Despite the punditry, Gore's endorsement was an absolute coup for Dean, and could/should have been a deal breaker in the primaries. It did
not bring Dean down because it clouded his "outsider message," everyone knew Dean had to bring the party establishment in at some point, which was in fact starting to happen by force of sheer momentum. The Dean campaign brought Dean down itself by it's own amateurish handling of the candidate, Dean's subsequent lack of faith in his own handlers, and ultimately a lack of preparation to run a front-runner's campaign.
The Dean campaign's handling of the Gore endorsement was the first revalation of this problem. It will be a case-study for political handlers for decades. The problem with the Gore endorsement was only with the timing, which was bungled -- bungled because I think the campaign took a siesta from politics in the 4th quarter to overly focus on fund-raising and process.
Plus, I believe the campaign was genuinely surprised to find the nomination in their sights, and no one -- not the candidate, nor Trippi, nor anyone in the upper tiers of the campaign -- no one was prepared to truly run this campaign to win. It seems as if they never really expected to have a chance, and were caught flat-footed at the moment they could least afford it. (BTW, does anyone know what campaign Trippi has actually won?)
When Gore phoned to say he wanted to endorse, Dean kept it quiet, even from his own staff (presumably to stifle leaks -- says something about how DEAN felt about his staff). This lack of communication on this critical issue baffles and astounds me.
A seasoned political professional might have advised Dean take a deep breathe and ponder this. Perhaps wrap-up the Gore endorsement like a X-mas present and put in under the tree for a few weeks, perhaps even for a month, to be opened after the holidays when the '04 political season re-started and the electorate really started paying attention.
Dropping the Gore bomb right before Iowa would have certainly done the trick. Dean immediately soared to 40+ points in Iowa, and extended a 30+ lead in NH. But 6 weeks is a long, long time in politics -- and by Jan. 20th it didn't matter anymore. And we can see now what momentum, created at the right moment, can do for a candidate.
I'm a major doner to the Dean campaign, and I've already voted for him. I have been a strong Dean supporter because I thought Dean was a winner, I didn't intend to spend my money on a protest candidate, or on a single-issue candidate. But that is, in fact, what I'm left with now. Oh, what could have been...