This morning's "Dean is SO played" meme pre-primary round up!

[stickdog]

OK, consider that Dean has won 5 of the last 7 races and 5 of the overall 7 blue (Gore 2000) state races head to head vs. Edwards.

So it's the day of the BIG Wisconsin primary and Dean supporters are really hoping for a surprisingly strong showing! I mean, hope springs eternal, and it's a brand new day! Anything can happen in American political primaries, especially in a maverick state like Wisconsin, right?

Woo hoo, let's see what today's papers have to say (please click on a few, if only to read the headlines):

http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=1648402

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/02/17/Worldandnation/Dean_s_efforts_wheeze.shtml

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.dems17feb17,0,2564135.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

http://www.freep.com/news/politics/dems17_20040217.htm

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-0/107700203294172.xml

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-dean17feb17,1,6193990.story?coll=la-news-politics-national

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10977804&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=6

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/7970157.htm

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/02/17/kerry_edwards_seek_edge_in_wis_with_focus_on_jobs/

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0217dems17.html

http://www.californiaaggie.com/article/?id=2640

[Dookus]

1. ooh goody

another "Dean isn't necessarily in third place" thread.
I'm sure this factoid will turn literally DOZENS of people to Dean's camp.

[stickdog]

2. How about clicking on a few of the linked articles?

Just a friendly suggestion ...

[Dookus]

3. and what will those articles tell me?

Please summarize them for me. Do they say Dean will win a primary? That would be newsworthy.

[stickdog]

4. Just click and read the headlines.

You'll get the idea.

[Dookus]

5. I did read some

they seem to indicate that Dean is hoping against hope to eke out 10% of the vote against Kerry's 40-odd %.

[arwalden]

18. Near As I Can Figure, Some Dean Supporters Want The News Reports...

... to read with the same spin and blind optimism as the press releases that come directly from the candidate's organization.

I feel for them, I really do. More than once I've been on the losing end, and it's frustrating... but there's no conspiracy.

What I'm seeing is that although voters got charged up and excited by the things Dean was saying... that doesn't necessarily translate in to actual votes FOR Dean.

Perhaps the Dean supporters need to consider that American voters don't feel we need an "outsider" or "anti-establishment" candidate right now. Maybe American voters feel more comfortable with an "insider" during this particular time in our history.

My patience is wearing thin and I can only shake my head in disbelief as I watch so many of the Dean supporters burn their bridges before they've even CROSSED them. So many of them are boxing themselves into a corner that will be difficult to maneuver out of and still be able to save face. This of course leaves them with either being embarrassed or imposing some sort of self-isolation and abandoning that which is ultimately in their best interest.

-- Allen

[stickdog]

19. Or perhaps they would just rather have the press write the post-mortems

AFTER Wisconsin?

Can you understand why?

[eileen_d]

6. I'm starting to hope Dean does win in Wisconsin

so I can be treated to a deluge of articles from these same papers singing the praises of his miracle comeback! The funny thing about those articles is that they will be completely objective reports.

[Dookus]

8. but... but...

the media are biased against Dean. I read it it on the internet.

It would be illogical to blame media bias for every anti-Dean article and then quote a bunch of pro-Dean articles and say they're honest.

Either illogical or dishonest.


on edit: The first headline I read was only moderately dismissive of Dean. I read a bunch of others and they all say roughly the same thing - Dean is struggling to survive.

I suppose some will say that the fact this is being reported is evidence of anti-Dean media bias. But to those people I would ask; "how SHOULD the media cover a collapsing campaign?".

Should they strive to be positive so as not to offend supporters of that candidate? Should they refuse to report polls or interviews that reflect badly on that candidate? Should they be required by law to only post positive things? Should they be prohibited from reporting anything negative, no matter how true, about any candidate?

[stickdog]

14. That's very funny!

It would be illogical to blame media bias for every anti-Dean article and then quote a bunch of pro-Dean articles and say they're honest.

Can you find a SINGLE 2004 pro-Dean article for me? Seriously. Not a column or a local paper fluff piece or a respectful obituary or a reluctant assessment of Dean's fund raising and/or (early January) endorsement prowess, but a single 2004 US press service, WP or NY Times article that presents Dean and his Presidential campaign in an unambiguously positive light?

