"I know my own nation best. That's why I depise it the most. And I know and love my own people too, the swine. I'm a Patriot, a dangerous man."
E.A.

Dean doesn't stand a chance. The only reason the Clinton administration could win was exactly because they moved to the center...where most of America is. If Dean/Gore represent a shift away from most of America, then the Democratic party is already swirling the bowl.

And what about loyalty? All of Gore's former aides on the Clark campaign (not to mention the Clinton aides,) and Joe Lieberman are all walking around today with knives sticking out of their backs. Is this The New Democrat?

By the way, I agree with you about the DNC chair.

in this election, it is necessary to differentiate oneself from Bush. if the Dems actually thought they could win by backing a Dem version of Bush, Lieberman would be in the lead.

"Dean doesn't stand a chance. The only reason the Clinton administration could win was exactly because they moved to the center...where most of America is."

yeah, but the funny thing is, Dean really doesn't represent a big shift. think about it; Clinton ran as a New Dem, and really didn't do too much that pleased people on the left. he didn't defend gay rights, he gave away too much to the right, etc.

Dean has a pretty good economic record, what with balanced budgets combined with tax cuts and what not. to a lot of people, Dean represents what the Democratic party is supposed to be: good with money, but socially liberal. that really resonates with a lot of centrists, who want to see a balanced budget, but don't want to see gov't programs go down the drain, and want tax cuts if they can get them, and typically don't like the government meddling in religious affairs etc.

the media has been portraying Dean as some whacked-out leftist, mostly because of the grassroots nature of his campaign, which automatically sets off alarm bells of 'hippy' and 'whacko protestor-types'. in reality, the guy is pro-gun, fiscally conservative, etc., and most of his donors are regular people.

to me, he represents the best chance of the Democratic party appealing to centrists. he isn't a part of the Democratic machine like the rest, so he doesn't have any party-machine allegiances. his money comes from small donations, so he doesn't owe a whole bunch of corporate favors like other candidates. a lot of centrists avoid voting Dem because they think they're irresponsible with money, and are just going to go with the DNC party line.

as i said, its less of a shift to the left, and more of a focus on things that work.

"All of Gore's former aides on the Clark campaign (not to mention the Clinton aides,) and Joe Lieberman are all walking around today with knives sticking out of their backs."

well, Clark is Clinton's man, and Gore showed a loooong time ago that he doesn't have a big allegiance anymore with the Clinton machine (hence him staying away from Clinton during his campaign). and Lieberman, well, sorry man, but you are no Democrat. it sucks that Gore didn't give him much of a fair warning, but things have changed since 2000.

personally, i'm happy to see the New Democratic Party go down in flames. good riddance.

I sure hope so. For once a politican (Gore) acted because he believes in something (Dean) instead of endorsing someone (Lieberman) just to return a favour. If Lieberman wants to talk about loyalty, he can not fault Gore. Polititians should be loyal to people who elected them as well as their own concience and NOT their buddies and "special interests".

I couldn't agree more. Nice that Lieberman had to find out from the media that his old running mate was endorsing someone else.
Not to mention that Gore and Dean's voting records are completely different.

Really, my heart is breaking for Lieberman. Maybe now he can join the Republican Party and run again in 2012.

But seriously, you would rather see Gore endorse his buddy who doesn't stand a chance, just because 'he owes him one'?

Gore's record and spoken beliefs are not in sync with Dean. So either Gore never really did believe the things he said and did in the past, or the ONLY thing he cares about any more is Iraq. By the way, the logical extension of Gore/Deans words on Iraq will lead to a cut & run policy, and no other Democrat or Republican thinks this is wise at this point. If Dean heads in this direction, look for him to maybe get 20% in November.

Dean has been saying for some time that 'cut and run' is not an option. he is with the rest of the Dems, saying that we're stuck in Iraq for the long haul, but we should get out as soon as its feasable, and get the UN involved in the rebuild.

I dunno, apparently ted Kopel asked the candidates in last night's debate who, by a show of hands, thought Dean could beat out Bush. Dean was the only one who raised his hand. Go figure.

Well, would you expect any less from the others?

they are a pretty good group of candidates, but man, do they squabble a lot. Rove must be pleased.