Just saw CNN Headline News. Top "news" story at the half-hour was about Governor Dean. David Franken covered the story, and it was all about how Dean is virtually unstoppable for the nomination, but will do terribly against Bush. During the five-minute "news" segment, they showed a quick clip of Dean talking about corporations acting badly, then a quick clip of Clinton in '92 saying the era of big government is over, then a quick clip of Dean referring to Clinton's '92 comment and saying we need a new approach (but no details on Dean's approach). Franken then described Dean as far-left and how his anger is resonating with these lefties who have felt abandoned by the Party and that's why he's doing well.
Franken then said Democrats are now scrambling for an anti-Dean who can win in the general election and then said (as if it were a fact) that would be Lieberman. (They didn't mention any of the other candidates.) Then, they showed Lieberman speaking to a town hall somewhere being well received (a much longer clip). Franken ended this "news" story saying that Democrats don't have much time to stop Dean before the primaries.
I just checked www.cnn.com and they gave Lieberman the Political Play of the Week for succeeding in becoming the "anti-Dean". (See http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/19/ip.pol.opinion.lieberman/index.html ) I suppose that's why this segment on Headline News was considered "news"...
Of course, there was no mention of Dean being a fiscal conservative, that he governed as a centrist in Vermont, his diverse supporters, his doing well in polls even in the South, his large grassroots base, his fundraising ability, etc. (And, of course Dean has the guts and ability to take Bush on by being tough and reframing the issues, while Lieberman is a hawkish Bush-lite type even if he has a good voting record on the environment and civil rights.)
It's probably not worth our time to send letters to CNN, and instead should focus on positive actions. That might be working to get our favorite candidate into the White House by getting out his message and letting people know about his record and our campaign. That might be supporting the Democratic Party or the progressive movement or opposing Bush while waiting for the nominee to be chosen. Nonetheless, I found this "news" story a bit shocking, even as someone who is pretty jaded and sophisticated about media coverage.