Howard Dean's Very Bad Night, Why his campaign flopped in Iowa.

SLATE ^ | 01/20/04 | Chris Suellentrop

[Pikamax]

Howard Dean's Very Bad Night Why his campaign flopped in Iowa. By Chris Suellentrop Posted Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004, at 12:02 AM PT

DES MOINES, Iowa—"Prove it or not," Howard Dean told his supporters at a rally Sunday in Davenport. "Now is the time to see if this works," to see if the unorthodox, Internet-fueled campaign assembled by Dean and his campaign manager, Joe Trippi, translates into votes. "Tomorrow, at 6:30 p.m., you can prove it or not." The answer Iowans gave him was a raspberry: Or not.

I attended a West Des Moines caucus Monday night with Dean's Iowa press secretary, Sarah Leonard, and her feeling about the race was that it would be close, so close perhaps that they wouldn't be able to call it that night. She felt it was a three-way race, between Dean, Kerry, and Gephardt. "Edwards, I just don't think you can build an organization in 48 hours," she said. But it wasn't close. Momentum beat organization, both Dean's digital one and Gephardt's analog one. (Leonard did say before the caucus, however, that the rumor that Dean had a hard count of 50,000 was preposterous. "If we had a hard count of 50,000, I'd probably be at the Val Air," she joked, referring to the ballroom site of Dean's caucus night party.)

[md2576]

Yeah, The News will soon start calling him Howard "Mean" !

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Slate's still in business ?

[NorCoGOP]

Four years ago, George W. Bush rebounded from a surprisingly large defeat in New Hampshire by co-opting his opponent's message and recasting himself as a "reformer with results." Dean might do the same. If he's got a tax cut in his back pocket, it's time to bring it out. And he needs to do a better job of introducing himself and his record to voters who haven't been paying attention to the campaign for six months or a year.

The early signs of that happening aren't auspicious. Rather than reaching out to the unconverted, Dean fired up his base of supporters at the Val Air. He grinned, ripped off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and flung an orange "Perfect Storm" hat into the crowd. Then he started waving an American flag. Walter Shapiro's metaphor of Dean as an "aging rock star reduced to reprising his greatest hits in smaller and smaller clubs" never felt more apt.

OMG!!! These two lines at the end of the article are telling - a hard-core tax-and-spend liberal mulling a "tax cut" for votes? Yeah right!

[dead]

George Davey, the precinct captain for the Dean campaign, said he was hoping for 25 to 50 Dean voters between the ages of 18 and 25, but only one showed up. "I think if we could blame [Dean's loss] on anyone, blame it on the 18- to 25-year-olds, because they were nonexistent," he said.

LOL! The MTV generation has a very limited attention span. Should have given them some ritalin when they doled out the marching orders!

---

The Final Four!

[EllaMinnow]

There were lots of new and first-time caucus participants, so many that the organizers ran out of forms to register them. But they weren't the new voters the Dean campaign wanted. George Davey, the precinct captain for the Dean campaign, said he was hoping for 25 to 50 Dean voters between the ages of 18 and 25, but only one showed up. "I think if we could blame [Dean's loss] on anyone, blame it on the 18- to 25-year-olds, because they were nonexistent," he said.

LoL.

[Wphile]

Iowa threw Dick Morris's argument about the Internet age into the toilet. He was a believer in Dean's ability to change voting and voting habits by virtue of the Internet. Clearly, Iowans didn't see it that way.

[1Old Pro]

He lost because he is a nut and there are only about 18% of the Dems who are the certifiable looney Left who want a nut as their candidate.

[md2576]

Slate's still in business ?

Kamikaze version: Take a drink every time a candidate mentions President Bush by name. (Note: This is not recommended if you have to work Friday.)

[dead]

Dick Morris' theories always have the shelf-life of milk at room temperature.

[md2576]

Wonder Why?
Generally, Iowans have been able to respond to technological developments. According to the state briefing report, 58 percent of Iowans have computers at home, and 43 percent of Iowans use the Internet at home. The FCC said 41.5 percent of homes nationwide had Internet access of some kind in August 2000. Nationally, 38.9 percent of households in rural areas had Internet access this year.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

CRAZY HOWIE

.

HIS POLICIES ARE...

INSANE!

[erasmus605]

ROTFLMAO

[Wphile]

Because the entire theory is flawed. The internet is a great tool for raising money and getting your message out. Frankly, I think all the campaigns are doing that. Just because Dean raised more money via the internet doesn't mean he's doing any better than anyone else. Actually, relying on the Internet for raising money is a probably a mistake. It's easy to give money over the Internet but that doesn't necessarily translate into activists or motivated voters. In fact, it may be just the opposite. "Sure, I'll give money over the Internet but that doesn't mean I'm going to a caucus. Too much work."

[md2576]

The internet is a great tool for raising money and getting your message out

I disagree because I am constantly on the internet and I would have to say that, besides FreeRepublic, most of my political news comes from my television being on while I'm on the computer working personally or going to a rally. Never have explored the internet to find info about my Democratic hopefuls. I would assume that most Americans are probably the same way.

[md2576]

Sorry, I meant to say I agree with what your saying but disagree with that flawed theory as well.

[evets]

Frank 'Miss Toni' Weaver applauds as Dean speaks out in favor of the legal right to gay and lesbian marriage

[md2576]

Now that's entertainment.

[trad_anglican]

Clearly, Iowans didn't see it that way.

Dean thought building an organization in Iowa meant importing volunteers from other states. Iowans think building an organization in Iowa means getting actual Iowans on board with you.

[HitmanLV]

Well, we know Dean's support is based in young, enthusiastic voters, right?

Well, I think he failed because the caucus was up against the season permiere of 'American Idol,' and we know how dedicated 'young, enthusiastic' voters are!

I say they decided to stay home and watch Idol.