Reply #61: In the sense that Gore was locked up/made ineffective ... [View All]

[Casablanca]

In many of his pro-environmental stances by Clinton. Dean's viability is in the fact that he is willing to take politically risky positions - prime example being his stated support for the breakup of media conglomerates - and to go on record with them. A VP's job is to conform as much as possible to the front-runner's policies, apart from rhetorical flourishes that appear to round out the ticket. Dean would never have the opportunity to actually attack the consolidation of media ownership under the thumb of a politician who has never found the issue of media consolidation worth taking a stand against - i.e. Kerry.

So the idea of Dean as a VP actually adding a populist edge to the insider politics that Kerry's record clearly shows is a appealing fantasy at this stage. Appealing since Dean would have a long shot at being President as you say, but a fantasy none the less.