13 - 9.
John Kerry - 13 delegates.
Howard Dean - 9 delegates.
Hmmm. After the limited time to recover from media assassination, I'd say Dean showed magnificently.
Let's face it. Dean has led this group from nobodies to somebodies on the national circuit. The others have shaped their platforms around Dean.
Here's one guy who wants to see Dean keep taking this to the edge. To keep pushing the agenda. Even if it won't be Dean in the end, and it has a good chance still to be, we can assure that Dean's platform sets the pace.
In the issues crowd, that's we care about more than the personalities.
So, with that in mind, let's all push Dean to go after Big Media with extra vigor this week, to separate himself from the pack, since Congress has pushed through an expansion of the Big Media ownership rules even though the American people resoundingly voiced our approval the last time, and canned the FCC action.
Let's ask Dean to push electoral reform and IRV, so that the Democrats pick up independent and wavering voters in spite of themselves, and also fresh momentum to bring in non-voters who don't believe in the process (and for the very reasons that Dean's image has been assassinated).
Let's push the freedom of information, and expose crony secrecy, like Wesley Clark has been doing the past few weeks. Wesley Clark is the man for doing that!
And last, let's not forget that Dean is the governor who best represents fiscal responsibility, and a clear constrast to George W. Bush's fiscal keg parties.
Combined with that, don't forget that Karl Rove's worst nightmare is full-on exposure and attention to Iraq throughout the presidential campaign and election cycle. Dean can do that. Clark can do that. Can Kerry do that? Can Edwards do that?
Focus on the weaknesses people - they start with Iraq, and compound from there into deception, criminal behavior, malfeasance, crony capitalism, and fiscal responsibility.
You have a governor who has balanced budgets, in spite of the legislature, and even his own party, even though it wasn't constitutionally required.
Perhaps the doctor should be in. The Oval Office.
Perhaps not. But let's make sure that the good doctor's ideas, that he mined from us, push us to a 2004 victory AND mandate.
We need a plan of action to counter the Right Wing Corporate Media Wurlitzer, so beating Bush isn't enough.
To push your agenda through, past all the impediments, the people will need to know what they're voting for, in terms of action, so that you can remind them in 2006 and take back the Congress if the American people's aims are not being met.
Welcome to the big time. It's time for the Democratic Party to start realizing it doesn't need to be bullied anymore, and that the winner's circle, and the benefits and power therefrom, are within reach.