DLC | New Dem Daily | February 19, 2004
And Then There Were Two
Last week it was Gen. Wesley Clark who withdrew from the race. And this week it's Gov. Howard Dean, leaving two major candidates in the field as the Democratic presidential nominating process enters its decisive phase.
In his withdrawal speech yesterday, Dean took the high road, thanking his fiercely loyal core supporters, urging them to unite behind the eventual Democratic nominee, and promising to continue his "campaign for change" in the party and in Washington through different avenues.
We hope Gov. Dean will focus his energies, and those of his supporters, on the task of identifying and championing a policy agenda that could give real substance to his "campaign for change." As he has often pointed out, his specialty as governor of Vermont was coming up with innovative, problem-solving approaches to public policy that produced real-life results. He could perform a real service for his party and his country by replicating this effort on the national stage.
Dean should go forward, for example, with the tax reform proposal he promised to release later this year. He should articulate proposals for political reform -- reform of campaign financing, reform of how elections are conducted, and reform of government operations -- that would actually do something about the Washington political culture he has so often deplored. He's right that Americans "have the power" to make "systemic change" possible, but it requires the power of ideas to render the call for grass-roots participation meaningful. Internet organizing, blogs and fundraising "bats" -- all these innovations of the Dean campaign are simply tools, no more than means to an end. Now that he has ended his active candidacy, he should put these tools to a higher end.
The two remaining major candidates, Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards offer significant contrasts in background, style, and emphasis. Each brings a different set of assets to the task of challenging George W. Bush. But on most of the major issues facing the country, their thinking is remarkably similar, and solidly within the Clintonian New Democrat policy tradition.
On economic policy generally, and global economic policy in particular, both candidates are sounding very similar themes: America needs an administration with a strategy for broad-based economic growth, not redistribution of wealth upward and insecurity downward; that understands our competitive position in the world depends on meeting the big challenges of education reform, energy independence, and technological innovation; that is serious about offering workers real opportunities to manage their careers and upgrade their skills; that does not confuse short-term corporate profits with long-term business prospects; and that knows how to negotiate and enforce trade agreements that produce higher living standards at home and abroad.
Kerry and Edwards' difference of opinion on NAFTA has gotten attention because they agree on so much else. As the debate goes forward it is important for both of them make clear that they understand the importance of winning in the world economy -- not retreating from it. Expanding trade and opening foreign markets to American goods and services are key elements of a high-growth, high-employment, high-income economic policy -- the kind of policy the current administration has utterly failed to produce, and the kind of policy Kerry or Edwards as president would undoubtedly embrace. Democrats in 2004 can most decisively distinguish themselves from the opposition by carrying on the Clinton legacy of expanding economic opportunity while demanding fiscal responsibility, two great accomplishments of the 1990s that George W. Bush has deliberately abandoned.
Kerry and Edwards are in synch with each other, with most Democrats, and with a majority of the American people on these and many other issues. New differences, and new ideas, may yet emerge on the campaign trail, and that's all to the good. Democratic primary voters have winnowed the field, and the remaining contestants both look like winners.
I guess this is Al From trying to be nice...he is still "cheesy". Notice how they put "campaign for change" in small letters and in quotes. These guys are some petty bitches.