William Safire: The Dean Problem

[progressivestudent]

http://nytimes.com/2003/11/12/opinion/12SAFI.html

His entire analysis is just plain wrong, and is being used as nothing more than an attempt to attack the Clintons.

In order to save space, my nearly 2 page response can be found here: http://cynicology.ranters.net

[_Wayne_]

1. William Safire, linguistic snob, pseudo-intellectual pop grammarian

Take nothing this guy says seriously.

[Garage Queen]

2. Yeah, I saw that.

And the first thing that popped in to my head was: the people who are REALLY scared of Dean getting the nomination are the Repukes, as they know that he (as well as several a couple of the other fine candidates we have) will be able to put up a good fight come November '04.

But, Dean's the frontrunner so it's Dean they're going after. <snicker> Poooor widdle Repukes, finally getting a good, hard look at their political mortality.

[papau]

14. As William Pitt said

The worst problem is the Democratic Party, that loyal opposition which is all too quick to be embarrassed by revelations that they actually oppose the Bush administration.

[Faygo Kid]

3. Read this: Safire WANTS Dean, and Dems, to fail

How does this ass get a regular column in the NYT? In the column to which you refer, he states clearly (and smugly) that he wants all he predicts to come to pass. His column is just part of making that happen. If a centrist columnist said such a thing, he would be ridden out of town on a rail. Disgusting column: RNC talking points posing as one.

[progressivestudent]

4. In fairness

He's not supposed to be a centrist, Safire was hired by the Times to be the conservative loud-mouth.

[mistertrickster]

16. I was thinking the same thing . . . how do I get that gig . . .

Professional gasbag for big bucks. The man isn't even entertaining, let alone informative.

[wakfs]

5. I used to like to read Safire...

...years ago before he became senile and irrelevant.

Now's he's just a mad old coot, spewing nonsense.

[UpInArms]

12. the coiner of

"the nattering nabobs of negativity"?

[Atman]

6. When will these boobs understand...

"Of course, if the national economy had gone south, Hillary would have gone South with Clark on her ticket to take on an unemployment-ravaged Bush herself. But with the economy surging and Democrats robbed of their central issue, Hillary can wait till 2008."


It isn't the economy, stupid...it is the pResident.

He could send me a check for a million bucks tomorrow, and I'd rip it up, piss on the confetti, and toss it at his motorcade (from a safe distance, inside my "1st Amendment Zone" of course).

There is NOTHING Bush could do at this point to win any democrat I know.

Nothing.

How about you?

[DFLforever]

7. These are Repub talking points vis a vis Dean

I heard Safire trot part of them out last Friday on PBS's News Hour.

The key section being Safire says he wants Dean to be the nominee because he'll be the easist to defeat...all I will say is if that's their ideal Dem ticket, why are they telling us about it..you would think they'd be a bit craftier and more secretive.

[realFedUp]

8. "easier to defeat"

not if every Dem, Indie, Green4Dean and fed up
Republicans vote for him....

Bush Inc. is just one bark beetled tree
waiting to be removed.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

9. After Rove's done, I don't think many Repubs will be voting for Dean

Dean's liabilities on national defense will be too much for any conservative to bear.

[wabeewoman]

10. Ahh, you mean as opposed

to bush's. Hahahahaha. I love it when people knock any of the dems because its almost guaranteed that whatever their 'liabilities', bush is SOOOOO much worse. Of course, you are right but exactly how many of the conservatives are we expecting to vote democrat anyway?

[depakid]

11. I think Safire is begining to lose it

Maybe some form of vascular dementia. Seems to me he's not so sharp anymore and that his higher reasoning powers aren't altogether there.

[Merlin]

13. This is pure PROPAGANDA. Saffire knows exactly what he's doing.

This is the NeoBard's contribution to the ongoing effort of the right to stigmatize Dean--the one candidate they truly fear.

Funny that issues like healthcare are never mentioned. But healthcare will be a key issue in '04.

[mistertrickster]

15. God, this man is tiresome . . . he also doesn't know schist about

linguistics despite his pedantic and (on more than one occasion) simply wrong elucidation of basic grammar and usage points.

He claims that the Kennedy "left" have to STOP DEAN! with Kerry. The Clinton "moderates" have to STOP DEAN! with Clark.

Oh brother, ever heard of the "labored hypothesis?"

Then Safire admits he wants Dean to win the primaries just to watch the "McGovern debacle" happen all over again. As somebody old enough to remember and respect George McGovern, Howard Dean is a completely different type of candidate than McGovern. He was soft-spoken and thoughtful.

Dean is loud and in your face--that's why I like him. McGovern was running against a 2nd term president who was backing us OUT of Vietnam, not getting us into it. Dean isn't McGovern, but I'd say Bush is looking a lot like that other Texan . . . Johnson.

[Jack Rabbit]

17. What they say about Dean

It never fails to amaze me that the pundits say Dean can't win because he opposed the invasion of Iraq.

I beg your pardon. Why should opposing the invasion make Dean or anyone else unelectable? The invasion was predicated on lies that Dean did not buy. That is was predicated on lies os now beyond dispute. Dean said that such an effort would cost more money than the junta was claiming. He was right. Dean said that it would divert resources needed to fight any real war on terror. He was right.

If anything, Dean has shown good judgment and clear foresight in his stand against the Iraq invasion. Perhaps the mainstream pundits like Safire are jealous because they look like fools, just as do members of the junta. Dean, on the other hand, looks presidential.

[dusty64]

18. So NOW I know

where all this bullshit is coming from. The Clinton's want to lose in 2004, Clark is their puppet, the rethugs want Dean as the candidate, yeah right. Look at the source, I'm sure safire wants to do everything he can to insure a Democratic landslide. I would do the opposite of everything he advices, this article sounds desperate.