Update [2005-2-26 21:14:26 by DemFromCT]:
The link is
here.
This evening (8 pm or so), the NY Times Magazine site will have a fascinating look at the Rorschach test known as Howard Dean:
He's a centrist, leftist, healer, divider. How fitting for today's Democratic Party.
That he is. And the reason is that today's Democratic Party isn't about ideology. Matt Bai appears to be one of the few political writers who even partially 'gets' that aspect of the debate. Kos calls it being a 'reform democrat'. Bai describes it thusly:
In this way, Dean perfectly embodies the modern Democratic Party, whose ideology feels so muddled and incohesive that labels of 'left' and 'center' at least in terms of governing philosophy are almost irrelevent. So-called centrists, with precious few exceptions, have lined up with their party's base against the idea of partly privatizing Social Security, even though those same Democrats used to argue that the program was gravely ill; so-called leftists, meanwhile, have embraced the gospel of budget restraint.
Ah, and you can thank George W Bush, the Great Uniter, for that. Of course, Bai sees it as all too indicative of the tactical nature of the Dem debate, in the absence of an overarching strategery. He pines for the kind of arguments between Bobby Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson (he also cites HHH vs strom Thurmond) that split the party, but defined a philosophy, and refers to the Republicans, whose tax-cutters and "social warriors" honed their arguments through think tanks and white papers until it made some sort of rational sense. (Having been around for the Kennedy-Johnson match, there's nothing about it I'd want to re-run no matter how much I miss Bobby - different era, different time. Vietnam made it necessary, and historical mistakes are being made more than frequently enough today, thank you very much).
Well, losing will make any philosophy look shallow, and winning sweeps all the loose ends that make no sense under the rug. The question remains, though, as to whether Dean as Chair will make any difference in the end. Bai suggests that even if Dean is the DLC's worst nightmare ('the impulsive and impolitic chairman that some of the party's leaders fear him to be') it would be just what the party needs - and that's assuming the centrist Governor never shows up (but he will – Dean is much more of a centrist than the press can grasp).
All in all, not a bad position to be in. I'll post the link when it becomes available. Bai has done some interesting work throughout the campaign, and his coverage (this is not a long cover story) is always worth a read. The suggestion herein is that Reid and Pelosi will handle the tactics, but the strategery will still be guided by Dean, whatever the congress critters think of that.