DEBORAH ORIN: NEW DEM DOUBTS HALT DEAN MOMENTUM

New York Post ^ | Thursday, January 1, 2004 | DEBORAH ORIN

[JohnHuang2]

January 1, 2004 -- Democrats start the new year with a sudden gut check as they decide if they really want to nominate Howard Dean - amid hints that Saddam Hussein's capture has triggered second thoughts about the angriest anti-war presidential wannabe.

[JohnHuang2]

Thursday, January 1, 2004

Quote of the Day by HaloStatue

[goldstategop]

The Democrats appear to want to be pure. But they also want to win. So they're torn and typically indecisive.

[FormerACLUmember]

Rove Pleads with DNC Boss to Protect Dean

Karl Rove, political advisor to President George Bush, today pleaded with Democrat National Committee (DNC) chairman Terry McAuliffe to protect Howard Dean from attacks by his Democrat presidential rivals.

"It's time for the DNC to rally around the presumptive nominee," said Mr. Rove. "Howard Dean is the only candidate who has garnered the support of the major labor unions and the famous itinerant professor Al Gore. Terry McAuliffe must prevent Dean's bitter rivals from scuttling his nomination. O, please, Terry...please, please." (Scrappleface)

[jocon307]

"Democrats must also decide if they feel comfortable running under the banner of a man who wants to abandon Bill Clinton's centrist stance, hike taxes on the middle class, insists capturing Saddam didn't make America safer, and hesitates to say Osama bin Laden is guilty of the 9/11 attacks."

I mean, that's everything, isn't it? At least Clinton endeavored to APPEAR concerned about ordinary people, Dean wants to raise their taxes. Why? To what end? The guy is just a lot of hot, noxious air. What's his plan for America? Raising taxes so the gov't gets more money, and after that, what?

I think the Beatles sang it best: I'm a LOOOOOOSER!

[onyx]

The democrats who vote in the primaries are always the radicals and hardcore. Their pet issues may differ --- anti-war, green peace, big nanny government, and this year Bush-haters --- but they'll all rally around the one cretin who spews the nastiest, and that's Howard Dean.

Now the fawning media are getting a bit worried about mean Dean's electability. HA! Too little, too late. Dean is on his rabid way to the nomination.

[Ichneumon]

The Democrats appear to want to be pure.

Pure crazy?

[expatpat]

Dean wants to raise their taxes. Why? To what end?

In the interests of accuracy, I believe that he wants to use the money to bring in universal health coverage. Whether the cost of that matches the extra income taxes, I don't know -- but suspect the cost is way higher.

[OESY]

[.cnI redruM]

I tend to think of another Beatles song in relation to Howard Dean.

"Let me tell you how it will be.
There's 1 for you, 19 for me..."

[kennedy]

I'm really torn. On the one hand, if Dean is the nominee he is our best chance for a McGovern style blow out. We might even pick up enough extra Senate seats to break the democrats' filibuster. On the other hand, if Dean were to actually get elected, then I have serious fears about our Nation's survival.

Lieberman has a much better chance of actually beating Bush if he is the nominee, since he will attract more than just the left wing fringe vote that Dean is relying on. But we could survive 4 years of a President Lieberman, since he is the least likely of the democrats to gut national defense.

[Mike Darancette]

As I have sail all along: At the end of the day Dean will not be the nominee.

[e_engineer]

LOL

Scrappleface is outrageously funny, I don't know how Scott does it day after day.

< /Shameless Scrappleface.com plug >

[The Raven]

I wondered last year - if the Dems picked Mickey Mouse - would he still take California and New York?

Well, they've actually picked Mickey Mouse and I guess we'll see. It may depend on who Donald Duck is (the VP).

[JohnHuang2]

Don't insult Mickey Mouse like that! Shame on you ;-)

[FormerACLUmember]

LOL back at ya!

[Nick Danger]

I think it's a mistake to underestimate "Doctor" Dean. The guy is fundamentally charismatic; that is why he excites the base while the other dwarves don't.

This guy is not stupid. He will pirouette toward the center the minute he thinks he has the nomination locked up. Most of those "independent" voters in the middle aren't even paying attention yet. When the media gets done re-painting Doctor Dean, those people will think that guy is the centrist former Governor of conservative Vermont.

The leftist media does not have the pull it once did. They will not be able to do to Dean what they did with Clinton in '92. But it will be a lot closer than we imagine today.

It still might be an electoral blow-out like Nixon v McGovern, but I'll bet plenty of states go for Bush by thinner margins than expected.

[wontbackdown]

Another Beatles song

He's a real nowhere man
Living in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans
For nobody.

Also, Back in the U.S.S.R.

[Monti Cello]

I think Lieberman is considered a joke by both parties.

The logical pick to me is Gephardt. He takes the radical edge off the national party image, if nothing else.

Off course he also is an idiot and would get trounced...I equate him roughly with Gore in terms of his phony persona and pandering approach.

But he would be a decent damage control candidate for the Dems. He is tight with labor, leftist, but from the heartland, certainly a doofus, but not as scary as Dean to Mom and Pop.

[lepton]

Off course he also is an idiot and would get trounced...I equate him roughly with Gore in terms of his phony persona and pandering approach.

Yeah, but he doesn't come off as quite the loon that Gore does to some. He's a Democrat, not a Clinton, or a Dean.