Howard Dean is perfectly positioned to primary Obama in 2012.

[tpsbmam]

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/19581

By: fflambeau Thursday December 17, 2009 8:49 pm

Rahm-Obama may have done Howard Dean a huge favor when they froze the good doctor out of the Obama administration. Recall that there was talk of Dean as being head of Health & Human Services or even Surgeon General but this was vetoed by Rahm and Obama. Obama didn’t extend his "team of rivals" concept to one of his biggest rivals and that might turn out to be a historic blunder by Team Obama. Because now, Howard Dean is perfectly positioned to primary Obama in 2012. So what was an initial disappointment to the progressive base might turn out to be a blessing.

Dean can publicly criticize the Obama administration as he did recently when he said the health care bill being advanced in the Senate is not worth voting for. He’s not tied in any way to this administration which is looking more and more like the S.S. Titanic-Obama.

That’s why the Obama administration and its various spin-meisters immediately struck back hard at Howard Dean after his comments on the senate bill. Note that press secretary Gibbs and others in the administration even went so far as to invoke the Dean-is-crazy theme that the mainstream media made up after the so-called "Dean Scream." Dean’s having a "temper tantrum" they have complained (this is discussed below in the paragraph on Jane Hamsher’s diary) in language that calls up the images that were played on in 2004 of an unstable Dean.

Notice too that the Obama administration has been far more critical of Howard Dean, an acknowledged champion of real health care reform, than it has been of Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson and Max Baucus–old-line politicians who have never really favored health care reform from the beginning and have been bought off by big Pharma and insurance companies.

************

If the progressives and liberals bolt from Obama as they surely will if Dean challenges Obama, that leaves Obama with the Blue Dogs in the Democratic primaries in 2012. The progressives and liberals control the path to the Democratic party nomination, that’s why Obama garbed himself in progressive clothing in 2008 but his stealth candidacy has now exposed him for what he is: a DLCer. Obama doesn’t have the warmth of Dean or Clinton to overcome his DLC positions and win the nomination.

More at link.

(Sorry if this is a dup -- a search didn't bring it up.)

[Enrique]

1. I disagree that Obama ran as a progressive

He ran as a centrist. He did say some things calculated to feed progressives hope that really deep down he's a progressive. He's still doing it, he'll keep doing it and some progressives won't open their eyes ever.

[Echo In Light]

18. Those "progressives" likely don't realize they're actually not progressive

No shortage of that these days...

[jefferson_dem]

2. That would be funny because he just endorsed Obama 2012 the other day.

n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

28. Damning with faint praise.

I don't think Howard will run, though. I can't even tell you why, but I somehow think he's done with being down in the mud fight for himself.

[tridim]

3. Dean wont run against the President.

Nobody of any significance will.

[proud patriot]

5. Agreed

that is not Dean's style at all

[Mithreal]

26. Agreed as well. Dean would not do that.

[NashVegas]

4. I Don't Believe He Will.

I'd be shocked.

[cowcommander]

6. Still way too early to tell

Give Obama three more years, then we'll see.

[kctim]

7. Now thats funny

:rofl:

[dreamnightwind]

8. I'm so into this idea...

Primary him, and Howard is the right man for the job. I think we'd have to draft him, though, he doesn't seem to me like he's trying to run.

[MineralMan]

13. Go back to sleep. When you wake up in 2013, Obama will still be

President.

[dreamnightwind]

17. Barack, is that you?

The primaries are ours, nobody can take that away. Primaries are where you're free to vote your heart, and to throw all of your support behind people and causes that you believe in. If you don't do so, you're part of the problem.

I may end up holding my nose and voting for Obama in the general election in 2012, but frankly I doubt it, he's been that bad. I'm sure as hell going to do all I can to have a better choice than Obama in the primary.

[jefferson_dem]

9. Your post is riddled with so many false assumptins, it's hard to take it seriously.

Obama did not run as anything other than what he is governing as. He is not now nor has he ever been a member of the DLC. His "base" extends far beyond the blue dogs and so forth you mention. In fact, his approval among self-described Democrats is in the 90s. Get beyond the shrill left-wing echo chamber and you would know that. Primary challenges to sittiing incumbents are NEVER successful and they will not be this time. They only serve to wound the incumbent after he wins the nomination. And so on...

Come the 2012 general election, your choices will be clear.

1. Get on board and help elect the Democrat (Obama)
2. Sit on the sidelines and enable the scumbag Repug nominee.
3. Throw away your vote on a third party candidate.
4. Let your bitterness consume you so that you vote Repug in spite of your principles.

[euphoria12leo]

12. If we don't listen to the 4 choices you have suggested

we just might end up with a President Palin and the teabagger express.


:think:

[Bonn1997]

21. I agree with what you said but still think the article makes a good point about not selecting Dean

for HHS being a political blunder.

[jefferson_dem]

25. I totally agree.

I was rooting hard for Dean as HHS, and I believe we likely would have seen a preferable outcome of the reform debate if he was selected.

[tritsofme]

10. LOL, I guess he couldn't do worse than 2004.

Well, I suppose he could lose Vermont this time too.

Dean is irrelevant, and he knows this as well, which is why he would never embarrass himself running against Obama.

[cali]

15. irrelevant he's not. the WH didn't pull a full court attack on him because

he's irrelevant. And oh yeah, he'd never lose Vermont. He wouldn't run because he's not someone who would ever split the dem party.

[tritsofme]

19. Standing with the Republicans to oppose HCR isn't splitting the party?

After his conduct lately, I almost wouldn't put something like this past him.

[cali]

23. that's a devious, nasty and absurd characterization. n/t

[AllentownJake]

16. AllentownJake is irrelevant

Howard Dean got treated by the White House as Gengis Kahn just marched up to 1600 PA avenue.

[WyLoochka]

11. Dean became a "rival" of Rahm's

and the hard core neo libs over at the DLC when he spoke the truth and said he represented the democratic wing of the Democratic Party highlighting the obvious that those corpo-schlucks do not represent the democratic view.

They still hate him for that.

[polichick]

14. If there isn't a Dem populist in 2012, there will be a third party populist...

...who will make a big impact on the race. nt

[pissedoff01]

20. Howard will not run, but I'll vote for a reasonable facsimile

[FrenchieCat]

22. Doh!

Anyone who is “betrayed by their naiveté” should feel doubly ridiculous for thinking the change they voted for would come overnight. Status quo is not “kicked out of the door” like a weak, stray cat. Status quo has to be rallied against, systems have to be put in place to combat it, people have to put in work. Status quo will remain the “status quo” if people are too lazy to stick around for the entire fight.
http://thefreshxpress.com/2009/12/obama-tiger-success-race-failure/

Sad.

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. Maybe he'll win the state of Vermont again

:rofl:

[HughMoran]

27. hahaha

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[UTUSN]

29. You not only beat me to it, you outdid me. n/t