I thought I would put forth some worries I have as a Dean supporter:
- His policy ideas, primarily a healthcare overhaul, worry me. Not because I don't agree with them, hell, I became a Dean fan the first time I heard the "join the Italians, the British, the Costa Ricans, etc." speech from last year. My worry is that he may try for it in the first two years of his presidency while still facing a huge battle with Republicans in both houses of Congress and end up passing a lame, weak program. My other worry, of course, is that he waits until the next Congressional election to bring him more Democrats and that doesn't happen, putting the program in the same danger.
- The "shocking" things he says aren't shocking, really. They're simply more intellectual than the NBA Playoff-addicted public is used to. Saying that Osama Bin Laden shouldn't be pre-judged guilty isn't shocking, it's simply acknowledging the way the American judicial system works. It would be SHOCKING if Dean had said could't wait to say to see what that wacky Osama guy would dream up next. The problem is, of course, that the damage control on things like that has been pretty horrible. I have met extremely intelligent, but fairly apolitical people who think Dean is "pro-terrorist". (yes, an actual quote) He needs to avoid issues like that. Nobody had questioned his hatred of bin Laden until he said that (albeit with criticisms of foreign policy experience in general) So, I hope he stops this. I get what he's saying. His supporters get what he saying. But the large majority of people don't and they are the ones he needs to win the nomination and the election.
- The image of an angry man is not something he should shy away from. This may fly in the face of what his political advisers may think, but fist-pounding is not automatically bad. So long as his ideals remain the same, he won't lose his supporters. But he is going to have to wake up other people to his cause. People often discuss how incredible his internet fundraising has been, and it has. But I would argue that most people, if they saw a Dean e-mail would regard it as spam. They aren't going to go out of their way to his website. They aren't going to read dailykos and hear nice things about him. His supporters are people who were already doing all those things. They were looking for a candidate like Dean and now they've found him. But, ladies and gentlemen, we are in the minority, big time, compared to the general population. He needs to wake them up. Not with gentle nudging but with the immediacy that his issues deserve. Why are people so afriad of terrorists, but okay with obesity? Obesity is going to killed hundreds of thousands more Americans this year than terrorists or Iraqi insurgents. Alcohol, tobacco, and driving down the highway with your seat belt off: the comparisons are similar. Not to mention, being too uneducated to know that if you cut your finger at work, you're entitled to benefits. Dean is right, his campaign is about hope. But he needs to articulate what it is the hope is combatting. For some reason, Americans can't see the real dangers before them. That's why healthcare takes a backseat to Homeland Security when it comes to priorities. And if he has to bang the podium a few times, so be it!
I guess more on this later...