Dean was labeled "unelectable" very early on because he opposed the war...

[killbotfactory]

and passed civil unions in his state.

Now, a year later, almost every candidate is acting like the war was a mistake (at least the way Bush handled it) and support civil unions.

Why did the unelectable label stick?

[maggrwaggr]

1. Maybe Bill Maher was right (although I hate to think he was)

and Dean was like John the Baptist. He led the way, but wasn't meant to be The One.

Kerry? I dunno, I have no enthusiasm for Kerry. I'm not sure why he's getting more votes. Maybe because he's tall and seems more "presidential" or seems more experienced or whatever.

My guess is that Dean had a lot of die-hard support early, while a whole bunch of people were still pretty undecided. When the time came to decide, I think people were looking for an alternative to the front-runner.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

10. If you will recall......

The media had written Kerry off about 4 months back and all but had Dean cinching the nomination. That "electablility" buzz word was created just before Iowa. And it was reapeated over and over and over again. You heard "electability" at least 10 times for every 5 minutes of coverage. Wonder why the media didn't tag Dean as "electable" back when they were appoining him before a vote was cast and no one mentiond then that Kerry possesed "electability" as they do now. IMO the public has been duped and the media is swaying as hard as it can. It's so very obvious. I have talked to so many people that are "strategically" voting. Trying to anticipate how the rest of the country will vote instead of voting their preference. And no, I am not pushing a Dean should be winning theme. The same "sway" or influence of the media has had it's toll on the other candidates as well. Clark barely gets any press time, Kucinich surely doesn't Sharpton gets zero and Edwards get's little. It's completely shameless. And if any of them are lucky enough to get a second of press time it generally is spent defending themselves against the media attack dogs instead of talking about policies or issues. A classic exaple of what this country has become. Most have decided that instead of doing the research and making up your own mind it is far easier to let the media do your thinking for you. That is a sad sad state of affairs.

[Rationality]

2. Ratings, Ratings, and the DLC obligarchy

Dean held the lead until a few days before Iowa, so the DLC and the news networks had to keep trumping it up until they got something interesting, like Dean's complete 180 in his popularity.

But that's just my theory.

[Bucky]

3. He was (a)before his time, (b)too negative, (c)undisciplined as candidate

Dean really could have locked the nomination down by February 3rd. He had it not quite in the bag, but somewhere very close to the bag. He didn't fall apart because he was targeted but because politically speaking he couldn't take a punch. Better to find out in January than October.

[On the Road]

6. Actually, Dean Took a LOT of Hits Before Iowa

So many that I was starting to become convinced he had the kind of teflon that could get him elected. Eventually, they just accumulated.

He WAS targeted and needed perfect tactics and image management to respond effectively. He was not successful. And he didn't see the dangers from his rising negatives.

Dean can still win, but it will take a scandal or effective political hit on Kerry in the next couple of weeks.

[KoKo]

11. Interesting thought, Ribo, my only thought is that he imploded so fast

that it smaks of something suspicious. I've never seen a candidate start out the gate like he did and implode this fast. That's what make me feel.....something isn't correct about all this...

No, sour grapes (the DU meme) just thinking that having been through quite a few elections that this just has a taint of some kind. :shrug;

[eileen_d]

7. I'll take B and C

Don't know about A. I don't know when Dean's "time" is or will be.

If I ever considered Dean "unelectable" it sure wasn't because of his opposition to the war. It was because of his personality and style. He's a real "love-him-or-hate-him" type IMO.

[maggrwaggr]

16. what punch are you referring to?

I saw him take punches constantly as the media discovered him.

[Bombtrack]

4. You're rewriting history, it was when Dean started lying constantly

and people started realizing that somebody who wants to raise taxes on the middle class and retract a statement every 2 days is not the smartest choice

He also came from among the if not the worst states a democratic candidate could come from

[killbotfactory]

8. I've been paying attention to the race for a year

And that is exactly why Dean was labelled unelectable back then.

I was screaming my damn fool head off to anyone who would listen that Iraq was a HUGE mistake, but the pundits spoketh: "Iraq war is AWESOME! Dean is unelectable!"

[Bombtrack]

21. Thinking that somebody ever actually said "Iraq war is awesome" shows how

warped your perception about Dean has become, how badly you've baught into his campaigns propaganda

[killbotfactory]

22. Whatever

Before the Iraq war everyone was crowing about how anyone who opposed it was a peacenik traitor, or worse. Dean was one of them and spoke for me when other candidates held their tongues.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

23. I second that

[KoKo]

13. No.....I never heard Dean tell me or the public a "lie." I think you're

wrong on that, and don't know why you think anyone would find that believable..

[Bombtrack]

18. He lies about everything

his whole campaign was based on the lie that he is the only "real" democrat in the race. And he lies about things here and there like him coming up with the trent lott joke that James Carville told him in "K street" and saying Jimmy Carter invited him to Georgia, when his campaign asked to come. The latter 2 show it's a pathological thing and because anybody with any self control would have known that he would be found out

[GodHelpUsAll2]

20. Taxes

If anyone thinks that we will be able to get this country out of the mess it's in and keep these so called tax cuts they are dreaming. You can't have your cake and eat it too. A measly tax cut, which by the way was not a tax cut at all for most average people. I got one of those piddly 400.00 checks. guess what, I had to add it as income this year, my child tax credit was NOT 1000.00 it was 600.00 (deduct the piddly 400.00) and wa la, I owe the IRS money. I got a 400.00 government loan and now I have to pay it back with interest. That ought to boost the economy. Put the taxes back where they were and keep my grandmothers and my parents social security. I for one am more than willing to pay a little more in tax than to see my grandmother and parents cut off after working their entire lives.

