Is Dean's ego getting the best of him?

[littlejoe]

Unlike other Democratic candidates who didn't make the grade this season, Howard Dean, who announced the suspension of his campaign, refuses to go away and gracefully blend into the background.

So, as I asked, is Dean's ego getting the best of him? Could it be that this is his version of sour grapes?

Bob Graham left quietly. So did Dick Gephardt, Wes Clark and Carol Mosely Braun. Is this his justification for clinging to the last remnants of a terribly run campaign? Is this his only opportunity to save face?

[Maddy McCall]

1. I thought this all along...

That is only ONE reason that I would never support him.

[BL_Zebub]

46. So instead, you support a candidate who not only has an ego

but who is also a wishy washy invertebrate liar with ties to the same criminals backing Bush.

Gotta admire that strategy :eyes:

[mouse7]

47. POOP. n/t

[LuminousX]

2. He realizes that he has a significant amount of power

It isn't about ego, it is about fulfilling the desires of his supporters.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

3. Dick Gephardt, Wes Clark and Carol Mosely Braun

were never considered front runners as Dean was. Naturally his quitting his run is significantly different.

[xultar]

5. ummmm hummmm n/t

[Maddy McCall]

6. Wes Clark was--if only momentarily

[La Lioness Priyanka]

19. yes but for less than a split second

and dean was considered front runner for weeks....and clark hasnt really left since he endorsed kerry

[Maddy McCall]

25. I never saw Dean as the front runner...

maybe the first out of the gate, but not the front runner. It's easy to say he was at one time--but that time was before the first caucus or primary vote had been cast.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

30. you are not

the media; his political opponents; late night talk show hosts; thousands of supporters who donated a lot of money to him etc.

so just cos you didn't think he was a front runner doesnt mean he was not the front runner for a while...

[Cuban_Liberal]

4. Why go away?

He quite clearly stated why he is staying in, and also what he plans to do with his grass-roots organization. Is that threatening, in some way?

[curlyred]

11. only to those who never supported him to begin with

Dean is most definitely not "politics as usual"....some people just can't accept that. Status quo and all that.

[Cuban_Liberal]

14. I agree.

I've never found Dr. dean to be anything but interesting and inspiring. :)

[NicoleM]

7. No.

His supporters asked him not to quit. There are a lot of people who haven't had the chance to vote yet and who still want to vote for him.

[boxster]

12. This is not unique to Dean.

Supporters of many candidates have urged their candidates not to quit. I know Clark's certainly did.

[oasis]

8. "I have the POWaaaah"

[mouse7]

50. POOP. n/t

[EXE619K]

9. Showing your true colors now that I see.

Wasn't it you that said you were a Dean supporter once?

Obviously, if you were ever involved with his campaign....

You missed the message!

[littlejoe]

21. What is obvious is that Dean squandered my support.

[EXE619K]

24. support from a "fair weather voter"...

is no loss at all!

;-)

[littlejoe]

31. It is no crime to switch support, when you finally realize

that your candidate isn't worthy of your support.

[EXE619K]

41. No. it's not a crime to change your support.

But, it begs the question of your sound judgment though.

[Maddy McCall]

58. Unsound judgment? I think it proves rather sound judgment.

Even rats know when to abandon a sinking ship.

[mouse7]

55. POOP. n/t

[mouse7]

52. POOP. n/t

[LastRobot]

10. Quietly?

Especially since Dean is going to help a lot of congressional campaigns, every Democrat should be glad that he's staying a part of the process.

If he disappeared quietly, it would render his 2 years of campaigning as pointless. His campaign has been all about getting every citizen to be a part of the process as opposed to sitting on the sidelines.

Its not about ego, its about Dean actually giving a damn about the country.

[LuminousX]

13. And you are kidding yourself if you think Clark is going to fade away

He may campaign for Kerry, but he has his own demesne of supporters who give him quite a bit of independence in how he manages his political career from here on out.

