There is a post at Greenwald's Salon blog that needs reading.

[madfloridian]

I don't ever post or come to this forum, but maybe some of you would appreciate reading it.

Rendering public opinion irrelevant

The polls he gives and the way he presents it needs wider coverage, but can't be posted in other forums.

Just a short sample, not all about Dean...about the way no one can speak about that which is approved by around 70% of the public. That's astounding.

"Dean's Israel troubles began at a Sept. 3 campaign event in Santa Fe, N.M. When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said that day, "It's not our place to take sides." Then, on Sept. 9, he told the Washington Post that America should be "evenhanded" in its approach to the region. That's all Dean said. It's a view held by more than 70% of Americans. It ought to be completely uncontroversial -- if anything, it ought to be that view that is deemed a political piety. But what happened? This, according to an excellent account of that "controversy" in Salon by Michelle Goldberg:

"The media and the Democratic establishment reacted as if Dean had called Yasser Arafat a man of peace. On Sept. 10, 34 Democratic members of Congress, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, wrote Dean an open letter. "American foreign policy has been -- and must continue to be -- based on unequivocal support for Israel's right to exist and to be free from terror . . ." they wrote. "It is unacceptable for the U.S. to be 'evenhanded' on these fundamental issues . . . This is not a time to be sending mixed messages; on the contrary, in these difficult times we must reaffirm our unyielding commitment to Israel's survival and raise our voices against all forms of terrorism and incitement."

The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that Dean had badly damaged his own campaign. "Sources in the Jewish community say that Dean has wrecked his chances of getting significant contributions from Jews . . ." the paper wrote. "Many believe Dean's statement will drive more Jews toward Lieberman and Kerry, enabling Kerry to take the lead again."

Dean was roundly attacked by the political elite for uttering "anti-Israel" comments, notwithstanding the fact that Dean is married to a Jewish woman, raised his children as Jews, and, most amazingly of all, had a campaign that was managed by Steve Grossman, a former President of AIPAC. But no matter: Dean had uttered a Forbidden Thought -- forbidden even though it is embraced by the vast majority of Americans -- and thus Grossman and Dean had to subject themselves to abject Apology Rituals

Some of the charts and polls he presents are alone worth the read.

[azurnoir]

1. Seems once again the politicians

listen to the "talking heads" more than the people who vote for them, perhaps Deans wife and children should have spoken up.

[Sezu]

2. And just what is wrong with a foreign policy which is

"based on unequivocal support for Israel's right to exist and to be free from terror?"

Why would anyone want it to be neutral on such issues; to not care one way or the other about Israel's right to exist or be free from terror? Surely that would be an insane position.

Dean et al should look a little closer at exactly what this 70% of American public opinion really means because I seriously doubt it means that and Dean and Greenwald should know better. They speak out of school and make THEMSELVES politically irrelevant when they try and pass off these little bits of ideology as American public opinion and Pelosi and others are right to point it out.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

3. When we will ever have a politician with the balls to stand up and reflect the concensus of the

American people?

When we will we ever have an honest reckoning of why this is such an impossible task?

How can reflecting the views of the vast majority of American ever be "political suicide?"