The more I look over the way Dean conducted himself during the campaign, the more this one issue sticks out in my mind:
tax cuts
Yes, Dean had the best logic, "Repeal all the Bush tax cuts because I can't promise you anything...."Bush tax".....fiscal responsibility..."
But that kind of "eat your spinach" thinking is never popular with many voters, save a few independent minded Democrats.
And the idea of repealing ALL the Bush tax cuts allowed the media and DLC to paint Dean as an ultra liberal.
So, imagine in an alternate universe that from Day One, Dean said the following:
"We need to repeal MOST but not ALL of the Bush tax cuts. The rich need to make the largest sacrifice, with the top bracket returning to what it was under Clinton.
For the rest of the tax cuts, our goal will be to find a happy medium between the Clinton rates that were working so well in the 90s, and the Bush rates we have become accustomed to."
This puts him a little to the left of Kerry, Clark, and Edwards, but not by much. He can still make the fiscal discipline argument based on his record.
What do you think?