The more they attack Dean....

[Cascadian]

the more Dean is going to look stronger. I saw the debate and it appeared to me that the other candidates and even to some extent the main moderator seemed to be keen on attacking Howard Dean. The only one I noticed who really didn't was Kucinich. Kucinich was more keen to stick with the issues. For that he gets my respect. Kerry and Lieberman were just relentless. So as far as I am concerned, they can attack him all they want. It will just make them look more desparate in the end.

[Brian_Expat]

1. I think CMB also did a good job sorta pointing this out.

I'd like to see more of Edwards and CMB in the Dean administration.

[wryter2000]

7. Kucinich and CMB

Are classy. They have principles and stick to them.

[poskonig]

2. I'm impressed by the way Dean handled the attacks.

I'm comfortable with the candidate I support.

[Rick Myers]

5. Same here!

Dean is MUCH MORE comfortable in front of the cameras and the crowd. Sad but true, if he does become the nominee, this 'bashing' will have toughened him and given him experience. Goddess knows KKKarl Rove and company won't pull ANY punches...

[Cascadian]

12. They already are starting to attack Dean.

The Repugnants already know he is a strong candidate and they are going to throw as much crap at Dean as they can muster. It is going to be gloves off time once and should Dean get the nomination.

John

[Padraig18]

3. Dean handled himself well; no one laid a glove on him.

I smell a blowout in IA...:)

[Military Brat]

4. Kerry and Lieberman are drowning men, grasping at straws

They are both in serious need of media training, to try to gain some perspective of how mean-spirited they appear. You simply cannot elevate yourself by denigrating someone else, although Gawd knows Rove has used that tactic to his advantage. But by now, the Dems should know better than to use it against themselves.

Kudos to Kucinich. He's got class.

[hippiechick]

6. What was it Ghandi said ?

.. First they ignore you,
Then they laugh at you,
Then they attack you,
Then you win ?

Something like that ??

I think so.


:hippie:

[Cascadian]

10. Exactly right.

John

[nomaco-10]

8. I feel like I just witnessed the long, pathetic

downward spiral of the Lieberman and Kerry campaigns coming to a merciful end. Carol Mosley Braun and Dennis Kucinich are real assets to the dem party. Howard Dean is clearly the frontrunner with good reason.

[Cascadian]

11. I also must mention Moseley Braun.

She also stuck with the issues. She also has my respect along with Kucinich.


John

[Carni]

15. I agree

Lieberman's pissing and moaning was particularily pathetic but I was surprised by the fact that Kerry hopped right on the bandwagon. I thought he had more regard for the public than that.
I was very disgusted when Kerry made the "bush knew" business sound like some wild outrageous conspiracy theory. Warnings to bush pre 911 are fact not fiction.
Where the hell has he been?

[TeacherCreature]

20. Lieberman sucks!!!

I dispise him in the BADdest way!

:hi:

[jpgpenn]

9. you took Candy Crowleys line!

I guess you watched CNN after the debate huh? enough people around here know what she is all about.

[BootinUp]

13. Dean was hurt on the raising the taxes issue

Nearly everyone fired a shot at him. His response was weak. Personally I don't even understand why he has this as a campaign plank. You can govern once your elected. You can't get elected saying your going to raise everyone's taxes. Its preposterous. And his explanation about other fees and taxes isn't going to change that.

[T Roosevelt]

16. Of course everybody completely misses his point

and even Lieberman supported it without even realizing it. His point is that everybody's taxes went up anyway - more tuition, more property taxes, who cares about $300 when the others go up thousands...

[Lobo_13]

19. And the other part is

that the people he's talking to KNOW if they're property taxes/tuition/premiums/etc. went up more than the money they got back in tax cuts.

That's where the rubber meets the road, and since I'm one of the people who's expenses went up because of the tax cut, I know.

[janx]

24. Yeah, he knows how to get this point across.

And he knows how many of us are hurting.

[DemOutWest]

14. Dean stumbled

quite a bit. He was evasive on answering and Edwards looked better.

I don't think Dean will lose his support, but he will not gain any new support. CMB, DK and Edwards will most bounce out of this. IMO.

[joefree1]

17. No stumble, "speaking the truth is no gaffe"

Dean looked and sounded great. My favorite quote is when he came back at Kerry with the Washington Insiders and speaking the truth is a gaffe for them.


Images from Dean Rocks the House of Blues, Hollywood
From wtmusic http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=919849
From Joefree1 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=921300

[TexasSissy]

18. I disagree. Others point out contradictory facts about him that

the public needs to know. Like the fact that he supported Newt Gingrich's cut-Medicare bill. That he thought the retirement age for Social Security eligibility should be raised to 68 or 70. That repealing all the tax cuts like Dean wants would result in a tax raise for middle class and poor Americans, who have now been hit with higher state and local taxes because of the federal tax cuts. Like his statement that he'd release his governor records when Bush does (which statement he changes when he is told that Bush has released his gubernatorial records).

Dean calls these points attacks. But they are legitimate issues and facts to be pointed out. Dean points out likewise regarding the other candidates. Lieberman does go overboard sometimes, though.

[Larkspur]

21. No they are not legitimate issues because they are at least 8 years old

and largely based upon distortions. Gephardt never tells the whole truth about Dean's position on Medicare, just what is convenient for him.

Dean NEVER supported Newt's Medicare-cut bill. He supported a Republican senator's bill that was different than Newt's and was to start putting a brake on the out of control Medicare growth.

Dean has NEVER supported cutting Medicare. He has supported slowing its growth and cutting the red tape which strangles doctors and patients.

Regarding the Social Security retirement age, Dean said that over 8 years ago and that was when it was a valid suggestion to save Social Security. After Clinton showed that there were other choices, Dean dropped his support for increasing the age limit.

In regard to repealing Bush's tax cut, this happily single and child-free woman is still looking for her tax cut. The so called "Middle class" tax cut only went to 22% of the population -- married with kids, who are mostly Repukes anyway. The upper 1% got the bulk of the tax cut and the rest of us got either nothing or not very much.

Regarding Dean's gubernatorial records, Bush's records are technically available, but in practice no one can get them. Bush's open records are a deception, not a reality. The Texas archivist said that it would take 3 years to sort Bush's records and then those records will go to his father's library, which operates under Federal laws. Bush has no intention of making his records available to the public.

[SahaleArm]

22. His record is irrelevant?

Is there a statute of limitation on Dean's record?

[stickdog]

23. It just needs to be put into context. And that context is that if we can

keep the BFEE's hands off the fucking treasury, we can keep SS & Medicare afloat without these changes.

But that was far from clear in 1995.