Sorry to return to the WaPo article describing how Dean is
wooing party insiders. But there are two nuggets in it that I haven't seen mentioned so far, which may have implications for the larger race.
The most interesting bit, to me, was the description of the groups Trippi and Dean are hanging out with in DC:
Dean and his top adviser, Joe Trippi, also are spending more time talking to leading officials at the Democratic National Committee and other key organizations here, including the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
The DNC, that is not surprising at all. But the Trial Lawyers of America? That's definitely Edwards territory. If they're sneaking onto the Dean ship, it suggests they're worried that the Edwards ship is sinking fast. Indeed, if the Trial Lawyers publicly support Dean, it will have a similar effect to Edwards as union support of Dean is having on Gephardt. In short, Dean is courting Edwards' funding base out from under him. (Well, in reality, the Trial Lawyers have a lot more disposable income than the unions. But still, any wavering in their support for Edwards might be a critical blow.)
The other tidbit in the story is much smaller. The article mentions that "A former Clinton Cabinet secretary is expected to endorse Dean this week."
There was some discussion earlier on dKos about who this might be. Some folks mentioned Madeleine Albright, which would make sense because she was mentioned in the previous sentence:
At Tuesday night's book-signing party for former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright, Cutler said she was inundated with requests from Democrats who formerly were cool to Dean but now want to help him out.
Much later in the article, though, it talks about Richardson's relationship with Dean:
The next day, Dean continued his courtship of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a powerhouse inside the party. The former Clinton administration official said he, too, will advise Dean on foreign policy.
It seems to me that it is but a tiny leap from "advising Dean on foreign policy" and openly supporting him. So this looks like a much better guess. My question, then, does this have any implications for the VP race?
Finally, there was surprisingly little discussion of this bit:
...one friend of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said the former first lady sounds increasingly intrigued by Dean. Clinton did not want to discuss her relationship with the candidates, her spokesman said.
Hillary is a lot of things. Perhaps most of all, someone who is determined to be on the winning side of all things. As the quote suggests, I doubt Hillary would openly endorse anyone before the voting starts. But if she were to visibly warm up to Dean, it might have implications for the General's campaign.
Pretty wild how success breeds friends in high places, no?