Dean shares No. 2 spot in Democratic race, poll shows

[dajabr]

WASHINGTON — Former Vermont governor Howard Dean, riding a blitz of media publicity and talk show buzz, has surged into the top tier of 2004 Democratic presidential candidates, a USA/TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows.

By Nati Harnik, AP

In 10 days, Dean has climbed from fourth place to a tie for second, passing a highly touted rival, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.(Related story: Complete poll results.)

Written off not long ago as a long shot from a tiny state, Dean, 54, is suddenly being taken much more seriously. The former governor landed on the covers of Time and Newsweek this week, and political analysts are taking notice.

Dean "happens to be the most interesting candidate in a bunch of people who are excessively gray," says Stephen Hess, a Brookings Institution political scholar.

Analysts attribute Dean's surge to his feistiness, his ability to raise millions of dollars through the Internet and his firm anti-war position, which appeals to the activist liberal wing of his party. He also is attracting many young people eager to work for him in early-voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

More: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/2003-08-07-political-poll_x.htm

Keep that big "MO" rollin'!!!!!

[ThorsteinVeblen]

1. CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!

[gully]

2. Wow, GO DEAN!

!!

[newsguyatl]

3. once again

proof of just how crucial a role the media plays...

we must not fight them, or ignore them... we must get them on our side...


go dean!

[tedoll78]

13. Absolutely!

One BIG plus that I like about Dean is that the major media really seem to enjoy his campaign. He's full of surprises, his life story is compelling.. he's a fresh face.

If this were Gore, we'd be watching the media rape him again. But now, we might get a more balanced (not prefectly still) playing field.

[CMT]

4. one bit of bad news in that poll

Bush has gone from 58-60 percent since the last poll. I hope this isn't the start of a trend since the media has been spotlighting improving economic news and downplaying Iraq.

[dajabr]

5. Saw that too...

Hoping it's at the low end of margin of error (+-3 points)

[RevolutionStartsNow]

6. Hey, that's great!

I know it's still early for national polls, and I also realize that some campaigns are still heating up, but these results are awesome, not so much for his position but for his momentum. I know he's campaigning hard, and I'm glad it's paying off!

[otohara]

7. Lieberman Still #1

OK America, wake the fuck up!

[George_Bonanza]

8. Still a long way

Good for Dean, but it's still 6 months until the first primary. I really don't expect Lieberman and Gephardt to win the nomination, so to me, the poll's too early. It's still a little skewered.

[Vis Numar]

10. Skeward?

The only REAL bad news in the poll is for Kerry, who is going down, no doubt about it. He's went from 18% and second, to 12% and 4th. I have it on good insider word, that the reason why Kerry is so hoarse, is from him yelling at his staff.

Kerry is fading. Dean is rising to the top.

[Nazgul35]

11. It's only because Kerry...

has been out of sight he'll pick up when he starts campainging in Spetember...all these polls are at this point is name recognition...and going up or down is just how much someone registers on the public...

[George_Bonanza]

12. Is that true?

About Kerry kicking it up in Sept.? When does he say or insinuate this? Because surely, what we're seeing now can't be his best effort.

[tedoll78]

14. What I like..

is that Congress will have a busy fall. Dean will have much more time to get to know the voters.

[deutsey]

9. Yea Dean!

:thumbsup:

[dsc]

15. In reality

the top four are all within the MOE of the poll. Dean is moving up, Lieberman down, and the rest seem static. Very good news for Dean and also Kerry. Bad for Gephardt and Lieberman.