Can anyone catch Dean?

[Scott Lee]

GREAT Times article:

Can anyone catch Dean?

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/17/timep.dean.tm/index.html


Some are saying the doctor is already in. Here's why his rivals haven't caught on, what they're doing to stop him and why he may be his own worst enemy

Over the past year, whenever one of the leading Democratic presidential candidates made his way to the downtown Washington office of Andrew Stern, head of the nation's largest union, he came away with two things: a bit of advice and the names of local officials across the country.

"I'm the voice of 1.6 million members," the president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) told those who sought his endorsement. "Go talk to them." Only one candidate, Stern says, took him up on it. Howard Dean not only talked to SEIU members, he showed up on their picket line at Yale University, cheered their organizers at a San Francisco hospital and consulted the union's nurses in Iowa as he put together his proposal for solving the shortage in their profession.

"Howard Dean didn't start on top," Stern says, "but he certainly ended up on top."

more>

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"Conventional" Democratic wisdom when it comes to running for president is not panning out this election, so far. Are other Dem candidates going to get it in time to save their own campaigns?

[wndycty]

1. Don't take a victory lap just yet!

I have absolute confidence that Joe Trippi is smart enough not to hang a "Mission Accomplished" banner just yet, there has not been one primary yet, so I don't think anybody is catching anything.

However I stand ready to support whomever the nominee is.

[whirlygigspin]

2. Go Leiberman!

ahum.

[HFishbine]

4. Agreed

It's still a horse race. The last three national polls only confirm one thing, there are four candidates all within the margin of error for the top spot: Clark, Dean, Gephardt and Lieberman. The lastest national poll also show undecideds at 37%.

It's still very much anybody's game. Dean does have some undeniable advantages though: most money, huge lead in NH and a very large number of motiviated, organized grassroots supporters.

(source: http://www.pollingreport.com/wh04dem.htm)

[CMT]

3. sure

but the great thing about the Dean campaign is that they aren't running like they are the front-runner, they are running hard like they are 10-points behind. They don't take the nomination for granted.

[Catch22Dem]

5. It's still too early to say

We need to see what happens after some primaries. I think Dean is gonna look REALLY strong after IW and NH, but then comes SC and some of the other southern primaries. He needs to do well there too. We're also going to see some candidates dropping out around then, so it will be interesting to see who they, and their supporters, rally behind.

Way too early, man.

[Hep]

6. We're closer to the beginning than we are to the end

n/t

[Scott Lee]

7. Smashing perceptions: An early victory in itself

That's what I think is the meat of the Times article. It is describing the toppling of a lot of statist credos that in all honesty, need to be toppled. If there is one "victory" that has occured already in this race, it's that Insiders don't have a flat and easy road to the top anymore.

Rejoice, the Kingmakers have just been knocked across the room. Are they out? Too early to tell. But the brawl has begun.