My Big Fat Mea Culpa - Joan Walsh (Salon)

Salon article by Joan Walsh:


My big fat mea culpa: I haven't decided to vote for Howard Dean, but after 10 days watching his campaign, I promise never to say he's unelectable again.

(snip)

I didn't need alone time with Dean to shed my cynicism about his electability as much as I needed to see his effect on other people. And I saw that at his two San Francisco speeches and the Meetup the next week. At his July 31 environmental address, which was open to the public, he packed the generic chandaliered ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel with several hundred admirers, of whom I knew exactly two. There was a teeming crowd out front waiting for him ... like he was Bruce Springsteen or something. And despite stereotypes about the former Vermont governor's limited racial appeal, it was a pretty diverse crowd, with an almost respectable turnout of African Americans, Asians and Latinos. Sure, I saw a white guy in dreads and a white guy in a little knit kufi and I smelled patchouli once, but I also saw corporate folks in suits and suburban socialites. I saw the campaign's techy backers, too, at least a half-dozen 20-somethings capturing Dean's entrance with those cool little cameras in their cellphones.

"I'm sorry, but that was not your usual San Francisco political crowd," says Amy Rao, a Dean stalwart who said she didn't know many of the folks who turned out that morning, either. Rao's the CEO of a Palo Alto tech firm and a local Democratic fundraising powerhouse, and she held an April lunch for Dean. "At the time, I liked what he was saying, but I really didn't think he was electable," she confesses. Outside the restaurant just before Dean arrived, she noticed about a dozen young people holding picket signs and rushed out to see what the trouble was. The signs were Dean placards. "They were just Dean supporters who'd figured out he was in town and showed up to support him," she said, still marveling at his word-of-mouth base. Now she insists he's not only electable, he's the only Democrat who can beat Bush.

I saw parts of the Dean appeal quickly. He took the stage to frenzied applause, and asked the audience right away: "How many of you haven't been active in politics in the last 10-15 years?" And more than three-quarters of the crowd raised hands. He did his trademark transparency thing, apologizing for the fact that he was about to make a pretty formal policy speech. "There are some times in a campaign where you have to read speeches, and this is one. So forgive me if it gets drier than you're used to." He turns most of his imperfections into charm. His cellphone rang while he was speaking -- Lord, doesn't he have someone to turn it off for him? -- and he pretended the caller was Karl Rove. The crowd ate it up.

(more)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/08/11/dean/

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And the infamous call from Karl Rove...

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with nuts in his cheeks

Thnx for that. The author is a fun read I thouroughly enjoyed it. Nice to see more of the media starting to get it :)

writing that article.
I just read it. Seems she wrote it mainly because she was so badgered by the hate e-mail she got after calling Dean unelectable.
Anyway, I just wrote her to let her know she was right the first time.
Dean seems to appeal to emotions more than anything.

to complain about the Kerry coverage?

Isn't complaining about positive coverage in the Corporate press working against the Democratic party's objective?

That was shameful.

although I am reading into what she wrote of course.

I'd call it a jealous, petty and spiteful response by a Kerry supporter.

It's always good to see some positive press for a Democrat, imo.

I laugh at every Kerry fan who trashes Dean because I know that you know that Kerry is in deep deep trouble. Kerry doesn't have the charisma that Dean has and you know it.

most of the mail was positive and nice. There will always be social miscreants in every group. I've yet to find a group of people over 10 that doesn't have at least two socially inept, total backassward dipsh*ts in it.

This is a simplistic attempt to dismiss a very positive article.

amazingly, this in response to her claim that "Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry was more electable" (than Dean).
and she goes on:
"As usual, whenever you diminish Dean (or say something nice about another Democrat, especially Kerry), I got spammed by Dean's vast army of netizens.

Sorry if this seems "simplistic" but... I feel her pain.

If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

of other Dems, eh, Larkspur?

Were you happy when Nader said there wasn't much difference between Gore and Bush in 2000? Was it really true?

Are you happy that Dean said that the other Democrats are "Bushlite"? Is it really true?

if he had chosen to run. Dean was my 2nd choice then, but now Dean has earned my full support on his own and if Gore re-enters, which he won't, I will still support Dean 100%.

And yes, I agree with Dean that the pro-war Dems are Bush-lite. I remember that picture of Lieberman and Gephardt standing next to Bush in the Rose Garden on Oct. 10, 2002. "Treachery" is the word that comes to my mind. Al Gore warned them on Sep 23, 2002 that this war was not a good choice.

I fully support Dean's anti-war stand because it matches mine. Dean's anti-war stand was based on the lack of evidence of the Bush Admin's case. That is the same reason that Nancy Pelosi and the Dems who followed her gave for their opposition to the Iraq War resolution.

And Dean's political philosophy matches pretty much my parents', who believed that government had a responsiblity to provide for the commonwealth but that we citizens also had a responsibility to be good citizens and productive members of society. Like Dean, my parents, who were children of poor immigrants, believed in a symbiotic partnership between government, business, and the people.

and Bush was allowed to walk all over him.

We won't make that mistake twice. Yeah, right now the defensiveness gets directed at fellow Democrats which isn't good because after the convention we all need to link arms in support of the cadidate, no matter who it is. It becomes harder to do when there is bad blood. Especially when that bad blood is among the supporters.

I have concerns about his support of AIPAC views of the Israeli/Palestinian issue, but that is the only major area of concern I have with Dean.

However, over the weekend the Kerry and Kucinich supporters were raising a shrill and slanderizing Dean. That's unacceptable, but I usually find out that laughing at these shrills is better than feeding them. I just have to keep remembering that "laughter is the best medicine."

then he can take them to court.

Are folks not allowed to point out mistakes by the press, now?

and I would hope Howard wouldn't stand for it.

His supporters should sit back and allow whomever to say whatever they want without correcting them?

if the shoe fits.....

In typical anti-Dean fashion, you twist the words and concepts of us Dean supporters out of context.

We will defend our candidate to the best of our ability, and if you don't like it, then don't attack in the first place.

why are you taking her word for what she originally wrote? She provided no link to it. She simply characterized it.

I expected better.'

"hate e-mail"?

I especially liked the part when Joan Walsh couldn't get an appointment time with Dean or Trippi, yet all the people she talked to were very polite and were just regular people. She may still be a Kerry supporter but she's gained respect for the power of the people working in the Dean camp. And that's where the election will be won folks, with the people.

Dean is really pushing a rediscovery of people in politics, getting people to care again with the personal style of the campaign.

Sonia