[pacifictiger]

29. the only "lies"

came from sound bites intentionally twisted by the press to imply something other than what he was really saying. That he needed to clarify what he said so much was ample evidence of targeted media bombing.

[youngred]

5. because of other actions

such as wasting all his money, his lack of control on his temper (though I disagree with that one), negative attacks and the fact that he was the frontrunner for so long

[poskonig]

9. yeeeeeeargh!

Dean is still going strong in many primaries, getting over 20% of the vote. If Dean would have acted like he did after New Hampshire in Iowa instead of the red-faced vein-popping stuff, it seems plausible he may have recovered and won states like Michigan and Washington.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

15. red faced vein popping stuff?

Is there anyone here can that can explain to me about the red face vein poping actions? I am assuming the Iowa speech is what is being referred to. Did anyone see it other than on television?

[nankerphelge]

12. Negative press stories repeated ad nauseum

The same thing that happened to Gore in 2000; the Dean "angry" scream is the equivalent to the Gore "I invented the internet" story. Both were media creations that were used in lieu of real reporting on real issues.

[Rationality]

24. CORRECTUMUNDO!

[tobius]

25. "Media creations"

- has a nice ring to it. Unfortunately, if you go back to that night and the next day on this forum; and many other forums that are more Dean centric, you will see the palpable fear and interest the "yell" evoked. That evening was Deans national intro to many people across America that had never seen him speak before. All they had heard was he was the front runner who had questions about his temperament. That performance solidified it and the incredible "around the watercooler" interest was reflected in the network,cable and internet news that followed. Even die hard supporters put together websites dedicated to musical re-mixes of the yell. Hell, Dean even went on Letterman,- I guess as part of this grand conspiracy.

"Men readily believe what they want to believe."
       -- Julius Caesar, Commentaries

[fabius]

14. A couple of other observations:

Media had it in for Dean because he said he would "break up media monopolies". Needs to be done, he spoke the truth, it made him a target.

The Media and IWR supporters had it in for Dean because he said he said capturing Saddam didn't make the country safer. He spoke the truth, it made him a target.

Gephardt, Kerry and Edwards had it in for Dean obviously because they had to beat him or at least cut his lead down. It worked.

The big Dean campaign mistake IMHO was the apparent lack of a "Plan B" for the campaign. Everything was staked on Iowa and NH, when it didn't pan out there appears to be no solid fallback plan. A stronger push in WA earlier could have narrowed Kerry's lead, or even gotten a win. We had tons of Dean volunteers from Oregon to "electioneer" outside the caucuses (in Vancouver WA) but we couldn't do anything once the caucus started. There were no arrangements to give people rides to the caucuses, etc.

Another thing I got from some statistics appears to be Dean has not successfully connected to minority voters in the contests so far. This is a matter of message and personal style, I guess, and would have to be corrected to win the GE. Also I think the Kerry military background helps with certain audiences. We talked to an older man in WA, a vet. and he said, "Kerry will bring our troops home".

One thing Dean lacks in a "modern political marketing" sense is a personal story line. He basically made a mistake to not reveal himself to the voters. Kerry has a story (war hero) Edwards (Daddy worked in a mill), Clark (general turned politician, Republican turned Democrat), all these have appeal and build trust. Bush even has a story - all phony but some believe it. Howard Dean needed to build a story around himself. Seems dopey but that seems to be how it works.

As far as Deaniacs locally here in Portland OR, we're committed to a long-term movement of some kind, or liberal wing of the Democratic Party as suggested by Will Pitt. We're not giving up.

[maggrwaggr]

17. I'll kick to that post, brother

I think you're 100% right on the money

[George_Bonanza]

19. Dean was attacked because he was the front runner

Don't try to romanticize his downfall by saying he went down for an idealistic cause which the stupider-than-me gaggle of Americans simply weren't good enough for.

Remember that Dean rode a wave of a great deal of free press which garnered him 3 magazine covers while Kerry was struggling just to get on the radar. "Aloof" and "wooden" were thrown around like "angry" was for Dean. I can recall more than one time when TV interviewers tried to make Kerry look like a high lunatic on the IWR issue. I remember when WP ran a story about how aloof Kerry was because he ordered a Philly cheesesteak with Swiss.

As far as Deaniacs locally here in Portland OR, we're committed to a long-term movement of some kind, or liberal wing of the Democratic Party as suggested by Will Pitt.

It would relieve you to know that Kerry is to the left of Dean. So yay for liberalism!

[corporatewhore]

26. still dont know why DK is thought to be unelectable he has positions

which liberals and conservatives like ex anti patriot act anti free trade (no one likes their job taken to india)

[NNN0LHI]

27. Dean was typecast like one of the Brady Bunch kids

Using the anti-war candidate theme worked for a while, but then that is all he was known as. Dean had many other good ideas unrelated to the war, but no one could see past the anti-war message which consisted of "I was right and you were all wrong". He appeared to be a one trick pony to many people. Thats what happened.

Don

[eileen_d]

28. This is right on

"I was right and you were all wrong" - perfect characterization of Dean's anti-war position, if not his whole candidacy.

What amuses me is that some people don't understand why Dean's self-righteousness is not attractive. It turned me off immediately.