Quick, can anyone out the tell me what Howard Dean's message IS? I didn't think so. How can someone get almost 44% of the vote in an online primary, and yet be such an unknown quantity?
Until recently Dean was virtually unknown outside of New England. But he has been more successful than any Democratic candidate in improving the position from where he started a few months back. The former governor has proved himself to be a scintillating speaker. Tapping into liberal rage, he has given the party's activists the undiluted, uncut stuff in a way that brings them to their feet every time.
Speechifying is Dean's thing. Interviews and debates appear not to be....
One excerpt from Vermont: "You have the power to take our country back. You have the power to take the White House back in 2004! You have the power! You have the power! You have the power!"
The dueling images raise legitimate questions: Is Dean the Democrats' answer to Sen. John McCain, the straight-shooting media darling of the 2000 presidential campaign? Or is Dean just another flash in the pan who talks a good game but gets knocked out in the early rounds?
Still, on NBC's "Meet the Press" last Sunday, Dean blew a half-hour of free airtime, vacillating and parsing when he could have been reinforcing his growing stature to a national audience. The straight-shooter fumbled questions he should have nailed on such subjects as the death penalty, a balanced budget amendment, prescription drug plan, Social Security eligibility age, the war in Iraq and gay marriage. Similarly, Dean blew his chance to shine last month at the South Carolina cattle call, where the lasting images are of him squabbling with Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), smirking a lot and mouthing words of displeasure to the audience. "That's not true," he whispered after one broadside from Kerry.
So, is Howard Dean a good witch or a bad witch? Can anyone give me a good reason why someone as inconsistent in his message as Dean has a chance in Hell of defeating Shrub in 2004? I'm sure Dean is a wonderful person with many admirable qualities, but if he isn't electable, then why are Democrats frothing at the mouth over him? Of course, when the current alternative is Dennis Kucinich, I suppose you've got to celebrate what you've got.
Once (or if) Dean begins to enunciate his positions on specific issues, perhaps we'll have a better idea of who he is and what he stands for. Right now, all I can really say about him is that, on the stump, he is a white version of Al Sharpton. Is that really what we Democrats want to present to the electorate as an alternative to Shrub. Only if we want to have our collective ass handed to us at the polls.
