Dean wasn't good enough on Stewart's show.

[Renew Deal]

Jon asked him some very specific questions about what the Democrats would do different in Iraq and if we were in charge. Dean didn't give specific answers. He talked about some good things, but nothing on differences in Iraq. It was not a great interview and Dean didn't perform on the level I expected.

We need a strong anti-war individual to emerge in the next year that can really captivate, motivate and lead people. Some people say it will be Wes Clark. I hope it can be someone that strong.

[Jon_da_brockman]

1. I thought he was great

He spanked the Republicans on arming and protecting the troops.

[autorank]

2. Clarki has been strong all along. He should be our President!

Afterall, he has the leadership and the experience (diplomatic-military) for the task of leaving Iraq. He'll show up, count on it!

[Very very determined]

3. I wanted him to call for impeachment

Oh well. :(

[Tamyrlin79]

5. Good luck with that one...

That hasn't gotten nearly enough along for them to do that. Even the ones calling for impeachment are saying it as "supporting a resolution of inquiry" or some such.

[Tamyrlin79]

4. I thought that he did okay...

Not the best I've ever seen from him, but he is getting better. I think he's trying too hard to talk about what he wants to talk about and doesn't tie it into answering the question well enough.

[IndyOp]

33. All Rethugs learn in kindergarten that if you weren't asked the

question you wanted to be asked, then answer the question you wanted to be asked anyway.

It is hard to come off as responsive when you do that, but in the current political clime - if you don't, then you wind up answering questions about trivial crap. If we want Dems to 'set an agenda' and to 'look strong' then this is part of the game.

I didn't see the interview - this is just an 'in general' comment.

:kick:

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. I thought he did fine but I do wish he had something specific and concrete

lined up. Jon was right to ask for something that wasn't gonna look cute on a pillow. We on the left need to have a clear alternative to offer the people.

[FreedomAngel82]

15. I agree

We have to give people a reason to vote for us.

[Telly Savalas]

46. Agreed, but the fault for this can't be laid at Dean's feet.

Unlike boosting the minimum wage and balancing the budget, issues most Democrats agree on, the party is all over the map with regards to Iraq. It's hard for Dean to speak for the party when the party is nowhere near having unified voice on the matter.

[napi21]

7. I thought Dean did GREAT! Renenber, he's the Chair of DNC...

NOT a Senator, not a Representative, and not a candidate for President any more! HE shouldn't say exactly what a Dem admin would do!!!!

I think he did a great job at explaining what the Dems stand for and how it differs from the hypocritic Pubs.

[Lecky]

38. I agree

I don't think it's his job to outline a strategy on how to get out of Iraq. Considering our current administration has no plan of bringing our troops home, Dean going on a national tv comedy program screaming "Bring the troops home", "impeach Bush" would make him seem well...crazy.

This war is a very serious issue and it just seems innapropriate to gloss over on a comedy show.

I have no problem with him calling out republicans when they do wrong, but I also think he should work on sending out a message w/o bashing republicans. A little bit is fine...but it's not something we should base our whole message on.

That was just the Daily Show though so I'm not too worried about it. You can tell Jon Stewart is rooting for the dems :)

[wurzel]

8. Guys. The Daily show is a comedy show.

[NYC Liberal]

10. BINGO.

I think some people need to watch THIS again, lest it be forgotten:

http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/001589.html

[Eloriel]

9. Stewart could've given him a little room to finish a thought, AFAIC

I was very annoyed with Jon about his peppering him with questions and leading him quite so much.

As for your criticism of Dean -- hey, remember, Dean doesn't set policy. Stewart was basically asking a policy question.

[BuelahWitch]

13. That's what I thought too

Jon was treating him like he was still a candidate. But I do think that Jon likes him very much. Maybe he was just trying to get him to elaborate on how Democrats would run things differently. Still, not fair to expect him to talk policy when he's not in a position to do so.

[Swamp Rat]

54. Yep

Dean was interrupted during some of his most powerful lines. Jon irritated me, but I'm very happy to see Dean on the show.

I think Dean did great! :)

[seabeyond]

11. it has been weeks of a dem speaking out and handfuls here attacking

them. everyone whines, that dems arent talking. when they do, there are people whining some more. he didnt say enough, not the right stuff, not the right way. what is this shit. i am just amazed with this board of late

dean was good. it was a good interview. he said a lot of good stuff

[Cha]

21. I agree with you! It was great..

picky, picky, picky!

I was smiling the whole time..great comedy and Dean managed to get some good points in.

Take that rove in your fucking pipe and choke on it.

[Renew Deal]

41. I think some of them need to be sharper.

And I don't think that's unreasonable. He was asked specific questions and didn't give specific enough answers. He also just wasn't sharp enough. I have seen him carve up the republicans, and he didn't do that.

When someone asks you what you will do specifically, you should be able to answer that. He wasn't all bad. Just not good enough. I am sensitive on this, because the pukes are pushing this no vision line. I think it's BS and it should be easily countered.

