Boston Globe: Why not Howard Dean?

[Capn Sunshine]

How about Howard?
By Joan Vennochi | June 15, 2004

JOHN KERRY wanted Arizona Senator John McCain, a charismatic Republican, as his running mate. It's funny that the man who will be the Democratic presidential nominee is searching for charisma in a running mate, because his party could not stand the idea of Howard Dean, a charismatic Democrat, topping the ticket in November.

snip
Four years later, the provocative Republican was Kerry's first choice for vice president; a provocative Democrat who brought heart, soul, and an energized base to his party's primaries is on the sidelines. Dean had the courage to call Bush on Iraq, the Patriot Act, and No Child Left Behind. The former Vermont governor's passionate rhetoric forced Kerry to challenge these cornerstones of Bush administration policy, which Kerry previously supported with votes in the US Senate.

"You could hear my lines in their speeches." Dean told the AP in a recent interview reflecting on his amazing rise and fall in presidential politics. The rhetorical theft began after his opponents realized the potency of those spoken lines and their ability to galvanize liberal Democrats and indepent voters. Dean wanted to "Take Back America" long before Kerry understood how many voters feel that way, too. By telling audiences "you have the power," he linked voting to change, the first step in taking back the White House. All the anti-Bush sentiment is meaningless if Bush opponents don't take the next step -- actually voting.Kerry moved from stealing Dean's lines to stealing Edwards's riff on "two Americas." Now The New York Times reports that Democratic senators and Senate candidates are pressing Kerry to choose Edwards as his running mate on the theory that he would help them and the party in the South. "Edwards is from the South and speaks Southern, and I think that would be helpful to the candidates in that regard," Senator John B. Breaux of Louisiana told the Times, However, how does "speaking Southern" help Kerry with those independents who liked Dean's style of "speaking McCain" -- in other words, speaking boldly?
complete article:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/06/15/how_about_howard/
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Maybe the Kerry kampaign will wake up, maybe not. Maybe they have victory as their ultimate goal, maybe not.
Kerry's VP choice will demonstrate which one of these is true IMO.

[On the Road]

1. I Completely Agree

and it IS ironic for McCain to be considered but not Dean. Geographic balance has been successfully ignored during the last few elections, and that's Dean's only weakness.

The VP candidate is supposed to be a hatchet man, which Dean is good at. It would help to have a governor and someone who can energize the base while Kerry takes the high road and campaigns as a moderate. I really can't think of a more perfect match. Too bad not everyone sees it that way.

[WI_DEM]

2. Kerry/Dean beats Bush/ Cheney 48-42

in the battleground states of Arizona, Ark, Fl, Ia, Mi, Mn, Mo, Nv, NH, NM, Oh, Oregon, Pa, WVA, and Wi and overall is ahead of Bush/Cheney 45-44 in a Opinion Dynamics Poll.

I like how the editorial ends:
"The old conventional wisdom about a vice presidential candidate concludes that he best pick is the one who can deliver the electoral votes of his or her home state on election day. That is what keeps Gephardt and Vilsak in the mix...Dean's constituency is bigger than a single state . It's a movement synonymous with change and excitement."

[Capn Sunshine]

3. It also mitigates the Nader factor

If poeple in the party are serious about their fear of Nader, having a candidate on the ticket who attracts Nader voters nationwide sure as hell is more important than the electoral votes of Missouri.

and with that, I return from whence I came. Bye for now.