Dean on MSNBC

[Uzybone]

scorched earth in full effect. He looks lost.

[Bryan]

1. He looks PISSED

and determined.

"Are you gonna drop out if you lose Wisconsin?"

"Nope."

Still, his tone is more reasonable than his detractors would admit:

"Look, this isn't going to be a quixotic campaign to hurt the Democrats' chances. The reason I got into this race was because I felt that the Democratic Party wasn't showing enough backbone."

[ShadowCabinet]

2. Dean needs to stay in the race.

Even if he doesn't win the nomination. If Kerry can stand up to the points brought up by Dean and still comes out ahead, Kerry will be that much stronger a candidate going into November.

The talking heads are already saying that if it's a Kerry cake-walk and the other candidates drop out to leave him running unopposed, he'll be untested for the fury yet to come by the White House Rove-ian slime machine. Pat Buchanan is already saying that the GOP is only now just gearing up to begin targeting Kerry early if he's more or less the lock on the nomination.

I say let the process play out. Personally, this condensed primary concept stinks. I live in NJ and my primary isn't until June. By then, the process will have been decided and my vote marginalized. It really isn't a fair system and is disenfranchising voters.

[Mz Pip]

3. No

he does not need to embarrass him or his supporters any more. This process has played out. It won't get any better for Dean.

MzPip
:dem:

[ProudToBeLiberal]

4. so you're advocationg that edwards and the rest should drop out?

wouldn't the end the debate really? We need more discussin

[ShadowCabinet]

7. Embarass??

Dean is hardly embarassing himself. As Dems, we were infuriated that our votes weren't counted in 2000 in Florida. Why are willing to inflict this on ourselve and take peoples choice out of there hands by reducing the field to 1 candidate within 4 weeks of the process starting??? 13 states have cast votes and the process is already over?

By that measure, why not just let the Iowa results pick the nominee and let's be done with the whole thing.

[madfloridian]

11. Dean has never embarrassed us at all. He makes us proud.

He should stay in as long as he can. It brings a multifaceted dimension to the campaign, and it keeps it more alive.

I want our state to get a chance to vote in the primary, too.

[Bryan]

6. Yeah, I'm in Colorado

Our caucus is in April. You've gotta have a very generous assessment of the objective value of your own vote to participate anyway, but the only goals I could conceivably further is a first-ballot victory for my man Kerry or a little love for Kucinich (it'd be cool if my neighborhood is full of Kucinich folks).

But I agree that Dean should stay in; the more guys we've got going in front of cameras and calling Bush an idiot, the better.

[EvilJam]

8. Clark must've run out of money.

{Quote} from somebody in this thread...
I say let the process play out. Personally, this condensed primary concept stinks. I live in NJ and my primary isn't until June. By then, the process will have been decided and my vote marginalized. It really isn't a fair system and is disenfranchising voters.-------{end Quote}-------
i agree.
the Primaries System is a joke.
there needs to be, like, 4-6 states per Primary Day,
and the Primary Days need to be 2 weeks apart.
that way...
1. it ain't all about Iowa and NH. (which is ridiculous).
2. being 2 weeks apart - the Candidates have a chance to recover in 2 weeks (from any primal screams) - and the "front runners" need to hold all that "Mo" for 2 weeks instead of 1 week.
this would "separate the wheat from the shaft" in a more equitable fashion.
3. the Primaries are over in 7-10 weeks -- but they're NOT over in 3-4 weeks. that is, ALL the Candidates SHOULD be able to run an 8 week Campaign - becuz they should all STILL be in it after 4 weeks. this nonsense about throwing in the towel after 2-3 weeks or 4 weeks of Campaigning is just that - nonsense!
more like a Campaign for Prom Queen or High School Senior President.
4. since they're over in 7-10 weeks, they should START in mid-March - anf be FINISHED by the end of May, First of June.
no sense having frickin' Primaries in the dead of winter!
5. almost ALL the States get "their voices heard" in a short period of time. nobody's "left out of the process." - evil

[progressivebydesign]

10. The primary system, as it is now, sucks..

I think ALL states need to have their voices heard. Can you imagine that we let two states, Iowa and New Hampshire pretty much decide the fate of ALL OUR LIVES for the next four years???? I like those states, I have relatives there.. but I really want a say in who gets the nomination. This is ridiculous. I heard the Democratic Party fatcats wanted it this way.. why, exactly? For the very reason we're seeing? THis country needs a lot of work... wish we could have a nominee that is willing to roll up his sleeves and kick some bi-partisan butt to get our election system back in order. We need reformer, not a conformer. But.. those guys can never finance their way into the system.

[progressivebydesign]

9. "no backbone" I love that! He sounds like us!

He sounds like what DU used to sound like most of the time. That's why I love him! I think the needs to stay in, as does every other candidate that can... not only will we give less time for Bush & Rove to attack our eventual nominee. The cliffhanger, or even just a real primary race KEEPS the focus on us Democrats.. NOT Bush for the months leading up to the primary. Why don't people see that? It's not a hard concept to grasp. We say.. oh, well.. Kerry has it. Let's all get back together this summer to sign the papers. What happens in the next 6 months? BUSH 24/7 on the news, doing photo ops, doing interviews, kissing babies, etc. We fade into the shadows and let BUSH have a free six months of media attention. No way.. don't let him. Keep this thing going! Vote with your heart now, and your head in November.

[Tim_in_HK]

5. Dean should stay in.

Most definitely.