TNR: push polls in NH vs Clark, not Dean's, but Rove's

[robbedvoter]

which is what I always said!

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?pt=bjq57awwJ36hUmhMuLKmgm%3D%3D
As I said, this is just a theory. But if Clark's campaign surges, expect to see a
lot of push polls, anonymous flyers, and perhaps even broadcast ads
criticizing him and praising Dean. (Remember how in 2000 Republicans
bought pro-Ralph Nader television spots in Minnesota?) There's nothing
sinister in any of this--it's just good old-fashioned political hardball. But it
would be silly not to recognize the Republican desire for Dean to beat Clark
for what it (almost certainly) is.

[wyldwolf]

1. Of course...

Rove is on record saying he wants Dean to be the demnom.

[w4rma]

2. …part-owner of The New Republic, gave $2,000 to Bush-Cheney '04 Inc.

WHEN YOU'VE LOST THE NEW REPUBLIC . . . Tapped's new favorite thing is the Federal Election Commission database where you can type in anyone's name and see if he or she has donated money to political candidates or parties. (Tapped's old favorite thing was The Washington Post's home buyer database, where you could learn how much your neighbors spent for their apartments.) So check out this nifty little listing (go here and search for “Steinhardt, Michael”) that we discovered while trying to see which big-shot New Democrats were supporting which Democratic presidential candidates: According to this list, Michael Steinhardt, former Democratc Leadership Council stalwart and part-owner of The New Republic, gave $2,000 to Bush-Cheney '04 Inc. on June 20, 2003.

Now, we know that there's often little direct relationship between a magazine owner's politics and the views of its writers, but it is a notable thing when one of the more prominent New Democrats around starts financing the continuation of the Bush administration.
http://www.prospect.org/weblog/archives/2003/07/index.html#001288

[DrFunkenstein]

3. Broken Record

Attacking the source doesn't affect the legitimacy of the point.

[w4rma]

5. The article is about sources.

IMHO, Republicans are trying to muddy the water, but I know darn well that the smart and informed Republicans don't want the best fundraiser that the Democratic Party has ever had to win the primary.

*Some* Republicans do want Dean to win. These are the ones who believe their own propaganda.

Don't try to rely on what you think your opponents might think. You might interpret their thinking wrongly or you might be lied to.

[dsc]

4. Rove is a genius right?

After all that is why we care what he thinks about our candidates. He is supposedly the Moriarty of politics. So this genius devises a poll to help Dean for which Dean is likely, so likely we had many threads about it here and TNR has to address it as well, to be blamed. So is he a genius? Or is he a dumbass? If this was supposed to benefit Dean then he is a dumbass and his opinion is now worthless. If it wasn't then he can still be a genius but he doesn't favor Dean.

[polpilot]

6. Dean is far, far brighter than Rove. Dean, the 1 percenter from Vermont,

has demolished the most entrenched and monied politicos of our time and now leads the polls and the money game. Those who fear Rove are only those of lesser political abilities.

Dean is the winner. Rove can no more control and predict this saga than the U.S. could bomb sheperds and expect accolades.

Dean '04...No Surprises so far...

[genius]

7. There is one good thing about Clark

If he wins, the military may back him in taking office. I don't know much about him except for his record in Kosovo.

[AP]

8. Anyone who thinks the mediawhores and Rove aren't pimping for

an unaware Dean and aren't trying to stick a knife into Clark, please explain why David Brooks would write these two articles:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/18/opinion/18BROO.html, in which he says Clark and his supporters are "too mealy mouthed" to take a stand on the future of Iraq, and

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/13/opinion/13BROO.html?ex=1066622400&en=b7b0d5ed2a15179f&ei=5070 , in which he says "If you were to pick a presidential candidate on the basis of social standing — and really, darling, who doesn't — you'd have to pick Howard Brush Dean III over George Walker Bush......that culture, which George Bush and Howard Dean were born into, did have a formula for producing leaders."

[Vis Numar]

9. source

It's hard to imagine Jonathan Chait having any credibility on Clark, he's been pro-Clark (and anti-Dean) way to openly to take him seriously.