Dean Campaign's Hip, High-Tech Image Hid a Nasty Civil War

[wyldwolf]

The feuding and backbiting that plagued the Howard Dean campaign had turned utterly poisonous. Behind the facade of a successful political operation, senior officials plotted against each other, complained about the candidate and developed one searing doubt - Dean, they concluded, did not really want to be president.

In different conversations and in different ways, according to several people who worked with him, Dean said at the peak of his popularity late last year that he never expected to rise so high, that he didn't like the intense scrutiny, that he had just wanted to make a difference. "I don't care about being president," he said. Months earlier, as his candidacy was taking off, he told a colleague: "The problem is, I'm now afraid I might win."

As Dean was swallowed by the bubble that envelops every major candidate, he allowed his campaign to sink into a nasty civil war that crippled decision-making and devastated morale. In the end, say some of those who uprooted their lives for him, these tensions hastened the implosion that brought Dean down.

The polarization revolved around two people: Joe Trippi, the rumpled, passionate, sometimes headstrong campaign manager who drew rock-star coverage in the press, and Kate O'Connor, the quiet, shrewd, low-profile Vermont confidante who never left Dean's side.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15741-2004Feb28.html

[Scott Lee]

1. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=412414&mesg_id=412414

[papau]

22. Why post Howie Kurtz's lie without the Howard Dean correction to that lie

Divide and Bicker
The Dean Campaign's Hip, High-Tech Image Hid a Nasty Civil War
By Howard Kurtz


http://www.blogforamerica.com /

A Message from Howard Dean
The quotes attributed to me by others in Howard Kurtz's gossipy rendition of the divisions in the Dean for America campaign are entirely false, as is the description of my reaction after losing the Iowa caucuses, before the famous speech.

The danger of using unattributed sources as Kurtz and so many others do, is that the veracity of the informants can not be evaluated. In this case Kurtz included a significant amount of material which was not true, and produced a story which was greatly exaggerated.

There have been many inquiries about the relationship between Dean For America and the Change for America website. The answer to the question is that there is no relationship. We intend to form a progressive grassroots organization based on the Dean for America campaign, and we will work with other organizations after we get set up. We will announce the set up on March 18.

[bushclipper]

2. "trying to penalize reporters deemed unfriendly"

Sounds like Bush!

[janx]

12. Consider the source.

[RetroLounge]

31. Yup, it's amazing how someone who once was MWO's

Whore of the year, suddenly becaomes a good source if he says something to bolster the Dean hatred here on DU.

:eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:
:eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:
:eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:
:eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:
:eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:

[madfloridian]

3. Dupe.

.

4. nasty civil war

What this makes me wonder is if Dean is out of the race and if many of the Kerry supporters on DU want Dean supporters to forget about him..... then why does a Kerry supporter bring him up again?

Hitting Dean when he's down?
Hitting Dean supporters when they're down?
Hoping Dean supporters will suddenly see the light?

It seems kind of petty to me.

[seaglass]

6. Should there be a rule against Dean posts?

Or would it only be for Dean posts that don't put him in the best possible light?

Why do Dean supporters continue to post about Dean if he's out?

[janx]

8. He's still on the ballot.

And he's very much still around in Democratic politics.

10. hear hear

:)

[seaglass]

15. and there's interest in all aspects of Dean. That's my point,

gotta take the good with the bad.

9. any posts are fine with me

I didn't say there should be a rule against a Kerry post or a rule that there should be only Dean posts that put him in a favorable light or a rule against anything.
I wasn't talking about rules.
Where is there anything about rules in my previous post?

I was just commenting on tone and the perpetuation of snideness/civil or uncivil war.

[wyldwolf]

11. Your sensed some sort of "tone" in my post?

13. rightly or wrongly,I did, yes

in the posting of it. That is, the action of posting it. Since you didn't actually say anything other than to post it, I realize.



If I'm sensitive, that's the way it is.
I'm not so sensitive that I'm going to not vote for the Democratic nominee or anything like that.

& maybe you didn't really intend anything by the post other than something informative, but given the general tone of things here recently I felt like broaching my question.

[janx]

14. No, no! Never! Perish the thought!

;-)

[maxanne]

5. yep

Howard Dean is becoming to the Democrats what Bill Clinton is to the Republicans. We should all be so proud.

[bearfartinthewoods]

7. this AM reported dean did not want to be prez

that he was running a message campaign and got scared when it looked like he might win .

reprted by the hill reporter on cspan iirc.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mzmolly]

16. While I realize the political race is quite dull and un-inspiring without

Dean, I'd say it's time to discuss something/someone else? :shrug:

[wyldwolf]

18. sure, so spread the word, no more Dean posts...

...negative OR positive.

[mzmolly]

26. I simply think it's a shame that the remaining field is so dull that we

still have to find *BS gossip* about Dean to toss about. *yawn*

[Redneck Socialist]

20. So one of the most interesting and exciting campaigns

we've seen shouldn't be talked about? Team Dean rocketed to spectacular heights and even more quickly crashed and burned.

That's interesting and well worth discussing.

Failing to analyze Dean's success and subsequent failure would be a mistake. There are many lessons to be learned there.

23. hey this is America

& postmodern, you know
Got to continue with the revisionism and forget about the real past.
Get with the program!:evilgrin: :wtf:

[Redneck Socialist]

32. Dean's campaign is sooo last week

You're right. How terribly unhip of me. I don't know what I was thinking.B-)

[WI_DEM]

19. sounds like the Kerry campaign before

he revamped.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

21. Dean calls bullshit.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x413519

[hippiechick]

24. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=412414&mesg_id=412414

[Scott Lee]

25. DUPE DUPE DUPE

Hello mods? Anyone there?

[wyldwolf]

27. Sounds serious...

[slinkerwink]

28. nope-----it's pure gossip

[wyldwolf]

29. no, I mean the DUPE DUPE DUPE... sounds serious... or else...

...bad bird calls.

[RetroLounge]

30. Yawn

A Message from Howard Dean

The quotes attributed to me by others in Howard Kurtz's gossipy rendition of the divisions in the Dean for America campaign are entirely false, as is the description of my reaction after losing the Iowa caucuses, before the famous speech.

The danger of using unattributed sources as Kurtz and so many others do, is that the veracity of the informants can not be evaluated. In this case Kurtz included a significant amount of material which was not true, and produced a story which was greatly exaggerated.

There have been many inquiries about the relationship between Dean For America and the Change for America website. The answer to the question is that there is no relationship. We intend to form a progressive grassroots organization based on the Dean for America campaign, and we will work with other organizations after we get set up. We will announce the set up on March 18.