I have lost count of the number of times I have read here from Kossovians:
- Dean's campaign is the victim of unfair media treatment.
- Kerry owes his success to Dems' voting for his "electability" which is a thoughtless way to choose a candidate. In fact, many Kerry voters would vote for another of the candidates (Dean, for example) if they voted on their beliefs, core values, and voted for the best candidate.
I invite all who hold to either of these ideas to step outside the Echo Chamber for a moment and consider the fact that Kerry has simply out campaigned Howard Dean.
I am a Dean supporter, but I think Dean has only himself to blame for no longer being the presumptive nominee.
- Unfair media is par for the course. This is the big leagues, and in the big leagues they play rough. Get over it.
- Dean stubbornly refused to play by television's rules. He refused tv coaching in a misguided desire to retain his authenticity. Dean is great on the blog, and great in person. But a candidate for national office meets very few people on the blog or in person; running for national office means running on television. On television, Dean is stiff, bumbling, and too hot for this cool medium.
- Dean is undisciplined. Bush's campaign stays on message. Bush the candidate leaves the dirty work to surrogates so he can stay above the fray. But Dean has been all to eager to offer personal access and voice all thoughts connected to the campaign.
- Dean has left too many loose ends. Dean stubbornly sticks to total repeal of Bush tax cuts even after many voters indicated that, while Dean may be correct in taking this position, that they regard such a position to render a candidate unelectable. Dean made noises about modifying his position by offering relief on the payroll tax, but no real plan has been forthcoming. On the tax issue alone, Dean has put himself in a disqualifying position, and the voters have let him know it.
But the real reason Dean's campaign has stumbled:
5. Dean has failed to package himself as Presidential material. We Deaniacs may love Dean's candor and can explain what the media refer to as "Dean's gaffes," but a candidate this candid fails the statesman test. A President speaks with discretion. A candidate who constantly has to restate and qualify what he said earlier(attention Wes Clark supporters) is unprepared to speak as a Leader whose every word must be carefully measured. (Bush's bumbling is grammatical, not substantive. Bush stays on message.)
As an employer who interviews job candidates, there comes a time in a job interview where the applicant disqualifies themself. There is no reason to listen past that point; the decision has been sealed, as it has been now for Dean.
As for Kerry, it may appear that Kerry owes his good fortune to shallow thinking among voters, but I want to give Kerry credit for an able campaign. It isn't just that Kerry has perfected that patrician, presidential demeanor, Kerry has been able to deliver a campaign message that connects with voters.
Kerry has won his votes fair and square; he just plain out-campaigned Howard Dean (and the others), and it's high time that we grant him credit for the best run campaign. Kerry positioned himself as the best prepared to assume the Presidency, while Dean was busy doing something else.
The aha! Kerry moment for me was seeing his Iowa caucus health care tv ad. The ad featured a couple where he lost his job, and she continues to work while battling breast cancer to retain health care coverage. This message connected with voters by presenting the issue in a way that they could understand and identify with (as opposed to a candidate saying "My eight-point plan ..."