people on the street, even republicans, approach me to talk....

[Gato Moteado]

...whenever i wear my kucinich for president t-shirt. it's amazing. in grocery stores, home depot, restaurants and just walking down the street,every time i wear the shirt people come up and want to talk about DK. even repubs, many of whom say they like dennis. seeing as how dennis is the most liberal guy we have in the race, i find that amazing. and, all the feedback i've gotten has been totally positive.

i'm serious, try it out. get a DK t-shirt and walk around your town and i bet you'll get the same reactions i've been getting. it's really very cool.

[Bandit]

1. Special K

:kick:

[IrateCitizen]

2. Dennis is not a "liberal" -- he's an old-school "progressive/populist"...

Much in the same vein as the likes of Robert LaFolliette and William Jennings Bryan.

When people hear his policies, they don't see them as "liberal". They see many of them as just speaking common sense against abuses of power by the rich and powerful.

Dennis's main problem, as much as I love him, comes off in his SELLING of those policies and ideas. Where Paul Wellstone was able to sell progressive ideas through just the force of his personality, Dennis is not able to do the same. And it's sad, because there is so much that he has to say that such a wide swath of the population would be receptive to, if they were just able to HEAR it.

[Gato Moteado]

4. i think the reason most people aren't able to hear him....

...is because the corporate owned media paints him as a fringe-oid. if you've ever gone to see him speak in public, you know that he is nothing like the way he is portrayed in the media. he's not a ranter or a screamer, rather he's a rational but passionate human being.

despite this, he is still breaking through to people, including people that voted for bush in 2000. try the t-shirt trick and see for yourself. don't underestimate DK's ability to communicate to joe and jane sixpack....but also, don't underestimate the corporate media's ability to cloud the minds of joe and jane sixpack.

call him liberal. call him populist. call him progressive. call him what you like, but the fact is he is the most compassionate candidate and he makes the most sense.

[IrateCitizen]

5. Partially right...

Look, I've actively supported Dennis with several contributions. I believe in what he's trying to do -- to plant the seeds of true change. But this isn't an issue that can be only pinned on the media.

When I was watching the debate in which he made his "Hellooo!" comment to Dean regarding Pentagon spending, I cringed. Not because I disagreed with the point he was making, but because of the way it came off. I cringed because I realized that anybody watching this who doesn't know about DK is going to look at it and say, "What's up with THIS guy???"

Being a devoted reader of Noam Chomsky, I am quite aware of how the media manipulates the populace. But I also am not blind to ignore when someone, when given the chance to prove otherwise, can still slip and only contribute to the media's manipulation.

[Mairead]

6. His only problem seems to be certain media formats

Everyone who sees him says he comes across much differently in person, and there've actually been only a few times when he's come off poorly on the telly.

My sense is that he's a more thoughtful person than, say, Dean or Sharpton. Not aggressive in the same sense they are. He doesn't shoot off his mouth, and he's civil and expects the same from others. During his 20s and early 30s, as councilman and mayor, he was apparently openly confrontative, as Dean is today. From all the articles I've seen, he spent his time on the shelf thinking about everything that had happened, and that process 'mellowed' his style. Now he relies on reason to do what he once expected from aggression. Then he might have made Deans 'cockroaches' comment; now he wouldn't even consider it. Now he says things like 'businesses that would try to use their influence to try to capsize a government might find that they'd be dealing with someone who has broader experience in government than they might imagine.' Hints rather than threats.

[kimchi]

3. Working on a huge sign for the front lawn.

I saw the pumpkins with Kucinich spelled out and thought it was the cutest thing!