Not content to confine their rage at Dean to the man himself or his loyal supporters, the plutocrats at the New Republic have started firing on the admirable Judy. Apparently, the fact that a press gabfest with her present was off the record is too delicious a scandal for TNR to pass up.
"But, when Dean's wife unexpectedly showed up at the former Vermont governor's side for a campaign rally in Iowa last weekend--a move, no doubt, prompted by all the media scrutiny--the press wimped out. After Judy Dean addressed a rally in Davenport, she, her husband, and the reporters covering the Dean campaign boarded a bus for the 90-minute drive to another rally in Cedar Rapids. But, while the Deans were happy to talk to the press on the ride there, they would do so, the campaign stipulated, only if the conversation was off the record. The reason for such ground rules? Judy Dean, campaign officials reportedly said, is a "private person." But her claim to privacy--a claim she could plausibly (and frequently did) make when she didn't appear in public with her husband--was extremely tenuous that day. After all, she had just traveled from Vermont to Iowa to appear with her husband and speak at two public events. Which is why it's disappointing that, of the many reporters covering Dean, only four of them--The Boston Globe's Glen Johnson, The Washington Post's John Harris, Newsday's Anne Hoy, and The Philadelphia Inquirer's Tom Fitzgerald--refused to abide by those ground rules and so were sequestered in a separate vehicle."
No wonder she doesn't like the spotlight. When Martin Peretz, Peter Beinart, and their unscrupulous minions are around to dish out the mud, I'd high-tail it back to Burlington too. I guess Judy has more gumption than I do--she appeared on national television for an interview. No doubt TNR will have something equally snide next week.