Howard Dean and the Press [View All]

Reference Link - Pahrump Valley Times Opinion


More important to the success of Dr. Dean's campaign than his issue positions was his leadership against the war, which attracted even supporters of the war. Democratic Party rank and filers have lived through presidential terms by conservative Democrats Carter and Clinton, years of Democratic congressional leaders pandering to the right. They have watched Al Gore chase corporate support, Tom Daschle lead the fight against the Iraq war and then cave in to vote for it, Vietnam protester and war hero John Kerry similarly voted for the war. Numbed by weak leaders, Democrats are so hungry for strong leaders that they have embraced Dean's formula that "The way to beat George Bush is to stand up to him." Dean was stuck in the doldrums of single-digits until the other major candidates surrendered the leadership of the party to him on the war issue, whereupon grass roots support flowed his way, pumping up his numbers and dollars (heavily from small contributions).

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Imagine if political leaders in other states had stood up to their cultural conservatives. Here in Nevada the small band of right wingers who used a minority vote to hold the legislature hostage might never have gained office if state leaders had taken them on instead of cowering before them.

Dean's strongest asset is not liberal views but his willingness to lead at a time when the Democratic Party is starved for leadership.

This is a nice opinion piece that describes pretty much why I first supported Dean. It also highlights some of the core arguments I see against Dean uttered daily on DU (e.g. Dr. Dean is gaining support from a lot of people who have no idea what he stands for - and would probably be appalled by many of his positions.)

The bottom line of it is Dean's willingness to lead, willingness to take risks when others aren't.

I still question if Dean can overcome the negative backlash that has rippled through the other campaigns. A part of me really hopes he can, but that will be the key factor for me. He will need the passion and energy of the other candidate's supporters if he is nominated to really take on Bush.

Time is ticking for Dean to at least do some triage and know what needs to be healed and what needs to be amputated.