To the fatalistic Dean supporters...

[LoneStarDem]

First of all, as a Clark supporter, let me tell you that this thing isn't over. Get out there, work for your candidate, and let the best man win.

But...

When I use to do competitive debate, we use to have a saying. It went:

If we win, it's because we worked hard, tried our hardest when it mattered most, and were generally the smartest, toughest, and most worth in the contest.

If we lose, it's because the other guy cheated.


There's nothing shameful in an honest loss, and as I stated at the opening, this thing isn't over. But to just pass off any setback as a conspiracy of the dark forces of Rove/DLC/SpecialIntrests/Sauron/Etc does your candidate no good and may well blind you to some very real (and very possibly fixable) shortcomings in the campaign strategy. I think that is was some people mean when they say that *some* Dean supporters are too idealistic. It's not that they disagree with idealism in politics, but that it must be seen through the lens of real world conditions, not as a grand narrative between good and evil. This is not black and white, it is very gray and multifaceted, and everyone from ever campaign just need to take a step back, breath, calm down with the blame game, and focus on a Dem in the White House in 2004.

Pax

[ShimokitaJer]

1. Thanks for the encouragement

Personally, I'm having a hard time with the defeatist attitude I'm seeing here. I have feeling that, as with most campaigns, some of the most vocal supporters are the ones who feel most threatened, and thus the first ones to turn when things get rough.

The Dean campaign I support is in this for the long haul, and I'm ready to keep supporting it. One third place state down, forty nine more states to go.

[Cleita]

2. Well, funny I was leaning away from Dean toward Kucinich

and now I have been kicked back to Dean. Gephardt, who has dropped out, was second last on my list. No need to ask who is last. So let's see how many supporters Dean gets from the drop outs. The fat lady hasn't sung yet.

[EXE619K]

3. Come-on Dean people!

What's the matter with you folks?

This is only the first shot in the long battle!

Dean LED the way and he still LEADS the way!

[pmbryant]

4. Agree that this is far, far from over

The campaign is going to be a long, hard slog. After one setback is hardly the time to throw in the towel.

This is part of the reason why I think this competitive primary 'fight' is great for the Democrats chances in the fall. Whichever candidate emerges triumphant in the end will have proven that he and his supporters can tought it out through the hard times, and fight back when it counts. And then nothing that Bush/Rove throws at them can catch them off guard.

:-)

--Peter