What have been Dean's latest "gaffes?"

[expatriot]

I have been offline for a week and away from English-speaking media am curious to know these "gaffes a day" that Dean has been supposedly making.

I have heard about the "if I'm not the nominee" one, and that is not a gaffe at all, just taken out of context.

And then the whole criticism of McAuliffe for not intervening. And I think that was taken out of context too, I think what Dean meant to say is that Terry should kick Lieberman out of the party.

on edit: added ? in title of thread.

[vi5]

1. Is there anything that you think has been a gaffe?

As opposed to simply taken out of context?

I wouldn't say either of the examples you gave were gaffes but I don't think they were taken out of context either.

[expatriot]

4. here's why I think they were taken out of context...

The comment about how Terry M. should intervene was taken by his opponents and made to sound like he is crying and whining and running behind his mama, when actually he was calling for a cessation of mudslinging for the sake of the ability to beat Bush without their knees cut out from under them.

The comment about how people who he has brought into the Democratic Party leaving if he was not the nominee has been taken as a possible indication that he will not back the nominee if it wasn't him. He has on MULTIPLE occassions said he would back whoever got the nominee and appeal to his supporters to also support the nominee. What he was speculating on here was the fact that maning thousands of his supporters would not back the nominee if it weren't him, no matter whether he backed them or not.

One thing is clear after all of this.... Dean's campaign needs to improve their response time and effectiveness of response to counter these desperate attacks. Bush WILL be worse.

[vi5]

6. I don't think either one was taken out of context...

Personally speaking I understood his words very clearly. I just thought they were the wrong things to say. Whether that counts as a gaffe or not, depends on your definition. I don't think they were gaffes since there was nothing inaccurate about them. But I can see where people would get really mad at him for saying both things.

1)He has slung his fair share of criticisms towards other candidates. In fact he pretty much threw the first shot. Accurate or not, he's not exempt from having attacked other candidates and the DNC/DLC ad nauseum. So now for him to ask Terry McAullife to step in and stop it when other people are doing it to him does seem very disingenuous.

2)This is the second time he's talked about the defection of his supporters. I don't think I would personally be as irked by this if he hadn't already said this, or if he even added the clause "But I will do everything in my power to see that it doesn't happen and see that all of these people remain engaged in the political process rather than just attached to one individual." But he didn't add anything of the sort so to me as a democrat without a horse in this race at this point, what he said comes across in context as a threat. And I don't care for threats.

Hey, we can all agree or disagree on this. And there have been a few Dean supporters I've seen on here who have been honest and agreed that what he said probably should not have been said. If you don't think so then you're entitled to that opinion. But even Liberal Oasis which is pretty solidly in the Dean camp, agreed that these remarks didn't exactly constitute his best day.

[auntpattywatty]

2. Dean's "gaffs" vs. Bush's "Goofs" - Bush's goofs lead to war - Dean's

gaffs lead to ??? nothing that I can think of

[Junkdrawer]

3. For one thing, we split GD...

I believe this should be posted in GD - 2004

[expatriot]

5. oh cool, I just realized that.... thanks....