Reply #26: Dean's lack of trustworthiness a problem [View All]

[DemDogs]

Dean's candidacy is based, on substantial part, on his highly successful attacks on Bush. And I don't think that parsing his positions, even his odd position on Israel, is a vulnerability. He has insulated himself from these attacks by saying (to everyone else's legitimate complaint) that the other candidates are in bed with Bush, therefore attacks from them are part of the Washington-based problem he is supposedly available to solve.

The problem is that his false or misguided statements is not where he is on Israel (but OMG!) or where he is on Yucca Mountain or middle class tax cuts, but where he is on credibility. When he says things that are wrong (and we have seen plenty of that recently), he thinks it shows a weakness to admit that they are wrong. (Dan Balz last week called something "wildly wrong" -- amazingly strong for Balz of the Washington Post -- that Dean continued to stand by.) His response shows a disregard for the voter, for the other candidates, and for the legitimacy of the party. It shows a distasteful level of arrogance, and it deprives Dean of a potent weapon against Bush and his lies.

The very notion that, when the issue comes up, Dean supporters on this forum want to change the subject, attack the messenger, or say that the lies haven't been about anything important is almost as dangerous as Dean's behavior.

We are the party of virtue and truth, as naive as that may sound. I am not young, but it is what brought me to the party when I was young and what has kept me here for decades.