Blog4kerry - He's the Real Deal

Up to this point in the campaign the media has used “kid gloves” with Gov. Dean. Really, that is to be expected with six months to go before the kick-off of the campaign. After all, Dean is an upstart creating a good deal of excitement with a very innovative campaign. However, most supporters could not name more than two or three of the Governor’s positions other than his stance on the Iraq war and his support of civil unions. What they love about Dean is his “thumb in the eye” approach to the Bush administration. Liberal Democrats “hate” Bush with such passion, it is reminiscent of how much the Newt Gingrich wing of the Republican Party hated Clinton. The problem for Dean is to not alienate the independent and moderate center while still drawing a contrast to Bush. Could Newt have ever been elected to national office even with the legions of conservatives who revered him?

Interesting enough, the media love-fest may be turning on Dean. Newsweek reports “in the early 1970s Dean got a medical deferment from the draft for a bad back not long before he spent the winter skiing the bumps in Aspen.”

(http://www.msnbc.com/news/947647.asp)

If the Democrats hope to prove what a phony Dubya in this election, I don’t see how Dean can trash the photo-op landing. While hypocritical, given Bush and Cheney’s poor personal military history, Rove will point out the Governor‘s record and neutralize the Democrat’s criticism.