I completely agree...I expect Dean's eyes to start doing one of these numbers at any moment---> Clark/Kerry get Big Bill on the phone *STAT*.
More information, please. Which one of these is Howard Dean during his somewhat homely youth? And is it public knowledge that he used to be a Republican?
If Gore believes Dean's the best candidate to face Bush he should do what he can to help. And there is no question that this helps. How is Dean "saddling his horse" to Gore? Should he reject an endorsement from one of the top two or three Democrats around? Dean's next goal is establishment support and the super delegates that come with it. There's not a single better thing that could have happened for his campaign today in pursuit of the Dem voters who haven't warmed to him yet.
Batman, I agree that Gore has been on fire since he decided not to run. I was just wondering if Gore supporting Dean meant that Gore was going renegade from the party establishment as opposed to the party establishment coming around to supporting Dean. It might be that the party figures Dean will win anyway and will come around to him just to be unified by the general election. Or it could be that Gore has tasted the freedom of not having to appease anyone since he's not running, and loved being able to be more bold in his speeches lately. That boldness has carried over and he's going to try and back the outsider. Either way, it's pretty big as far as these primaries. I wouldn't worry about the fact that he didn't carry TN. If the candidate who got the most votes from the last election is endorsing somebody it's generally a positive sign.
I think Dean would be better served by keeping his distance from Gore and Bill Clinton. Clinton's endorsement of and close association with Gore did not help the last go round. Gore's name recognition is much higher than Dean's. People may create a mental shortcut that Dean is the next Gore. This is what I meant by "saddling his horse to Gore". Gore will obviously back whoever gets the Democratic nomination. By coming out this early before any of the primaries, Gore's endorsement will certainly help. But is it the right thing to do? What if Dean tanks in the South and does not get the nomination? Does Gore issue a second not so authoratative endorsement? Will a Gore endorsement become the kiss of death? The way early Gore endorsement also does not set well with me, since I am getting the feeling that "the powers that be" are trying to lock down the Dean nomination before a single primary vote is cast. I do agree that it must really suck to be Lieberman right now.
You guys make some valid points, but I think it is clear that Dean has all but got the nomination now. I think we saw it with Sheila Jackson Lee and Jesse Jr. I saw it at the Houston rally. It isstill shocking to see Gore do this so early. The Democratic establishment is jumping on the band wagon. It is certainly Dean's to lose.
I think that Dean will have a very hard time in the South. His confederacy flag and "those religious people" remarks will not go over well in the South. Clark and Edwards may be the beneficiaries.
POLITICS Dean and Dean Witter: Related? FORTUNE Monday, October 13, 2003 By Melanie Shanley Ever since Howard Dean began running for President, his lineage has created some mystery. In August bloggers at sites like rightnation.us and freerepublic.com misinterpreted a Jimmy Breslin column in Newsday saying that Dean's "father was the head of Dean Witter stocks." They figured Dean was a Dean Witter scion. Nope. Dean Witter was one guy; he founded his firm in 1924 with his brother Guy Witter. So who were Dean's ancestors? The family, which settled in Sag Harbor in the 1600s, had become wealthy by the early 1900s: Press clips say Dean's great-grandfather had a box at the Metropolitan Opera and toured New England by auto. His grandfather Herbert followed the family path from Yale to Park Avenue to Wall Street (he was a governor of the NYSE and a member of exclusive clubs like East Hampton's Maidstone), then went on to be a vp at Pan Am. Dean's father, also a Yalie and Park Avenue denizen, ran dozens of branch offices for Reynolds Securities before it was bought by Dean Witter in 1978, then stayed with the firm till 1986. Young Howard was also a stockbroker before becoming a doctor. Lest confusion remain, we confirmed that he is no relation to James Dean, either. From the Oct. 27, 2003 Issue I had heard this too. Just a fun factoid about Dean. Dean is a third generation Yalie. Is Bush, too. I think he may be only a second generation Yalie. link
Wont matter. It's just an endorsment. The Dean/Wesley Clark duo will be quite a team. Both are very good candidates.
So, NO Worries, who do you back? It will be all over without the South IMHO. Dean will take Texas, too, in the primary. NO one else is even trying at the moment. I've never seen this before in a large field without a VP or incumbent running. Dean has everything: the money, at least a split with labor, Jessie Jackson Jr, and significant African American support and most unusual the force of the grass roots. Often times you see the grassroots resisting the insiders like when you had Kennedy vs. Carter and Jerry Brown a couple of times vs the establishment favorite. Here we have Dean now belatedly picking up the establishment types, as I believe Batman said. There was no other important factor that Dean lacked.
Well, at least take Clark for Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State. He's surely qualified for that.
I would view Al Gore's endorsement as a negative, just for the fact that he did not fight as dishonorable as the Bushies in Florida means he's not ruthless enough to spar with the Republicans in congress. Give me someone with more backbone.
Thing is, even FOX News gives Howard Dean a lot of airtime without completely trashing him. I believe very strongly that the Bush administration is getting out the propaganda machine to make sure that Howard Dean's name is virtually the only one of the Dems that people will remember, as they probably believe that Dean, in the long run, will not have the experience to defeat Bush head-to-head; that Dean will appeal to all us angry liberals-centrists but that will not be enough to carry the Presidency (especially if Bush pulls another purge-the-Dem-voters as he did in Florida). But it could be that the maneuver will backfire. People have come out of nowhere to win the presidency. Still wondering if Clark can regain any momentum once Iowa is past.
Less likely every day. But then again, no votes have been cast. Thing is, not a single candidate in the Dem field has any fire at all, except for Dean. Not a one, not a one. And Clark's been running like Gore did in 2000 -- like an inevitable. Pretty especially weak for someone behind in every single poll. And anyway, even in better circumstances, we've seen how well that worked before. It's working even less well now. Dean is the only one with fire and he's the only Democrat (aside from the freshly emancipated Gore, ironically enough) who ever speaks his ******* mind. That's why he went from a C-list candidate (my first post about him on this board was about how I'd love for him to be the nominee but since he almost definitely wouldn't be, I'd probably wind up with Kerry or someone) to the indisputable frontrunner. Gore cements the pre-vote primary. And since the rest of these guys are wooden fakeouts who (at best) say **** now and again to prove they're actually alive, I'd say this thing's pretty well over. Why, by the way, would you even prefer Clark (if that's what you were even saying)? Is there one single thing other than military service that Clark has over Dean? p.s. to serious: good guess on Dean/Graham, but way premature. There are no promises out. What's the good argument for Graham over Clark?
This endorsement will provide further fuel for the Dean juggernaut. I personally think it's kind of early for Gore to be endorsing anyone. I doubt either Clinton will endorse any candidate until a few primaries occur. That being said, I believe Dean will be tough for any of the other Democrat candidates to beat. And yes....this endorsement is bad news for Joe Lieberman and John Kerry.
