Dissing Dean

[sfecap]

Dissing Dean

Editorial
The Nation 12/24/03


Petulance is seldom considered a prime presidential attribute. George W. Bush's smirk notwithstanding, Americans prefer adults as Presidents. That makes the poisonous attacks unleashed on Howard Dean by other contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination doubly noxious. These desperate Democrats are writing the script for Bush's future TV ads in unfounded assaults on Dean while providing ample evidence to Democratic voters that they are unfit to lead.

The current round of vitriol was sparked by Dean's statement that the capture of Saddam Hussein makes America no safer. The only thing notable about that statement is its common sense. A top US commander in Iraq had just declared that Saddam's capture would make no difference one way or another. All sensate observers agree that the war on Iraq has been a distraction from combating terrorism--draining intelligence, resources and political attention. To reinforce the point, the Department of Homeland Security, concerned about chatter implying a new terror assault, has just placed America on high alert for the holidays. Joe Lieberman, John Kerry and Dick Gephardt are scoring Dean for stating the obvious.

Lieberman has issued the most personal assaults. Like the Democratic Leadership Council that he once chaired, Lieberman seems energized only when he is assailing other Democrats. No doubt Lieberman, leading in the polls at the beginning of the campaign, is bitter at his fall. It isn't surprising that Democrats, including Al Gore, have abandoned Lieberman, the champion of pre-emptive war, trade deficits, stock options and Medicare privatization. Dean has soared precisely by daring to challenge Bush (and thus Lieberman) on the central choices facing America. Surely Lieberman might have chosen a more graceful exit than hurling false charges at his most successful opponent.

Sadly, John Kerry too has become shriller as his stock has declined. Dean displaced Kerry as the liberal standard-bearer by speaking clearly against the war on Iraq. Kerry argued cogently against that war until he voted to give Bush a blank check to wage it. He then spent months struggling to explain his incoherence to voters and seemed depleted from the effort. It is preposterous for Kerry now to indict Dean for being all over the place on Iraq. His jeremiads might better be issued to his mirror.

These politicians are acting like children throwing their marbles at the one who beat them. In this, they display their bitterness not simply at Dean but at the growing legions of Democratic voters who support him. In Washington, the pros worry that these attacks can only help Bush if Dean gains the nomination. But the energy unleashed by the remarkable Dean campaign will continue to grow.
And no matter who gets the nomination, the real question of the election will be whether voters want to fire George Bush or not. Remember, the last insurgent Democrat to win, Bill Clinton, was introduced to most Americans as a man who cheated on his wife, claimed he didn't inhale, ducked the draft and wore boxers, not briefs. Clinton won because voters wanted to get rid of George the First. And like Clinton but unlike his petulant opponents, Dean will at least remind voters clearly of why getting rid of George the Second is equally necessary.

www.thenation.com

[liberalnurse]

1. I have this mental picture of

Lieberman throwing a tantrum (cartoon picture).....He's wearing a suit, face down on the floor, kicking his feet, pounding his fist onto the floor and screaming, "Dean, Dean, Dean".....

[jcgadfly]

2. And Kerry would be saying

"That's my line, Joe!"

[BootinUp]

3. The idea(s) that dubya and the gang

will need any help, or that we shouldn't put our candidate through the full test are both ludicrous. If he (Dean) cannot weather the storm now, then he never will next year.

The Nation is right that America prefers adults.

Clinton won for a few different reasons, the Nation oversimplifies and leaves out much. Bush the second will be much harder to unseat.

[picus9]

6. I steer clear of the whole popular vote argument

Because more people actually voted for Dubya than did Clinton in '92. It is probably true that Clinton would not have won if Perot hadn't run, however, he grew on the American people and won big in '96.
Bush may not have won the pop-vote in in '00 but I think he has grown on the people who actually get out there and vote. We'll see how things turn out with Dean. However, I agree that it will be difficult to unseat Bush.

[MODemocrat]

10. Why will King George II be harder to beat that George the first?

I realize that I'm not the most savvy person on this board, but there are some things that I just don't agree with. George II has been a much worse president that his Father. If people love being lied to about everything, all the time, then King George II will remain on his
throne.:eyes: :think: :crazy:

[lotteandollie]

11. Very different set of circumstances.

The war on terror continues, and people tend to support the President under those circumstances, especially if they feel he is effective.
The right is solidly united behind Bush 43. Perot received 18% of the vote in the 1992 election, those votes came pretty much from Bush 41's ledger. The economy is turning around and will probably be a non-issue in the elections, it could even be a positive for Bush 43.
Democrats are not united and many are likely to support Bush, especially as he seems to have moved more to the center, still right of center.

[ithacan]

4. just heard a piece on NPR, which has joined the propagandists

Juan Williams, who has proved himself to be a tool of the conservatives, reporting on Dean in a way that could have come out of the White House or the DLC; in fact the DLC is quoted as if it is the democratic party...

The report was very reminiscent of what happened to Gore, taking statements out of context, etc.

For those who think this means Dean should go away, the media and the Repubs would be doing this to anyone who the Dems nominate, even Lieberman.

It's important that this strategy is coming out early; let's see how Dean handles this kind of BS.

[demnan]

5. Juan Williams is the worst kind of media whore

masquerading as a thoughtful journalist.

[SheilaT]

8. I finally stopped listening

to Talk of the Nation when Juan Williams was the host, because I finally could not longer stand the way he never listened to the guests. It was as if he'd been given a little list of questions to ask and he'd ask them no matter what. Which occasionally led to some rather strange exchanges.

Talk of the Nation used to be one of the best things on NPR.

[picus9]

7. I think a lot of people in the media don't like Dean because...

They think he doesn't stand a chance against Bush. The rest of the candidates have run such crappy campaigns, though. I am a bit disillusioned I was a big Kerry supporter but he is making himself look like a jackass. The motorcycle stunt was pure pandering, so tacky.

[fjc]

9. Good article, and right on point.