Wednesday, October 29, 2003
In response to a post by the Patio Pundit:
I agree with the Patio Pundit. The only reasons these comparisons are made is that someone is trying to score points for their candidate by touting their “electibility.” I have been reading Taegan Goddard for about two years also. Can’t say I know his politics, but the one thing I do know is that he likes to use articles that focus less on substance and who is the trending bandwagon candidate of moment. He seems to like the “Internet” candidacies of Howard Dean and Wesley Clark while bludgeoning candidates running traditional campaigns like Kerry and Gephardt at every turn. My guess is that he has lost perspective since the “Internet/media” candidates bring credence to his medium. Salon has become the same way, almost cheerleading for Dean and Clark. Bloggers may have disproportionate influence in primary elections, but will become irrelevant in the general election.
On Dean… The primary election in the Democratic Party up to this point has been focused on who get the base madder at Bush. The actual issues that will decide the election aren’t even getting discussed. Voters are going to walking in to the voting booth in 2004 and vote on which candidate can keep them secure. This is not “its the economy stupid” election. Even if the Iraq situation is still in shambles, voters are not going to change course if they don’t believe the other candidate has the national security credentials. Despite how hypocritical it will be given Bush’s lack of service, the Republicans will use the fact that Dean got a medical deferment in Vietnam and then spent the winter skiing in Aspen. They will do what they did to Sen. Cleland by morphing pictures of Osama and Saddam into their campaign ads. Sadly, the best general election candidate may never make it through the primary to face Bush in the general election since my fellow Democrats have lost all perspective due to their uncontrolled anger. To believe Dean has a chance of winning you have to hope more Americans die in Iraq and the economy tanks. As a proud Democrat, this is NOT a position I want my party to be in November of 2004.
I agree with the Patio Pundit. The only reasons these comparisons are made is that someone is trying to score points for their candidate by touting their “electibility.” I have been reading Taegan Goddard for about two years also. Can’t say I know his politics, but the one thing I do know is that he likes to use articles that focus less on substance and who is the trending bandwagon candidate of moment. He seems to like the “Internet” candidacies of Howard Dean and Wesley Clark while bludgeoning candidates running traditional campaigns like Kerry and Gephardt at every turn. My guess is that he has lost perspective since the “Internet/media” candidates bring credence to his medium. Salon has become the same way, almost cheerleading for Dean and Clark. Bloggers may have disproportionate influence in primary elections, but will become irrelevant in the general election.
On Dean… The primary election in the Democratic Party up to this point has been focused on who get the base madder at Bush. The actual issues that will decide the election aren’t even getting discussed. Voters are going to walking in to the voting booth in 2004 and vote on which candidate can keep them secure. This is not “its the economy stupid” election. Even if the Iraq situation is still in shambles, voters are not going to change course if they don’t believe the other candidate has the national security credentials. Despite how hypocritical it will be given Bush’s lack of service, the Republicans will use the fact that Dean got a medical deferment in Vietnam and then spent the winter skiing in Aspen. They will do what they did to Sen. Cleland by morphing pictures of Osama and Saddam into their campaign ads. Sadly, the best general election candidate may never make it through the primary to face Bush in the general election since my fellow Democrats have lost all perspective due to their uncontrolled anger. To believe Dean has a chance of winning you have to hope more Americans die in Iraq and the economy tanks. As a proud Democrat, this is NOT a position I want my party to be in November of 2004.
# posted by AB @ 4:50 AM 
