Why didn't Dean shake up his campaign before IA? [View All]

[fujiyama]

Why the hell did he wait until after IA AND NH? It makes no sense.

The tracking polls were pretty clear as the Iowa caucuses were approaching. Kerry was starting to gain a lot of traction. Dean should have realized something was wrong when Kerry was tied with Gephardt. That should have worried him. Actually, I would say it was visible SEVERAL WEEKS before, right when Kerry was showing a strong third in Iowa. Instead it was clear, he was way too occupied with Gephardt and they began their idiotic tit for tat ad war.

What is obvious is that Dean became overconfident. He had several HUGE endorsements. It looked like he had it wrapped up. For God's sake, he had AL GORE's endorsement, who for many democrats, is the president in exile.

His poor showing in IA, coupled with a poor speech afterward (I understand what he was trying to do that night and I don't blame him, but for God's sake...), along with the media bombardment (which definetely exagerrated how bad the speech was), really had him switched spots with Kerry almost overnight.

I really feel bad for those who worked for his campaign, that supported it, and contributed to it. These people truly embody grass roots democracy. They are the future of the party and have shown what "people power" really means.