The Dean Dilemma (Why some Dems don't think Dean can beat Bush)

Newsweek ^ | 1/5/03 | Howard Fineman

[ppaul]

ALL THE RAGE: His blunt talk's propelled him to the top, but some Democrats worry that Dean's shoot-from-the-hip style and shifting views might doom him in November. The doctor's ills—and how his foes plan to exploit them.

Time for a second opinion? Dr. Dean's penchant for gaffes and tirades worries even his staunchest supporters

By Howard Fineman

NewsweekJan. 12 issue - The murmurs of doubt are faint, barely audible above the background hum of the Internet cosmos, but they are worth listening to at the moment, for the doubters don't seem to be "trolls"—provocateurs in digital disguise—and they express concerns about their favorite son, Dr. Howard Dean, in the bosom of his own blogosphere.

"Dammit, tell him to get his mouth under control!" says "WVMicko" on a forum conducted by Dean's official Web site. "He's been all over the map on a lot of things, and the way he shoots off his mouth is a big reason why." A poster to the site named "Lancaster" frets that his wife is put off by Dean's confrontational personality. "Her initial reaction to Dean? 'That guy scares me.' Now, I'm not a full-fledged Deanie, but I'm strongly leaning that way ... but she's still not convinced that Dean is the right guy for the job." A writer named "irmaly" also views Dean's personality as a vulnerability. "I am a strong Dean supporter," irmaly declares, "but I think the campaign is missing this most important point—the need to focus strongly on getting up over the perception of 'mean, angry Dean.' Dean is portrayed as a man who, rather than share a beer in a local hangout, will fight you for yours. I realize this isn't true, but Bush and Company knows perception is everything, and they have already had some success at seriously hurting Dean on this perception. I don't know how you get up over this, but you have to, or we will lose."

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[P]rovocateurs in digital disguise.....

LOL!More serious, Dean's foes say, is his penchant for adjusting his positions on issues.....

Hey, wait a minute!
Isn't Dean a democRAT?
Why is that okay for der Schickmeister but not okay for Dr. Draft-Dodger?!!

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[goldstategop]

Nikita Dean's gotten the Old Time Religion after deciding being a die hard secularist wasn't playing too well in the Bible Belt. Yep, he's THAT cynical and will say and do anything to win.

[Huck]

Fineman is such a sheep.

[Cicero]

Newsweak is one of the clintons' domesticated outlets, and Howard Fineman writes whatever they tell him to. So, this is another Hitlery hit piece. I've got news for Howard. The liberal press can do five hatchet jobs a day on Dean and his base will only dig in even harder. Nothing but a small plane crash can clear dean out of hillary's way now.

[ppaul]

Nothing but a small plane crash can clear dean out of hillary's way now.

Don't give der Hildebeast any ideas.
-- Vince Foster

[angkor]

I liked that his handler - a former Clinton flak whose name I've forgotten - was last week making excuses for his temper ("He doesn't suffer fools") and this week said "He needs some rest."

Heck of a job, deconstructing Mr. Angry from one week to the next.

[Cicero]

Don't give der Hildebeast any ideas.
-- Vince Foster

She already has them
-- Ron Brown

[upchuck]

Nothing but a small plane crash can clear dean out of hillary's way now.

How 'bout Ashley announcing she's his VP?

I imagine that would change the dynamic just slightly :)

Remember that Dean wants to toss the Xlintons & Mc Awful out of the DNC. He's on the record about this. But I don't think his "machine" can defeat their "machine." Especially since they've got Arkancide on their side :)

[CyberAnt]

This is nothing new .. this is really SOP for the democrats. That's why they got so upset when Bush started doing those things he promised he would do in his campaign.

The dems promise .. and NEVER deliver!!

[CyberAnt]

Hmmmm? Suicide seemed to work well!

I know there were over 80 deaths connected to the Clintons during their 8 years in office .. but I don't know how many of those were suicides (or should I have said Arkancide).

[jagrmeister]

>Dr. Dean's penchant for gaffes and tirades worries even his staunchest supporters Freepers, Howard Dean debates himself- don't miss it! I encourage all of you to visit a humorous FR thread entitled "Dean vs. Dean" which features a debate between Dean and himself (using actual Dean quotes). You can view it at: Dean vs. Dean