. 1 or Sept. 1. Initial plans had called for the Dean campaign to open offices in those states no earlier than October.

A Rehtorical Analysis Of Dean's Stump Speech

Pundits have made much of Dean's "firey" presentation style. To put some meat on the rhetorical bones, Park University Professor and former journalist Andrew Cline offers detailed rehtorical analyses of candidate speeches at his Presidential Campaign Rehtoric site. Find an analysis of Dean's June 23 Presidential Announcement Speech here. An example:

Our President and too many in Washington are giving away our future so that we pass to our children not a flickering flame of freedom but the chain of insurmountable debt. [Alliteration of the letter "f" should be avoided for positive references. It is much more effective for negative references in which the "f-word" is implied.]

No parent would do this and America must not do this. [Americans understand government in terms of the conceptual metaphors "a nation is a family" and "a government is head of the family." Liberals and conservatives have very different moral visions of family and, thus, very different moral visions of government. Re: Moral Politics by George Lakoff, U. of Chicago Press, ISBN# 0-226-46771-6.] ...

... American audiences usually react well to big-picture speeches that invoke cherished myths and cultural values. Dean skillfully uses both. This speech does not have the grandeur of the Kennedy inaugural address (from which Dean quotes), but it tugs just as surely at the emotions. This prose is remarkably free of obvious (and grand) tropes and schemes found in abundance in the Kennedy inaugural. Instead, Dean chooses to deliver the power of myth and cultural values in plain-talk to create the ethos and pathos of this speech.

How Dean Is Winning The Web

CNN finally caught on to the "Howard Dean Uses The Web" story. They must have been reading Doonesbury ... every day last week. Read their take; there is this:

Then there is blogforamerica.com (blog is short for weblog), a candid daily journal updated by staffers from wherever Dean happens to be. Communications director Kate O'Connor was reluctant to file to the blog at first, but her entry writing — sprinkled with exclamation points ("we are driving in a hybrid vehicle!!")--has become a huge hit in the Dean community. "It's amazing," gushes O'Connor. "I have a following."

Dean: More Flashback To McCain Than E-Candidate

Is Howard Dean the new John McCain? From the Christian Science Monitor:

Early on it was presumed that Dean was a second-tier candidate, possible vice presidential timber. Now the political scribes are taking a second look. Suddenly, it seems, Howard Dean is the hot topic of much of the presidential coverage for the three or four of you who are actually reading about an election still 17 months out. But much of that coverage is missing the point about Dean, labeling him an Internet phenomenon, an experiment in "e-politics." ...

... In fact, when you look closely, Dean's campaign may not represent a new approach to "e-politics" as much as it represents a flashback to the 2000 campaign of Arizona Sen. John McCain. Mr. McCain and his rebellious straight-talk express went further than most imagined, pushing then-Gov. George W. Bush hard, and beating him in key states.

If that's Dean's map, it may be a smart choice. Insurgent candidacies are tolerated more readily in the Democratic Party than the GOP. And judging from last Wednesday, he's already got a small machine of invested volunteers in the wings.

Dean Lacks Money In The Bank

From Yahoo / AP:

Despite a recent fund-raising surge, Howard Dean lags behind his top Democratic presidential rivals in a key category: Money in the bank.

The former Vermont governor cemented his standing as a top-tier candidate by raising $7.5 million between April and June, first among the nine Democratic candidates for the quarter. That gave him a total of $10.1 million raised since the beginning of the year.

Dean is the only candidate airing TV ads — $300,000 worth in Iowa — and he invested thousands of dollars to build an Internet-driven grass-roots operation. Those expenses and others, including a growing campaign staff in Burlington, Vt., leave Dean with more than $6 million cash on hand and fourth overall, aides said Monday.

Dean: U.S. Becoming Argentina

From the Concord Monitor (NH):

Carol Knieriem sipped on a glass of lemonade as former Vermont governor Howard Dean told a crowd packed inside a Deerfield house that President Bush is "foolish" on foreign policy and that America is quickly becoming the next Argentina ...

... "I say Argentina and people laugh," Dean said. "When you have a Republican president who promises tax cuts and has middle class people pay for them, sooner or later we do get to be like Argentina. It isn't really that funny."

Bush, Dean said, is not a conservative, but a radical.

Borrow and spend, Dean said, is "exactly what happened in Argentina and the same kind of politics: Promise them everything."

Sources Say Dean Wants Wants McAuliffe out at DNC

[Drudge]

Presidential contender Howard Dean has confided to associates how he desires a fresh course for the Democratic National Committee, including a dramatic change in its leadership, specifically chairman Terry McAuliffe, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Sources close to the early-Democratic frontrunner reveal how Dean has bitterly complained about McAuliffe and the lackluster job he has done as chairmain and architect of the disastrous off-year elections.

Full story...

Deansbury

Garry Trudeau devoted much of last week's Doonesbury to Dean and the 2004 campaign. Catch up and read 'em all here.

Internet Helps Make Dean a Contender

CNN:

WASHINGTON, July 4 -- Howard Dean's prominence among the nine Democrats running for president is largely attributable to his campaign's early embrace of the Internet for organizing supporters and raising money.

Dr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, has generated more money and attention online than any other candidate, through direct appeals and a growing base of supporters who are hooking up on a Web site called Meetup.com, which enables people with like interests to connect and meet.

The efforts have vaulted Dr. Dean into the top tier of candidates trying to build momentum for the first primaries, more than six months away.

But with the other leading Democrats turning to the Internet to seek contributions and some, including Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, gaining favor on Meetup.com, it is not certain that Dr. Dean's Internet advantage will continue.

