Kerry camp split on issue of Dean

The Boston Globe ^ | 8/2/03 | Glen Johnson

[Gothmog]

Howard Dean's strong fund-raising and recent rise in public opinion polls have created a divide within Senator John F. Kerry's presidential campaign, between aides who want to attack the former Vermont governor to stem the tide and others who believe his wave of support will crest on its own.

[Gothmog]

"The New York Post also quoted Jordan as saying of Dean, 'Ultimately, voters are going to decide a small-town physician from a small and atypical state is probably not qualified to lead this nation in a dangerous world.'"

Didn't the GOP say something similar about Clinton? And weren't we right?

[Cobra64]

Same thing with the peanut farmer - Jimmah Stupid Carter.

[Hugin]

Kerry has...successfully husbanded resources

Yes, in more ways than one.

[PMCarey]

This can't be an article about Kerry - there's no mention of him being a Vietnam vet.

[Once-Ler]

''What's happening is they are struggling with understanding what the Dean campaign means,'' she said. ''What does it mean to have grass-roots momentum? What does it mean to be mobilizing people across the country? And they just haven't figured out that it's real.''

"Grass-roots momentum" of Pat Buchanan helped elect President Clinton in 1992 and re-elect him in 1996. Dean my not be as far-out wacky and angry as Buchanan was/is but "grass-roots" does not often mean "long-lasting" or "deep" support. Sometime it just means early support.

Ultimately I think 'rat voter will wake up and choose a viable candidate but, I do hope Dean is as angry at his own party as Pat was/is. I hope he vindictively stays in the race for the long haul even when it is perfectly clear he can't win. Enemies like Dean are nice to find, they let me believe there is some justice in the world.