Would Dean have done better?
Back when Dean was Da Man, one of the things that kept me going was the thought him and W squaring off in a debate. So, having seen Kerry last night, do I think Dean would have done better?
I actually think not. If Dean were debating W, I would expect more jabs. Kerry has the rhythm of a howitzer. But it worked for him. I think Kerry gained more votes for himself than Dean would have. I think Dean would have done well, but Kerry is more presidential, i.e., he talks slower and is taller. Yes, here in America we’re focused on the essentials.
Of course, W wouldn’t have had the same flip-flop charge to repeat ad nauseum (which I thought Kerry answered definitively only in the very last line of the debate: Hussein was a threat, but the question is how you respond to that threat). Karl Rove would certainly have come up with another theme with even more devastating results. Maybe it’d be that the ship of state needs a calm and steady hand, not an angry nut job. Plus the Republicans would have (rightfully) pressured Dean to unseal his gubernatorial records, and then would have spent 3 months finding and distorting everything they could.
On the other hand, I still believe that Dean’s campaign strategy was better than Kerry’s: Instead of running for the center in a fight over the handful of undecideds, run as a real alternative and hope to energize the I Don’t Vote party. On the third hand, Dean would have provided so many opportunities for the Republicans to trash him. By now, we’d probably have heard $80M worth of ads claiming that Dr. Judy Steinberg, his wife, had once prescribed cough syrup with alcohol in it to a 12 year old. With their politics of unerring irony, the Republicans would claim that Dr. Steinberg believes drinking is good for minors.
I am still deeply disappointed by the demise of the Dean campaign, but more because of the character of the campaign than because of the candidate. And I believe that someday — not in this election even if Kerry wins (please please please please) — we will take our country back. Or at least what’s left of it.
Categories: Uncategorized dw
I sympathize with your sentiments.
But if activism – especially, a lot of *failures* in activism – has taught me anything, it’s that such work is goddamn HARD.
But I don’t think Dean campaign was super-special in terms of character. Yes, they *used* *the* *Internet*. OK. But so what? Previous campaigns *used* *direct* *mail*, or *used* *the* *telephone*, and heaven on earth was not the result.
Seth, I’m reluctant to reply because I used to put it better and no longer remember how to. But I’ve been reading Trippi’s book and finding that it expresses well what I found special about the Dean campaign. It’s also a good “read,” as they say. I’m planning on blogging about it when I’ve finished it, but I’m 75% of the way through and can give it a hearty recommendation.
Perhaps you mean this :-)
http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/mtarchive/002682.html