Dean: "People Are Ready for Kerry"

[AmyStrange]

JUNE 16, 2004
Dean: "People Are Ready for Kerry"

FROM: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jun2004/nf20040616_4067_db008.htm
The former Democratic front-runner looks back at his failed campaign and forward to the battle to unseat President Bush

In the annals of Presidential campaigns, the rise and fall of Howard Dean's candidacy will be pored over by political scientists for years to come. The MD and former governor of Vermont emerged from obscurity last year to become an early front-runner for the Democratic Presidential nomination. He raised an unheard-of $50 million in campaign contributions on the Internet, showing the power of the medium for filling political war chests.

Then Dean, who was an odds-on favorite before a single primary or caucus vote had been cast, saw his campaign fall apart. He became the target of constant attacks from all his Democratic rivals, and his organization ran into trouble. He finished third in the Iowa caucuses, never recovering from the infamous "Dean Scream" episode. His rousing exhortation to his network of Deaniacs the night of the caucuses was played over and over on national TV, and it became the butt of endless jokes on late-night talk shows. Try as he might to project a more somber and substantive image, he bowed out in the spring of 2004, after winning only one primary, in his home state of Vermont.

Now Dean -- relaxed and reflective -- is helping his former rival, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, in the battle against incumbent President George Bush in November. Dean is writing a book about the experiences, giving speeches, and still keeping a network on the Internet with the many supporters who contributed $10 and $20 to his effort.

<SNIP>

[noahmijo]

1. This is why even though I supported Kerry from the beginning I love Dean

He's a great speaker for our side I hope he continues to keep the fire going even after Kerry gets elected.

[AmyStrange]

7. you know he will

he's on a mission,

d

[SlingBlade]

2. He’s got the FIRE

But Kerry has the nomination, I’d like to see Dean more involved with the campaign to oust BushCo.

[AmyStrange]

8. he's involved

Dean was here on the west coast not too long ago with Kerry and don't forget about the bat.

He was doing the bad in the middle of winter... hahahaha I always found that funny,

d

[David Zephyr]

3. People Are Ready for Kerry.

Nice Post, AmyStrange. :thumbsup:

[AmyStrange]

6. I liked some of the hip hoppers and rappers use of the Dean Scream...

and David Letterman's version... I couldn't stop laughing.

What Dean said hit a cord and his ideas will live on and we helped make that possible.

And now Dean is helping Kerry ,and I can't help but be in awe of him and his losing and how he has handled it.

Simply in awe of Dean.

Kerry I don't like because of his IWR, but BUSH OUT is job one. Get him to change his mind after he is elected, but I still get all giddy about his refusal to apologize when he called Bush's election team a bunch of liars. How can you not like a guy like that atleast a little?

(but I still dream about Dean)

d

[madfloridian]

4. Be sure to watch the video at the link halfway through.

It is quite good and thorough. Looks like the interview has stuff not in the transcript....and vice versa.

[AmyStrange]

5. thanx MF...

I wish I had access to a computer that could do videos,

Sigh, I'm always one beer shy of a six pack,

d

[Cheswick2.0]

9. Dean is the man

He stand heads and shoulders above the people who attacked him. He always tell the truth as he sees it. I would vote for him or Gore in a heart beat.
Kerry keeps pissing me off. But I keep giving him another chance. Calling bush's team a bunch of liars is certainly a step in the right direction.

[Tansy_Gold]

14. I wasn't a Dean supporter, but I will give him a big thumbs up. . . .

. ... for being a far more gracious loser than Gore was a winner.

I have my disagreements on Dean's positions, but regardless: he has been consistently supportive of his party and its apparent nominee, far more so than Al Gore was in 2001 and especially in 2002. Dean has been out there, visible, and active.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Cuban_Liberal]

10. Our party owes a HUGE debt to Dr. Dean!

Back when it was all sackcloth and ashes after the 2002 elections, one lone voice had the courage to say "The Emepror of Crawford has no clothes", and that voice belonged to Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont. He picked up the battle flag from where it lay, waved it and rallied the troops; he made us believe that we CAN take back our government. If we are successful in our effort to unseat the Bush junta this coming November, it will have been in large measure because Howard Dean reminded us that we are Democrats, and that we ARE better than the Republican slime that staged a coup d'etat in December 2000.

God bless and keep you, Dr. Howard Dean!

:dem:

[Larkspur]

11. I'm as ready for Kerry as an upset stomach is ready for Alka Seltzer

I respect Dean but I will never like Kerry. I opposed the Iraq War, which Skull and Bonesman Kerry voted for, long before I supported Dean.

[Mountainman]

12. I don't feel Dean had a failed campaign

I'm not a big Dean fan but I feel we wouldn't have had much of a chance against Bush if Dean hadn't started the grass roots campaign and ignited a fire under Democrats butts.

Kerry is not attacking Bush but he is letting him stew in his own juices and he can do that because Dean laid the ground work for that to happen by getting the Dem base united.

[caffefwee]

13. Bush better start packing

It's not good to wait until the last minute.

[Radical Activist]

15. It was better for the Dean movement that Dean lost

Seriously, I think the whole movement is better off since Dean lost. The reason is that Dean was already rushing back to the middle in December. If Dean had gotten the nomination he would have spent the rest of the campaign sounding much more moderate and guarded in his style and positions.

I know many Dean followers realized he was a moderate all along, but many actually thought he was the progressive that he sounded like in his speeches. If Dean had won the nomination it would have left a lot of young followers bitter and cynical about falling for the bait and switch routine. Dean supported the occupation and large military spending just like Bush, and Nader would have made that obvious. Or, maybe it would have been better for them to learn that lesson and not be so trusting of the next guy who comes along and sounds more liberal for the primary season. I don't know. As things are now, people can still believe that Dean was whatever they wanted him to be, which was always the strength of that campaign.

[quaker bill]

16. The movement suffered it's defeat well.

The notion that Dean ever sold himself as anything other than who he was is simply unfounded campaign lore. Some people may have read more into his statements than ever was actually there. I have found most folks that were this confused were not involved in the campaign. They apparently got most of their information about Dean from the other campaign's press releases.

Having been involved for most of the duration of Dean's campaign, I can tell you he is the same guy today that he was when the whole thing started. He is a bit better informed, having gotten to meet alot of people around the country, but the character remains the same.

He always said it was not about him, but about reforming the Democratic party and removing Bush from office. For now, I expect he will focus on removing Bush. I applaud his efforts and will join him in them.

[AmyStrange]

17. Thanx - Dean IS NOW what he has ALWAYS been...

I had to leave this arena for a few months because of the anti-Dean movement here who constantly took his comments out of context and called him a liar, but were never EVER able to explain (to my satisfaction) why the folks in Vermont kept voting him into office.

He's made mistakes and changed his mind (after research), but his core values (that everyone deserved to be treated equally as his ultimate goal) always survived.

And, DemocracyForAmerica.com afirms that it wasn't about him but about changing the direction of leadership.

Thanx Quaker Bill,

d

[AmyStrange]

18. excellent points

I don't agree that his base would have left him. Anyone who researched his history would know he wasn't a true liberal. I always thought of him as a common-sense liberal,

d