Dean's Visible Strength

[ProudToBeLiberal]

Dean's Visible Strength

Vermonter is the clear favorite to win the invisible primary

by William Schneider

....

It's called "the invisible primary." The presidential candidates compete for money and attention the year before the election. Whoever ends up raising the most money and placing first in the polls usually gets the nomination—but not without a fight.

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Nevertheless, two important events have made Dean the prohibitive favorite to win the invisible primary. He secured two major labor union endorsements—those of the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Those endorsements give him a claim of legitimacy with the Democratic Party's base.

/snip/

The second event that gives Dean the edge is his announcement on November 8 that he can raise the money he needs without taking public financing. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts said the same thing about his own campaign a week later, but Kerry plans to rely on his own resources, including those he shares with his wife. Dean is propelled by small contributions: "We believe 2 million Americans will borrow $100 simply for the pleasure of sending this president back to Crawford, Texas."

Dean is now poised to be the Democrats' fundraising leader at the end the year. What about his poll standing? The national polls do not show Dean with a decisive lead, but they do show him at the top of the list. The mid-November Gallup Poll is typical: Dean, 17 percent; Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, 15 percent; retired Gen. Wesley Clark, 14 percent; Gephardt, 12 percent; and Kerry, 10 percent, among registered Democrats, with the other four candidates in single digits.

The race, then, looks like Dean versus "Stop Dean."

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http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/nj/schneider2003-11-25.htm