Perhaps an article lionizing Dean for funding his campaign primarily with small donations from average Americans? I mean, that would make for a good, largely untold, story. Wouldn't it?

[cornermouse]

7. So

That democrats end up with a Washington insider candidate, who may have had a past voting record to approve of, but whose more recent record has been to march along with all the Bush garbage. More of the same we've been getting from Bush?

And this is supposed to make me want to vote for him? Understand I'm not going to vote for him based on his campaign rhetoric. Kerry has a voting record that we can look at.

[Dookus]

9. yes, he certainly does

a 20 year record in senate as one of the most liberal politicians in the federal government.

[cornermouse]

10. 20 years was then.

The last 3 years are now. The ONLY reason that I would vote for Kerry, the nominee, is because Bush seems determined to destroy this country.

[Dookus]

11. and I suspect

you will find four or five votes you disagree with.

Well, let's look at the usual anti-Kerry lineup:

NCLB - a Kennedy bill that passed with wide bipartisan support. It is not being properly funded by the Bush administration.

IWR - a resolution pushed by Republicans to try to embarass Democrats. The actual war itself did not rely on this resolution. Bush would've fought this war regardless of Congress' desire. The resolution also urged strong UN and international support. Bush ignored those provisions.

Patriot Act - passed by 99 out of 100 senators, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Kerry, and most other Democrats, have called for changes in the bill to shore up civil liberty protections.

All of which ignores the fact that voting for something doesn't mean you support it wholeheartedy, or that you support every provision. Politics is compromise. See my sig-line.

well, those are the main anti-Kerry talking points. Anybody with a sense of history will realize Kerry is still a leading voice for liberalism. Add that to the fact that he's the only Democrat currently beating Bush in the polls, and it's obvious Kerry is a great candidate.

[cornermouse]

12. We all have our own opinions.

Mine is that Kerry, the Washington insider, has forgotten his own past and doesn't really represent us anymore.

[Dookus]

13. You might be right....

he might've pretended to be a liberal throughout his 35 years of public service.

But I think that's not true.

Explain to me exactly what's wrong with being a "Washington insider". Is it bad to have experience? Is it bad to have worked within the system? Can supposed "outsiders" do a better job of working with the congress? And who *IS* the "outsider" in this race? Sharpton? Or do you claim that the former-DLC Governor of Vermont is an outsider?

[stickdog]

16. "The Democratic House of Lords has selected our candidate."

We dare not question their judgment!

[Skip Intro]

15. Humor me if you will -

You state the the IWR res. didn't really give bush the authority to invade Iraq, that provisions in the res. weren't followed, that it doesn't really matter because bush would have attacked anyway...

Ok, let's say that's all correct and fine and the IWR vote is off the table because it was a dirty repuke trick and Kerry got tricked(although others saw thru the sham). Fine, for sake of conversation, IWR is off the table.

Tell me, if you will, why Kerry STILL, TODAY thinks invading Iraq was the right thing to do. Or why he refuses to condemn the criminal act.

Since this seems to be the question no Kerry supporter wants to answer, I won't hold my breath for a response. I imagine its hard to explain a position of being both for and against something at the same time.

[farmbo]

17. One actually explained away Deans big crowds by likening...

...these "last days" of the Dean campaign to "...the feel of a Grateful Dead Concert" (nice analogy, right?) where dedicated groups of supporters were traveling from event to event to keep numbers up.

Whatever it takes to jam these pesky facts into their existing editorial storyline.

[stickdog]

20. Kick -- as PERCEPTION becomes REALITY. (nt)

[candy331]

21. My sadness is that the people don't

realize that the media is not just out to destroy Dean but the whole democratic party with the party leaders knowingly and unknowingly in collusion.. The corporate media is basically in the hands of the repubs and their mission is to search and destroy. Expect to hear all guns firing at rapid speed soon when the nomination is complete .... Fool yourselves with delusions if need be that this is against Dean and he brought much on himself and that Kerry or perhaps your choice is Edwards can survive will be demonstrated just as vehemently soon enough.