"Dean's loss was not a loss for the left or the progressive movement;"

[DemBones DemBones]

it was a loss for Dean."

The Progressive

January 20, 2004
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dean's Glass Jaw

Matthew Rothschild

<snip>

"Dean lost in Iowa not because he was too far left, but because he was not agile in the debates, because he lacks experience in foreign policy, and because his personality grates."


"While never as progressive as the media made him out to be (he supported Clinton's assault on welfare, he is pro-capital punishment and pro-gun, and he catered to business in Vermont), Dean scored early with his courageous anti-war stance and with his roundhouses at Bush."


"Unfortunately for him, he could not counterpunch. He was not able to adequately answer questions about his own record. Why wasn't he unsealing his records as governor? Why did he say Medicare was a terrible program?"


"I watched at least a half dozen debates, and Dean didn't win a single one of them. After a while, I bet many Iowans wondered how he'd stand up against Bush in a debate. And Dean admitted he had a hole in his résumé when it came to foreign policy, and that was a killer confession."


"Then there's his personality. His arrogance and truculence seem out of proportion. His tired anti-Washington pitch (including calling Congresspeople cockroaches), his thin-skinned response to attacks, and his braggadocio rubbed people wrong in Iowa--and probably will everywhere else."

more. . .

http://www.progressive.org/webex04/wx012004.html

[greyl]

1. Kucinich's loss was not a loss for the left or a loss for his supporters

it...wait a minute - maybe it was? Or maybe it was just an indication of how opinions in Iowa are weighted?

(I think that article is pretty thin/shallow/uninsightful)

[DemBones DemBones]

5. Kucinich did better than expected. Dean needed to win BIG in Iowa

because he had been the frontrunner for months, and there had been massive hype saying he was unstoppable, his nomination was inevitable.

What you mean about opinions in Iowa being "weighted" is not clear to me. In caucuses with huge turnouts, Democrats voted and gave only 18% of their support to the man who'd been declared unstoppable, the man who raised a phenomenal amount of money and created a movement. The movement and the money could not get Iowans to vote for Dean.

Is it the article you dislike, or the facts of Iowa?

On edit: BTW, regular readers of The Progressive know that articles in the editor's feature "This Just In" (which is what this is) are typically brief opinion pieces like the Dean article.

Check the archive and you'll find a much lengthier piece attacking Clark, though, which you'll perhaps find "thick, deep, and very insightful," the eye of the beholder being what it is.

[J B]

2. "How dare you rebel against Washington politicians."

Well at least now we know that Iowans can't stand people who don't come from the Beltway...

[mistertrickster]

3. I'd like an example of the "arrogance" and "truculence" . . .

I keep hearing it from the pundocrisy but I never actually see it in the man.

How did the guy win five terms as Gov. if "the more people saw of him, the less they liked him?"

[DemBones DemBones]

4. Refusal to see a negative trait in someone you like does not

mean the trait doe not exist. I'm sure Bush supporters don't see him as arrogant and truculent, either, but he is, and so is Dean.

One example: his frequent comments about "picking buckshot out of his rear" are arrogant ("Look at me! I'm the front runner") and truculent ("These guys are picking on me! They're fighting back and that's not allowed.")

Dean supporters at DU have consistently refused to hear the legitimate criticisms of him that many of us have made. This has gone on for many months, with any questioning of Dean's fitness as a candidate being shouted down.

Ignoring fellow Dems and ignoring the "punditocracy" is why you were surprised by Iowa. Continuing to ignore and deny will lead to more surprises.

[freesqueeze]

6. Hope Deaniacs Stay Energized

If we nominate someone other that Dean, I hope those dedicated supporters of his will continue to work for the ousting of Mr. Bush.

I found it interesting that in Iowa only 40% of those that were against the invasion of Iraq voted for Dean and the two 'winners' both voted for the war and have not apologized. Obviously some voters are making a compromise in deference to electablity.

Let's not lose sight of our goal.

ABB in '04!

[blm]

7. Nail hit on head.

Comprehensive and insightful.