[Adelante]

45. Right-o

Clark isn't going anywhere quietly. He just does what he does with grace. We're with Wes and Wes is with us. Moving onward and upward. No shit, people. :)

[deutsey]

15. My take is that Dean realizes the campaign isn't about him

so much as it's about us, those of us in the grassroots movement that support the call to change (or reclaim) America that was at the heart of his candidacy.

So, even though he knows the campaign is over for him, the movement that supported him goes on and he wants to give us the opportunity to continue affecting the primaries through our votes by reminding the remaining candidates that the issues we are working for remains on the table.

It seems to me that's the same thing going on for Kucinich (although he believes he's still got a chance at the nomination, based on what I've heard him say). Those who support what Kucinich advocates want to make damn sure that these issues at least register in the minds of those running the Party.

My two cents, anyway.

[eileen_d]

22. Those are good observations

and I hope that both Dean and Kucinich continue to influence the Party.

[ibegurpard]

32. He knows this

Which is why he made the now infamous statement about his support "not being transferrable." That statement was simply an acknowledgement of that fact.

[Lefta Dissenter]

16. Just as Wes Clark left

while asking his group of supporters to stay 'intact,' and reassuring us that he will stay involved, I want to see Dean keep his group involved. That's what we need, for pete's sake - get people fired up and KEEP them fired up! Dean said that he is determined that the Dems will win back the White House, and I appreciate that!

[Hoosier Democrat]

17. Dean is NOT the first candidate to do this....

In 1992, Paul Tsongas "Suspended" his candidacy in the same way Dean is doing now. Tsongas's rationale was that he was leaving final judgment to his supporters. I also remember that two weeks after that, he damn near beat Jerry Brown for second place in the New York Primary. (No, I'm not saying Dean will somehow resurrect)

As for the comments "refuses to go away", "sour grapes" and "clinging to the last remnants of a terribly run campaign", I thank you. Nothing worse than a sore loser except for a winner gleefully kicking a guy when he's down. One more reason to vote "Other".

[SeattleRob]

18. So he should just shut up and go away?

I thought this was the Democratic party - a party of many people and ideas. Of course he shouldn't just go away. There is too much at stake - the future of our Democracy.

[eileen_d]

20. I agree - what's the problem?

I didn't support Dean as a presidential candidate, but I would probably support him in other roles. The original post is kind of like complaining that Dean isn't dead enough.

[littlejoe]

33. short answer is yep!

[mouse7]

57. The short answer is... POOP. n/t

[Anwen]

23. Faulty analysis.

This was never about Dean and his ego, it was about wanting to change America. If you listened to him you would know this.

[littlejoe]

35. Don't kid yourself.

[Anwen]

40. Likewise.

[mouse7]

Don't POOP yourself. n/t

[madfloridian]

26. I think this is a good idea.

He is right. Most of our group here will vote for him in the primary on March 9.

[saltpoint]

27. Not to quarrel here --

-- but I would rephrase the question to ask of what benefit Dean's intelligence and verve have been to our party.

We owe him a great debt. If ever we were asked to hire a team of bright, capable, decent men and women to run a company, we would extend generous offers to people like Howard Dean, Carole Moseley-Braun, and Dennis Kucinich.

I'd work for any one of them any day of the week.

And they have all been brave in leading charges against the Bush citadel.

[MercutioATC]

28. Fine. Not another penny from me. Wouldn't want you to question my "ego".

I guess we Dean supporters should just pack up and go home, too. It'll be fun to see you take on Bush without our campaign support.

[littlejoe]

36. Anyone who thinks that politicians are altruistic are naiive.

This IS about Dean.

[MercutioATC]

38. Whatever you say. You obviously don't need our support.

Have a great time raising money...

[littlejoe]

42. You going to take your ball and go home? Or would you

hopefully realize that it's over for Dean, stay engaged and support Kerry?

[MercutioATC]

48. Kerry gets my vote if he's the nominee. Nothing more.

Edwards and Kerry represent what's wrong with this party, IMHO. I'll vote for Dean in the primary and the nominee in the GE.

