Throughout the fall and winter, when the Dean juggernaut was on cruise control; everyone wanted to talk about who would be the anti-Dean candidate.
In the last two weeks the media, the pundits, and most importantly, the voters of NH and IA have decided differently.
Kerry has two wins, he has the momentum, he has establishment backing, and the media is treating him with kid gloves (in my opinion.)
It is clear that we aren't searching for an anti-Dean, but an anti-Kerry candidate
What will be buried in all the spin, however, is that less than 2% of the delegates have been selected so far.
It is clear that Dean, Edwards and Clark have the resources to continue until at least 2/3. (Perhaps Lieberman as well.) All three have advantages in certain states or geographic regions that may be able to be exploited in the next week. The primary battle is not winding down, in fact it is only beginning.
However, it is clear (to me at least) that the field will soon be culled to two. Money, time, and resources are scarce. Democrats are not willing to continue contributing to a candidate who is not going to win.
So who is the anti-Kerry? My guess is--Howard Dean, for the same old reasons everyone quotes: Money (no campaign limits), organization, grassroots, and my favorite...
IDEAS
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