WaPo On Dean

The Post today publishes a Dean profile titled Short-Fused Populist, Breathing Fire at Bush. A snippet:

Although he first gained notice for opposing the war in Iraq, these days Dean likes to hammer the "radical right-wing wacko" Bush administration on nearly every issue. President Bush is all wrong, he says: wrong on the economy, wrong on the environment, wrong on health care and affirmative action and peace and justice for all.

Dean talks about this every chance he gets, gets worked up about it nearly as often and sweeps along his audience -- largely the party faithful -- every time.

Dean's East Bay Supporters Rally To Get Iowa Voters On Board

A non-national perspective on the Dean "Meetup" wave, courtesy the Oakland Tribune:

Former Vermont governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign is using high technology and old-fashioned elbow grease to parlay his already-potent Bay Area support into strength in a key early primary state.

Hundreds of volunteers, mustered through Meetup.com, gathered Wednesday night in Berkeley, Walnut Creek, San Francisco and elsewhere to write personal letters to Iowa Democrats, whose names were furnished by the Dean campaign.

Internet Helps Make Candidate A Contender

The "Dean prospers via the web" theme is getting more press than the hunt for Saddam Hussein. An interesting chain: press discovers blogs, candidate discovers blogs, press discovers candidate who discovers blogs. This chunk of "Wow, it works!" comes from the New York Times.

Howard Dean's prominence among the nine Democrats running for president is largely attributable to his campaign's early embrace of the Internet for organizing supporters and raising money.

Dr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, has generated more money and attention online than any other candidate, through direct appeals and a growing base of supporters who are hooking up on a Web site called Meetup.com, which enables people with like interests to connect and meet.

Update: Here's a link to the post of this story at Dean's Blog For America.

Presidential Hopefuls Parade in N.H.

AP:

AMHERST, N.H. - While people across the country celebrated Fourth of July with barbecues, baseball games and parades, residents of the first-in-the-nation primary state sized up possible presidents.

Four presidential hopefuls made their pitch to voters while marching with kids on bikes, Revolutionary War re-enactors, scouts, unicyclists and bands. New Hampshire's primary is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2004.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean had the most supporters — and noisemakers — while marching in Amherst and then Merrimack, both within 15 miles of the Massachusetts state line. Kerry has ranked first in New Hampshire's latest polls and Dean has come in second.

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and Florida Sen. Bob Graham had fewer supporters present, but both shook as many hands and kissed as many babies as the regional candidates.

Blog For America

Howard Dean has a weblog: Blog For America, and it's powered by Moveable Type.

Dean's Online Campaign Dubbed Noteworthy

From PCWorld:

No national political candidate would dare think of running a campaign today without using the Internet, but none of them is apparently using the Web as effectively right now as Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean of Vermont.

On Monday, Dean's campaign raised an amazing $802,083 online in one day, pushing his fund raising above $7 million for the quarter that began April 1 and putting him in the top tier of candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The amount of money his campaign brought in online, and its use of the Web to draw in supporters, keep them involved and organize them locally, is winning plaudits from analysts and others who say his is the first candidacy to put the Internet to full use.

Dean Heats Up Race

From Newsday:

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has tapped a lucrative vein of discontent in the American electorate in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, but now faces the challenge of converting grassroots energy into the kind of disciplined political force that can deliver victories in next year's primaries and caucuses.

Almost overnight, Dean has redrawn the contours of the Democratic race, vaulting from darkhorse candidate to top tier on the strength of an extraordinary, Internet-based fund-raising operation and the mobilization of party activists fed up with President George W. Bush's policies and, it appears, the lack of a vigorous Democratic opposition in Washington.

Dean's Surge In Fund-Raising Forces Rivals To Reassess Him

From Yahoo! news:

Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor making his first bid for national office, raised substantially more money this quarter than all his more established opponents in the Democratic presidential contest, according to figures released today.

The result forced Dr. Dean's rivals to reconsider how to deal with an opponent they had until now viewed as little more than an irritant.

Demo Dean Makes Hay On Campaign Trail

From the Billings Gazette / Knight Ridder:

Ever since he bellowed from a Washington stage that he represents "the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has had activists swooning and opponents cringing.

In his bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, the smallish man (5 feet 8) from the smallish state (population 600,000) is polling big in the early-contest states of Iowa and New Hampshire. He is rousing audiences with roaring speeches. He is organizing grass-roots support online. And he is infuriating other Democratic candidates -especially his fellow New Englander, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts - with snippy asides about them.

As Dean officially launches his candidacy Monday in Burlington, Vt., he has vaulted unexpectedly into the top tier of Democratic contenders.

Candidate's Son Cited In Liquor Theft Attempt

From the Chicago Sun Times:

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean said Friday that his 17-year-old son and four other teenagers were cited in a burglary for attempting to steal liquor from a Vermont country club.

Dean, who canceled several campaign appearances, said his son, Paul, and teammates on the high school hockey team apparently were discovered early Friday morning at the Burlington Country Club by a police officer on routine patrol. Dean said it was his understanding that his son would be charged as an accessory.

''Children do stupid things and this is one of them,'' Dean said from a Minnesota airport where he was awaiting a flight to Vermont.

Misfires From The Hip Create Problems, Dean Discovers

From WaPo:

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has cultivated -- and developed -- an image of being a straight talker, someone who shoots from the proverbial hip without first running his thoughts by a focus group. But the former Vermont governor is finding that his outspokenness can get him in trouble.

Last week, Dean issued what was his third apology to a rival presidential candidate. After telling the Associated Press that he did not consider Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) a "top tier candidate," Dean recanted, telling the news service that he regretted the remark.