There have been several diaries on the mtg of the Democratic National Committee on Friday (and Saturday, too!). I was proud to be a Democrat and to be a member of the party that had brought forth these extraordinary leaders. We, all of us, were the winners in DC at this meeting -- and believe me, it felt terrific.
But in my view, the record, which is still unfolding, will show that Howard Dean won what he started 4 years ago at this same meeting. Do you remember what he said?
I didn't see it in person, but I replayed it many times from the web clips. (Gee, was this before "youTube"?) "Hi. My name is Howard Dean, and I represent the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party!"
A powerful, unequivocal statement, and given our disarray and disappointment at the time, really motivating. Do you remember when we were afraid to be Democrats?
But on Friday morning, when the DNC Winter Meeting opened 4 years later -- the "beauty pageant" where the Party trots out its candidates and launches its presidential cycle -- every speaker spoke to the democratic wing of the democratic party. The "republican-lite" side of the party, the DLC presence was there, but hardly visible. The triumph of the 50-State Strategy was acknowledged generously by every candidate (even by those whom you suspect did not really mean it). The energy of the party and our ideas for the future of the country were on full display. To some extent and in some speeches, there was perhaps too much emphasis on "re-claim", "re-store", and other backward looking phrases. (Obama, in particular, seemed to dwell on this more than the others.) But there was a lot more emphasis on where we're going and what we're going to do than on who we were and where we came from.
This meeting, and these candidates, was a great victory for the leadership of Howard Dean -- leadership we desperately needed in a very dark hour for the party and for the country. While we are talking about our favorite candidates and congratulating them and ourselves on how well each of them did -- and maybe I'm not critical enough, but I thought every one of them did just fine -- let's not forget the practical, hard nosed, principled leadership that got us here.
Thank you, Governor Dean.