Dean's remarks make rivals say: Wait a minute

[Nicholas_J]

Political scientist Eric Davis, a Dean-watcher at Middlebury College, said Dean could easily make amends for mistakes or missteps in Vermont's intimate political community. "He's been having a little difficulty making the transition from being governor of a small state to being a presidential front-runner and thinking, 'What are the consequences of everything I say?' " Davis said.

Dean is "not as prepared as he should be for a detailed examination of his policy positions," Davis said. "The campaign is much stronger on strategy and tactics than they are on policy."

Trippi said Dean's positions are clear and acknowledged only one outright mistake, when Dean said in an AFL-CIO debate last month that he had "never favored" raising the Social Security retirement age. He said Dean corrected himself after the debate.

Some Democrats fret privately that Dean's missteps could undercut their argument that Bush is not credible on the war or the economy. If he is the nominee and "continues to make comments and then backtrack," independent political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said, "it would be harder to accuse the president of flip-flopping or misstating facts."


OOPS..

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/2003-09-10-dean-usat_x.htm

[MrJones]

1. flip-flopping

I really hate random charges of "flip-flopping" no matter who they're aimed at. They're gossip column stuff. The point isn't whether one changed one's position, but why it changed and what the significance of the position is. Did a politician say something vague about an issue six months ago and something similarly vague but different now? Not a big deal. I don't care who the politician is. If Dean suddenly, say, came out and said that he wouldn't be in favor of civil unions, that would be important because (a) it contradicts something he previously did as Governor and has claimed as a good thing, and (b) is a concrete stand on an issue that many people care about.

[helleborient]

5. No reason to pay much attention to this...

No link, no listing of publication or broadcast...it could be a figment of someone's imagination. Vapor accusations.

[w4rma]

6. The false charge of flip-flopping is *all* the other campaigns have

That and their trying to make a negative out of Truman-like plain-speaking.

It's blatantly political. And they are basically saying that they think campaigns should try to be as slippery as possible on every issue.

It's like when some folks charge Dean for being both too Liberal and too Conservative. In this case they're charging Dean with too much straight talk and too much politico talk.

These blatantly political attacks are desperate and remind me of the Bush administration's tactics of throwing everything they have at something until something sticks.

[DrFunkenstein]

9. Kind of Like Saying Kerry Is Pro-War?

The Dean people are not the ones to be throwing stones these days about distortion. Long after it was shown that Dean's position was NO DIFFERENT than Kerry's, you could still see Dean people calling Kerry "pro-war," as if he really wanted to go to war.

[helleborient]

2. So which campaign has you on their payroll Nick?

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ediacara]

3. got a link?

of course not.................

[genius]

7. The trouble is that Dean is simply not credible

And in the general election in 2004, our strategy needs to be that we have the more credible candidate.

[LuminousX]

10. Which one is?

They are all awful.

I gravitate to the one that has served an executive position, whose policies I understand. I don't get caught up in the minutia because that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who Dean wants to trade with, because he ultimately doesn't get a final say in that. It doesn't matter what he feels about Israel, because once he is in office he won't be able to dramatically shift the U.S.'s position.

Instead of being AGAINST someone, try being FOR someone and commit yourself to helping that person overcome their shortcomings.

Political candidates are not formed from one casting of bronze, perfect and ideal. They are carved carefully and over time. It all depends if they are the type that allows themselves to admit their failures or shortcomings and adopt better positions. At the end of the day, that is all that counts.

So, work for you candidate, I'll work for mine and we'll let those of you who are willing to vote for one of these losers decide who will represent the party and I will wholeheartedly back them all the way to the White House where I will then assail them with my opinions of how this country should be run.

[renie408]

8. ROFL!!!

I swear, I nearly posted, "You had best get that link in there." when I first saw this post!! God, I wish I had!!