I find it laughable when people slam a candidate that's just dropped out and then solicit their people's support.

[Anwen]

60. You are assuming Kerry

will be the nominee? That has yet to be decided.

[Redneck Socialist]

29. Dean saved the Democratic party from itself

and you think he should just "go away?" I don't think so. If he can keep his activist base together and transform it into a tool to help elect "Dean type" Democrats he (and we) will still have an opportunity take the party back and reclaim America.

It is not about Dean himself. It is about revitalizing the Democratic party and fighting and defeating the Republicans. That is why we need Dean to stay around.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

34. As long as what he's doing will help us beat Bush - it's okay.

If it hurts our ability to do that it's not...

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[littlejoe]

43. Shallow support is what he earned. Nothing more.

[LuminousX]

49. Wow, you really missed the boat on that one

I know my support for Dean is not shallow. Though if I proclaimed the depth of my support, I would be accused of being a cultist. Can't win with your types.

[Duder]

51. Time will tell...

'If you hear gleeful giggling from behind the curtain shielding the political elites from the mere masses, you're not alone. There's a party going on and we haven't been invited. It's a presidential election party, where the puppeteers of our democracy are celebrating an upcoming election that they can't lose. It's a contest between two of their own.

George Bush versus John Kerry is a dream ballot for those whom C. Wright Mills called the "power elite," that tight little club of economic, political and military leaders who truly rule the nation. The power elite doesn't care about political party affiliations. That's child's play. In their view, fools line up to vote while the real players decide who's on the ballot. And for some reason we still refer to the whole charade as democracy. The joke's on you.'

...

The Power Elite's Dream Ballot

[Fleshdancer]

54. shallow support isn't worth 50 million dollars in small donations.

just a thought.

[Zynx]

39. If he wants to start a new adventure, that's his right.

[Fleshdancer]

44. Howard Dean can't go away even if he wanted to.

You can call it ego, but I call it reality. Well over half a million people have been inspired by this man. His campaign raised 50 million dollars with the average donation being less than $100. While he didn't win the nomination, he did accomplish the unthinkable.

His sudden rise and fall will soon be political legend "So is candidate X this year's Howard Dean?", but his use of the internet and bottom up campaign tactics will be studied for years if not decades.

And then there's the temperament issue. The beautiful, double-edged sword we like to call anger. Dean hit hard and early at a time when other Democrats were tiptoeing because the polls said Bush's fun little oil war was "popular". Aside from Kucinich and Sharpton, would any of the other candidates have stepped up to the plate and called Bush on his dismal presidency if Dean wasn't so successful for speaking out? You could practically hear the collective head scratching over at the DNC headquarters..."Wow, someone can raise millions of dollars AND criticize Bush? Now there's a concept we never thought of!"

Like him or hate him, the truth is that Dean shook up this race at a time when it was most needed. He made this Democrat proud to be a Democrat again and I refuse to forget him. He made me believe that I can grab the attention of the DNC and finally make them listen. He made me believe that the DLC really IS full of themselves and they don't always have the best solution and he made me believe my vote and my $50 really does make a difference.

Now I will be a good little Democrat and support whomever wins the nomination. Dean is a good Democrat too and he'll do the same. The question is this: Will the Democratic Party be a good and true Democratic Party and listen to the message that made Dean so popular and successful in the first place? Or will it be business as usual?

The way I see it, the ball is in the DNC's court.

[LuminousX]

53. I have a button here that says, "I Want My Country Back"

Dean said at a rally I attended: "We are going to take this country back. We are going to take back the American flag."

We are still going to do that.

[Fleshdancer]

56. Exactly. I want my party back too. n/t

[Moderator]

59. Locking.....

1. If you start a thread in this forum, you must present your opinion in a manner that is not inflammatory, which respects differences in opinion, and which is likely to lead to respectful discussion rather than flaming. The moderators have the sole authority to decide whether a thread topic is inflammatory. Extremely inflammatory or inappropriate topics will be deleted rather than locked, and the thread's author will receive a warning.


DU Moderator