I was dismayed to read this article this morning:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/22/politics/22CAMP.html?hp
I was dismayed to read this article this morning:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/22/politics/22CAMP.html?hp
Howard Dean rose to prominence because he was the candidate who articulated in the loudest and most meaningful way what was wrong with the American political and social system and he did it in a way that completely subverted traditional CW about how campaigns were supposed to act. Better yet, he played by his own rule book and not the one given to him by the power brokers of American politics. He acted as if he didn't give a damn about what the media or the establishment had to say about his campaign and all sorts of folks, not only staunch Democrats, stood up and took notice.
And then he gained front-runner status and suddenly he found it necessary to chuck his own rule book and read from the old one. The one which emphasizes that it is the media that drives the debate and not the leadership. He started to apologize to appease the pundits. (Confederate flag flap) He scrambled to address their concerns. (Too secular? Me? How about some bible stories?) He started to put faith in the doubts they raised. In the end, he found himself embroiled in their capricious and petty concerns.
I don't buy any arguments that conclude that Howard is a victim of the media. A victim is completely powerless to change the dynamics of a situation because it puts the onus of change in the opponent's hands. Howard Dean, or at least the Howard Dean I used to know, is not a powerless man. Yes, the media is corrupt. Yes, it is biased. Yes, it is brutal. I don't doubt any of that. However, a leader who takes a firm stance and who steadfastly remains there in the face of intense pressure is the one who commands respect and the one who drives the engine wherever the hell he wants it to go to.
I say that Dean lost in Iowa not because he was too this or too that. I say he lost because he tacitly acknowledged the power of the media instead of taking that bull by the horns and dragging it to more amenable pastures.
I'm still firmly in Dean's camp. I still think he has it in him to not only win the Democratic nomination, but the Presidency, but he sure as hell isn't getting there if he keeps on flipping pages through the other side's rule book. HIS rule book worked and will continue to work if he manages to do what he did (and can still do) best: Drive the debate.