Other than Howard Dean, the leading Democrats in this year's nomination fight -- Clark, Gephardt, Kerry, and Edwards -- have all followed the Clinton model of making their own personal story the focus of their campaigns. I can't blame them for trying to repeat Clinton's success, but in doing so I believe they have seriously damaged their chances of defeating Bush if any are to win the nomination.
The problem now is that after years of attacks on Clinton and Gore, the Mighty Wurlitzer is best equipped to easily destroy the personal character of anyone in its crosshairs. We're all familiar with the basic technique: plant a slur or rumor with a disreputable source like Drudge or the Moonie Times and then wait for it to work it's way into the mainstream media. This method works best for spreading personal gossip (Clinton had an illegitimate child, Gore is a serial-liar, etc.), but most importantly, whatever the attack, it works because our political climate has become so much about the person and not the agenda. By focussing their campaigns on their personal stories, Democrats are stepping right into the trap.
The "story" of Dean's campaign, though, is not about himself -- it's about us. Unlike the '92 Dem convention, in which voters were introduced to the "Man from Hope," I don't believe a Dean convention will focus nearly as much on the nominee's background, as it will the story of how millions of Americans have come together to take our country back. It will be about the $100 revolution and the largest grassroots campaign in American history. And these are targets that the Mighty Wurlitzer has little experience with.
I'm not arguing that Dean's character is irrelevant. As the catalyst and vehicle of this movement, Dean will still need to convince America that he won't let us down. But it's not just a matter of faith -- Dean will continue talking about where his support comes from and the obvious consequence: he is beholden to us, just as Bush is to the corporations and aristocratic elite that finance his rule. John Edwards, for example, can campaign as a representative of the working people, but his credibility as such is derived from his own story -- that he's the son of a mill worker. Because of this, attacks on his character would do much more damage to his campaign than similar attacks would do to Dean.
It's no surprise then that Dean's opponents have sometimes resorted to attacking his supporters. We're all hippies and radical liberals. We live in a "golden ghetto." And, oh yeah, the money Dean has raised from us isn't even real, according to the Kerry campaign. I think ultimately Rove will follow this trend and wage a campaign intended to discredit the movement itself (likely in the same way that the anti-war movement last year was treated in the media).
The Dean campaign has been so effective at withstanding attacks because most of the fire is being aimed at Dean himself. What happens when Rove and the media really start trying to discredit us? Is there anything we can do to prepare?