Dean Looming Larger on Bush*s Horizon

[kskiska]

GOP Advisers Who Had Relished Democrat's Candidacy Are Now More Wary

Advisers to President Bush once relished a race against Howard Dean, but they say they have become increasingly wary of him, worried that his unconventional and intense appeal poses a threat they had once underestimated.

Various officials from throughout Bush's political organization said they view the former Vermont governor's nomination as all but inevitable -- even though no votes will be cast until next month, and some well-connected Democrats still hope to derail Dean because they fear he is running too far to the left to be viable in next fall's general election.

The endorsement of Dean by former vice president Al Gore on Monday cemented the growing concern among GOP officials that Dean's lightning progress from also-ran to front-runner means that he could spawn unpredictable hazards for Bush. Although one administration official said Dean is still widely viewed in the White House as "a gift from God," a more cautious view is gaining currency.

"He has the biggest potential to go down in flames, but he also has a certain wild-card potential," said former Minnesota Republican representative Vin Weber.

Among the factors that most worry them, Bush officials said, is Dean's ability to attract young voters and others who have not voted before. Some of the officials said they also are given pause by Dean's similarities to their boss: a polarizing figure who has a temper and deep appeal to his core supporters.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54392-2003Dec10.html

[Khephra]

1. I love this quote

"Robert T. Bennett, chairman of the Ohio GOP, was one of several veteran party officials who said they are having flashbacks to 1992, when they all assured themselves that little-known Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton was no match for Bush's father. "Everybody told me that Clinton came from a third-rate state with a budget smaller than Wal-Mart's and that he didn't need to worry about him," Bennett said. "I think we still call him Mr. President.""

[Eloriel]

2. Heh heh

:-)

[tinnypriv]

8. And hopefully Bush will be called 'Prisoner GW 114" soon enough

Points for anybody to note the irony :D

[PartyPooper]

3. His Royal Hubris shouldn't even be running in the first place!

Instead, Al Gore should be running for his second term... NOT bunnypants AKA the coward-in-chief!

Al Gore won the last election fair and square but was cheated (along with the rest of America) by SCOTUS and the other evil-doers like Jeb and Katherine Harris.

I say f*** Karl Rove and all of the rest of the GOP! Let them have some angst over Howard Dean! We have suffered long enough!

Amerika, help IS on the way!

:kick:

[jonoboy]

6. I hope so !!

[Corgigal]

4. They cant believe the funds

Dean puts up a request on the blog and emails supporters and they get their target goal. This is the only thing rich republicans respect. This is why they watch Dean.

[wabeewoman]

5. Wary, eh?

"Conversations with officials throughout Bush's organization make it clear that they plan to paint the nominee, whoever it is, as a liberal, tax-raising peacenik who wants to bash Bush instead of offering positive solutions. With Dean, though, many Bush officials believe their job might be easier."

Their mistake is assuming Howard Dean is going to take it lying down. Its not like bush hasn't provided the most ammunition to run against in decades. If Dean puts up a fight, and he will, bush will lose.

[GalleryGod]

13. Lying Down? No! Easy to Paint,though? Resonance? Sorry,YUP!

This will be a Paint by Numbers Campaign. They'll have $100m leftover.:shrug:

[loyalsister]

14. Yep

The thing that worries them is that someone can provoke Bush. Someone who is audacious enough to set him off will expose a side of him they have been working very hard to hide.
Dean's ability\willingness to get under the skin of his fellow party members is what worries the Republicans.
"Dean Dean Dean" may have been petty. Imagine what the comment from Bush might have been. He may not be able to hide his explosive temper in a similar situation.

[cliss]

7. That's exactly why I think we've got the right man.

"Dean's ability to attract young voters..."

I've posted on another thread that I'm getting ready to shift into high gear and start recruiting some of those young people. I read a while back that one of our DU:ers single-handedly got 150 people to sign up, and I was SO impressed.

I'm actually thinking about paying them $5 to vote (I don't care who they vote for, as long as they vote democratic).

I believe the Democrats are going to be the young people's party of choice.

[SquireJons]

9. Yeeeeeha!

The Republicans are starting to detect something in the air, and it smells like... DEFEAT!

It's all up to how Dean runs once he wins the nomination. He must add an optimistic side and hammer Bush.

OK folks, you heard it here first: if Bush starts to fall seriously behind, he better not take any rides in a convertible in Dallas. If the RNC thinks shrub can't win, they will make a martyr out of him to counter the Kennedy Myth and stick it to us with Cheney on a sympathy vote. Cheney will be the anti-Great Society (the Not-So Great Society?) President. Then we'll have W's (and the Gipper’s) face on our money and everything they can think of will be named after both of them.

Sounds crazy? Perhaps.

[xxqqqzme]

10. doesn't sound crazy 2 me

Your scenario is what I have feared all along. It is THE one thing that will get an election cancelled.

[Voltaire99]

11. Who should Dean fear most? Bush, or his fellow primary candidates?

After all, Bush will be depending on the other Dems to soften Dean up, first.

And with the enGoresement smarting wildly, expect the slimy Lieberman to do some serious damage before exiting stage right.

[GalleryGod]

12. Yeah,Sure! Mike Allen's to Be Trusted!? Straw Man Prop-Up Alert!

This is clearly the "cross over dribble" of WashPost moves so far.
Karen & Karl are scared of Nuttin',Honey:argh:

[Polemonium]

15. Poor slobs haven't even begun to see the potential eom.

[quaker bill]

16. It is the money and the volunteers

Dean has more people working for him here (in Florida) than Al Gore had in 2000, and it's a year in advance. It is also at least tenable that Dean could raise enough money to compete 1:1 on funds. This equates to a huge 'get out the vote' effort on election day.

It was Gore's get out the vote effort that made Florida close. 'Likely voter' polls had Bush* up by at least 5 percent. It is clear that if not for the 'voting irregularities' Bush* lost Florida huge (probably by 50,000+ votes). Bush did not expect Florida to go even late into the evening election night before the result was clear. He was expecting a substantial victory.

The Democratic base is reasonably angry with Bush* and will likely show up in large numbers regardless of the nominee. If for no other reason just to try to straighten out the injustice of 2000, Democrats will come out to vote in large numbers. Then there is the dynamic of new voters Dean seems to have a knack for recruiting. These things blow up the 'likely voter' mechanism of predicting results.

If Dean can recruit new voters and has the cash to get them out, it will mess with their plans and make the result highly unpredictable. Past experience suggests that the bush*/rove team should not like this one bit. This is the wild card factor that will have them worried if Dean gets the nomination.