[Hippo_Tron]

12. The problem is that it's too complicated

There's no ten word answer for how to solve the situation in Iraq. And if he tried to answer he would've been accused of talking like an eliteist.

So he did the next best thing which was to say... if you put Democrats in power, it will be different the next time.

[gaia_gardener]

16. Not to mention that we dems haven't even agreed

on the right course from here. Obviously, (I hope, anyway) we wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place. But now we need to find a concensus on where we go from here. Moveon.org is taking a poll now about this very issue.

[Hippo_Tron]

29. That's for the next nominee to decide

I don't mean to sound like we need to wait till the last minute again before we come up with a plan, but here's the simple fact... political parties do not create foreign policy. Sure, we can all agree on a borad set of goals and ideals about what role we would like the US to play in the world, but specific foreign policy initiatives are developed by Presidents, not by political parties.

[Renew Deal]

43. I disagree.

What do we say in 2006? If you elect the Democrats, we promise to do what exactly? Half of us will pull out now. Another group will stay a while. Then another group wants to invade Iran. Do we make promises we will not keep? We need a much more solid message now, not in 2008.

[Hippo_Tron]

60. Congress doesn't determine foreign policy, that's what we say in 2006

Regardless of the outcome of the 2006 elections, Bush is President for the next four years. The Iraq war is still his to run, until a new commander in chief is put in place. What Democrats CAN promise if they win back congress, is that they will enact laws to fix the problems with Abu Ghreib, GITMO, US Troops not getting body armor, call investigations into Halliburton and possible corruption in postwar reconstruction contracts, and many other things that would at least improve the situation. Perhaps, we could promise that we will demand that Bush set a clear timetable for Iraq. But what exactly that timetable is, is not something for a congress to decide, it's something that a President has to decide and like it or not, Bush is President until 2008.

[Renew Deal]

42. I noticed that.

That's one thing that worries me. We need to decide what we are doing with Iraq as a group. Someone needs to lead that group. I think Clark might fit in there.

[cybildisobedience]

58. agreed

It's like, Okay, solve the problem on injustice in the world...and make it quick....and make it really simple so that even idiots can understand it...go ahead - you have 30 seconds.
Here's at least part of the answer: I think it's important to point out that you're asking us to clean up a mess that somebody else made, using power and resources we don't have. And I would hope that you and others in the media would pose these questions to those in power who DID create this situation and have the power to effect change immediately.

[pointsoflight]

14. It was fine, not a good format for describing policy.

John was interrupting, cracking jokes, etc. It is, after all, a half-hour comedy. And Dean got what, less than 10 minutes of that? If you want to hear about policies and political views, there are plenty of very recent videos available on the web in which Dean goes into the war (and many other issues) in great depth.

[Carolab]

17. Most important thing he said was how the REPUBLICANS divide us.

And "WE'RE ALL AMERICANS; WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER".

It's true, it's THEIR fault we're having this "civil war" in this country.

It's ROVE's fault. And he keeps on dividing us. Just like everything else Republicans EVER promised us, they've delivered the OPPOSITE. Chimpy said he'd be a "uniter".

My, God, things are ridiculous now. People are practically fighting each other in the street. You can't go down the road without trying to figure out if that yellow ribbon magnet on someone's car means they are a Republican. Or sneering at them if you think they are.

WHO DID THIS TO AMERICA? NOT DEMOCRATS!

A KEY to this, which Howard ALSO mentioned, is that Republicans DON'T TELL THE TRUTH. He talked about how they state something as a fact when it in fact is not. Talked about how on Faux they said the stall on Bolton was a "victory" for Republicans, for example.

Drove home the fact that they are LIARS and DIVIDERS.

[Renew Deal]

44. That was an excellent line.

[KharmaTrain]

18. I Agree...Dean Was Barely Preaching To The Choir

When Stewart asked why Democrats don't say what they'll do and Dean joked he should be "Shadow Secretary Of State" that sums up a lot of the problems the DNC and Democrats face.

I was hoping Dr. Dean was going to come out and address the criticisms by Cheney & others and use this platform to take a shot back. Rove was on Scarborough tonight given carte blanche to respond and further spin. Chenney did it with CNNServative. Dean has his chance...albeit, sadly, on a Comedy show, and came up with very little.

[Cha]

22. Dean was great..

Too bad you missed it.

[KharmaTrain]

31. Too Bad I Saw It...

Sorry, no sale...wasn't impressed.

Where was Dr. Dean in defending Senator Durbin? Granted, he's not alone, but look at how Mehlmann came out and defended Rove today after his remarks.

Dr. Dean's job is show us there some fight in this party...I'm not seeing that...either in tonight's performance or in many things he's done in helping build up the party organization.

[Cha]

32. I think you just like to complain

about Dean no matter what he does..so I'm not buying.

[KharmaTrain]

34. Damn Right I'm Complaining

Check my posts and see the one's I've defended Dr. Dean when it's warranted. This time he sucked and I'm calling it as I see it.

He gave some pretty boiler-plate answers to a very partisan crowd...you could even see the pained look on Stewart's face.

