This says it all

[Mile Hi]

I think Dean's problem was that the American public wasn't ready for him. The public as a whole is afraid of bold ideas and change.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ft/20040211/bs_ft/1075982442145&cid=1106&ncid=1926

<snip>
"The Dean effect turned out to be sort of spooky for the Democrats and that made them run for the most boring guy in the race ," says Kevin Hassett, director of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. The question now is whether the many "Deaniacs" will stay engaged. "I flew across the country for this guy ," said a supporter from Oregon who volunteered for the Dean campaign in New Hampshire. "I wouldn't walk three blocks for John Kerry. He is completely boring."

http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/files/021104.html

<snip>
More than 1,000 activist groups were spawned by the Good Doctor, and many of them are still hard at it, organizing, e-mailing, blogging and Meetup-ing, looking to take the energy and enthusiasm the Dean campaign unleashed and turn it into a permanent political force.

The question that should be on the minds of the newly invigorated red meat Democrats is: Will John Kerry be able to attract these grassroots advocates to his campaign, or will they scatter to the wind, never to return (like the John McCain faithful, MIA since the 2000 South Carolina GOP primary)?

<snip>

Dean’s message of empowerment brought these disconnected denizens out of the shadows, and his Internet-based campaign connected them to each other — filling them with promise and hope. A promise that is now in danger of turning into disheartenment and disengagement.

I saw this for myself when I gave a speech at Shoreline Community College in Seattle last week. Of the hundreds of students in the audience, I’d estimate two-thirds were wearing a Dean button or T-shirt. After my talk, one young woman came up to me on the verge of tears. “I’d never cared about politics,” she told me, “until Howard Dean came along. And since then I’ve been working around the clock for him. What do I do now?”

<snip>

But the only way Kerry will be able to get the Dean-o-crats on his side is if he can bring to his campaign the kind of grand, bold vision the times demand. Great social movements are not sparked by subtle shifts in policy or new and improved versions of familiar proposals. Nor are they sparked by attacks alone, however brilliant and justified.

“Ronald Reagan,” said Peggy Noonan last week in commemorating his 93rd birthday, “was a great communicator not because he said things in a big way but because he said big things. It wasn’t the way he said it, it was what he said.” As Reagan did, the Democratic nominee has to speak of big things.

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Hearing a lot about this and have to agree

I don't think the Dean supporters will come to the aid of Kerry either. Question is, will the Kerry supporters rise to the level of energy, commitment, and activity as Dean's?

One thing's for sure...we ain't seen nothing yet in terms of attacks on the Dem nominee. Bush hasn't begun to spend that war chest and so far it's been kids in the sandbox. This, BTW, is another area Dean has gained experience with all the Dems beating up on him.

[Atlant]

4. I know who the Kerry supporters are around my area. The answer is...

> Question is, will the Kerry supporters rise to the level of energy,
> commitment, and activity as Dean's?

I know who the Kerry supporters are around my area. The answer for
them is absolutely, positively "No".

I do not know how many Dean supporters will pitch in, but I'm fairly
sure they won't pitch in for Kerry like they pitched in for Dean. And
the Kerry party regulars would never have it if they tried.

Atlant

[WiseMen]

2. Sadly, I think that Dean has taken himself and his supporters off a cliff

from a slippery slope of internal propaganda and disingenuous inventions regarding the opposition.

Many senior people in the Party have now written off the Dean movement as a purely negative phenomenon.

It is very unfortunate for the Party, but this tragic pattern of
infighting never seems to end.

[Atlant]

5. That's okay.

> Many senior people in the Party have now written off the Dean
> movement as a purely negative phenomenon.

That's okay.

Many people in the Dean movement have now written off the Democratic
Party as a purely negative phenomenon.

Atlant

[WiseMen]

9. Dean is basically REJECTING ADVICE FROM GORE who risked his own

reputation to help Dean.

I don't find anything very noble in what is happenning.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

10. Yeah-up.

[NashVegas]

7. I think the Dem Party Already Sees Us Falling off a Cliff

And are trusting the invisible masters to hand out parachutes, as long as they make a good show of pretending to pull us back to safety.

[wadestock]

3. Dean's problem was....

simply the rationale thought that gained momentum on the part of democrats that this "outsider" wouldn't stand up to Bush.

You've heard and seen innumerable polls about the consensus about how important it is to beat Bush. This is the #1 issue. Dean lost on that issue, not the apparent mistakes he made here and there.

He could have potentially risen above that problem if he had more of a personal and message appeal, but he was not really outstanding in that regard. He harped on being a governor of Vermont that had done great things, but many people wouldn't necessarily extrapolate that into him being a great president that could accomplish similar things.

But Dean supporters must also concede that although he was the first one to come on strong with a good message, he tended to repeat himself over and over, and didn't really have the ability to be captivating. Yes, you could say intellectually, but not that powerful captivating appeal. Actually, the entire group has had that problem, but the one who was making the best progress in terms of articulating a message that would go to the heart was Clark.

[LoneStarLiberal]

6. Makes Sense Since Our System Is Predicated On Compromise

Our entire political system is predicated on compromise and resistance to change, something built into our system of government from the top-down (in terms of checks and balances established by the Constitution) that permeates downward throughout our political organizations. Not all of them, but some...like the Democratic Party.

As I've said before, it was an immensely naieve strategy to try to overthrow the entire Democratic hierarchy and win a nomination all in the space of one election cycle. Revolutionary movements do not succeed overnight. It's hard enough to win a nomination when that is your only task; I'd say that it's impossible in the modern era to try to do anything more than that and expect to win.

But, just because the premise that it could all be done at once is naieve and that it failed doesn't mean that it is wrong...

[DenverDem]

8. I am trying to get on the Kerry bandwagon

as he is the horse we will have to ride. And he is unquestionably better for the country than the bull goose loony rush to global corporatist feudalism that bushler represents. But will Kerry have the guts to make the kinds of policy decisions that must be made to turn the country, and by consequence, the world toward a sustainable and equitable economic and social agenda? Can he address the Energy Crash honestly and lead a lazy, greedy, fearful citizenry toward the substantive change needed to survive the next decade? We can only pray that will be the case, because he's all we've got, but his installation into the nomination by the power elite media calls this into question.

I will vote and work for Kerry, but his candidacy is a huge compromise for me.

[WiseMen]

11. Look at Kerry's record. Wellstone was his closest partner next to Kennedy

[WilliamPitt]

12. Al Gore was 'boring.' George W. Bush was a 'regular fella.'

That worked out well.

Dig your own holes. Die in 'em.

[Fleshdancer]

13. My hope is that Dean will not get out of politics

if he can't win the nomination, I would LOVE to see him chair the DNC. Probably won't happen, but it's time this party is represented by a pit bull rather than a shmoozer. Besides, the Democratic Party is in serious need of an upgrade. Could you imagine Dean debating Ed Gillespie on Crossfire??? I would pay money to see that one.

The right wing talk shows are trying to find ways to insult Kerry and demean his service in Vietnam (wtf?) and I'm already getting pissed off about it. Even though I'm a Dean fan and will vote for him in the primaries no matter what, I know deep down inside I'll end up sticking up for Kerry if he's the nominee even though I don't like him all that much. I might regret it two years from now, but who knows...maybe Kerry will prove me wrong.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. I think Dean would be an excellent DNC chair

He knows how to raise money. There's no question about that.