This complaint...as is the one of the OP is warranted. Again, look how Mehlmann defended Rove today...where was Dean defending Richard Durbin?

[Cha]

36. Maybe you didn't look hard

enough.

Dean defends Durbin in the PBS hour interview with gwen ifil.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/06/22.html#a3582

[KharmaTrain]

37. I Saw That Interview, Too

And about 100 other of us. It sure didn't get much play elsewhere. It sure didn't bring other Democrats out to stand up with Senator Durbin. He was stuck twisting in the wind all weekend as the Repugnican hate machine tore him apart.

Plus that Dean defense came AFTER Durbin's mea culpa...it would have been nice had he done it before hand.

Peace.

[Carolab]

59. What?

"It sure didn't get much play elsewhere."

Hello? It was on PBS.

[Renew Deal]

45. I have seen fight out of Dean

and the Dems. They have been tough and interesting over the last few weeks. I think they are doing a good job overall, and part of that comes from him.

[fujiyama]

51. I don't have a clue

what the hell people are bitching about.

Dean did fine and Jon didn't treat him badly. In fact I thought he sounded very sympathetic to him and the party's cause.

[NYCGirl]

23. Here's a link to see a fantastic 12 minute interview from PBS News Hour

(Jim Lehrer) last night. Dean talks about a number of issues.

Scroll down the page about 3/4 of the way:

http://crooksandliars.com/

[Carolab]

25. Thanks for the link! I didn't know Dean was on Jim Lehrer's show!

Why doesn't someone let us know these things?

[NYCGirl]

30. I didn't know either until it was over, but the good folks at

crooksandliars.com were generous enough to host the clip.

Edited to add: Enjoy! It's a good interview.

[Carolab]

35. Gwen Ifil is Condi's friend and really tried to trip him up.

Didn't work.

[Jim Sagle]

19. Dean did fine. Hypercritical comments just aren't helpful.

[Cha]

24. Damn straight!

[RetroLounge]

20. Comedy Central

Duh...

RL

[Renew Deal]

47. The people that watch comedy central

are potential voters.

Duh...

[RetroLounge]

53. So are the people that watch the Survivor

You have a point?

I didn't think so...

RL

[Renew Deal]

55. The point is

That he is the political leader of the Democratic party and he needs to be sharp all the time, no matter where he is.

[Bluebear]

26. It's a bigger question than can be answered in a 10 second sound bite n/t

[In Truth We Trust]

27. I give him an 8 out of ten. Would of been a 10 if he said DSM &Impeachment

[Maestro]

28. Stewart's show really isn't the place for presenting a platform

of specifics. It's time for some good ole fashioned anti-rethug rhetoric. I loved it!

[Brian Hopkins]

39. Video

For those who did not see it I have posted the interview at the link below:

http://www.dembloggers.com

[alfredo]

40. He scored some points. He was good, could have been better, but

I am not unhappy with his performance. He got in some important points. His
values comments were good.

[Renew Deal]

48. He was good when he said that we're in it together.

He was strong on a few things. I just feel like when you are the #1 guy, you have to be at your best all of the time. It's probably too demanding, but hey, why not expect the best. ;)

[alfredo]

57. Remember, the GOP has had a several decade head start on the

framing war. What Dean is doing is redefining the Democratic party.

[Behind the Aegis]

49. I thought he did great!

1. It is a COMEDY show, not The Capital Gang...I mean, really, how much is he supposed to discuss in 8 minutes, while Jon yucks it up? I love Jon's comments and his show, he is a comedian, not a journalist, after all!!!

2. He made great points about how the right really doesn't support our troops!

3. He made a great comment about how things would really change if Jon's audience was about 6 times as large! Meaning, that people get more reliable information from a half-hour comedy show than real news!

4. Dean tried to make a joke, but, bless his heart, he needs a comedy writer! :)

The overall show was great! Especially, Colbert's report! I thought I was going to bust a gut! That pizza bit was a SCREAM!

[ladjf]

50. I support Dean. But, he needs to abandon the policy that we

should stay in Iraq. He couldn't answer questions about Iraq strategy because there are no good answers when the basic strategy is to leave the troops there.

[bklyncowgirl]

52. C'mon folks this was the Daily Show

60% joking around, 20% Republican bashing and a few attempts by Stewart to get Dean to commit to something that the Democratic Party does not have--and hasn't had for a long time--i.e. a consensus around a group of issues designed that meet the needs of the American public.

Dean's been chairman for about three months now--he inherited that void--I'd like to see him do something about it, but he ain't gonna build a platform by himself on the freaking Daily Show.

Imagine the headlines "Dean urges withdrawal from Iraq on Daily Show"

On the plus side, Dean came off well, smart, funny, down to earth and reasonable. I mean, who'd you want to sit next to on a long airplane ride, Howard Dean or Dick Cheney--or Ken Mehlman for that matter.

[Beelzebud]

56. Anyone know where to download the Daily Show?

Like a torrent site or something where I could download the daily show?

I usually get it off usenet, but they have been coming in incomplete on there...