Congressional Quarterly pundit Craig Crawford, seen often on Countdown and other shows, says in a new column that the doc may be, well, just what the doctor ordered for the Dems.
Excerpts:
Dean is the perfect choice to salvage something Democrats can use from the 2004 campaign. Before the party establishment crushed him in Iowa, the fast-talking dynamo electrified cadres of newly active Democrats across the country.
Once again, party gatekeepers in Washington are fully engaged in a stop-Dean movement. But shaking up the party establishment would be the point of a Dean candidacy for DNC chair. When those in charge of a political party preside over losses in two presidential campaigns, and a midterm election in between, isn't it time to try something different?
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Have the anti-Dean Democrats considered that the best way to really stop Dean is to let him be chairman? He is flatly vowing not to run for president in 2008 if he gets the job.
A Dean 2008 presidential bid might not worry party bosses too much, but he should not be counted out. It would seem best for them to harness Dean's energy as party chairman and take him out of the potential presidential field.
A snowy day in Iowa produced one of my lasting memories of Dean's potential as a party leader. I followed a caravan of enthusiastic college students who braved eight inches of snow to knock on doors for Dean in a Des Moines suburb.
As we pulled up to the first house, I thought they would have to change course. The snow completely covered the driveway. There appeared to be no way to get to the front door. But the Deaniacs were undaunted. They cheerfully jumped out of their cars and pulled at least a dozen shovels from the trunks. In short order, a path was cleared to a stunned voter's front door. After delivering their literature and making their pitch, the campaigners asked the resident if they could plow his sidewalk. Naturally, he was all for it. By the end of the day, the entire neighborhood's sidewalks and driveways were cleared of snow.
That is the kind of intense dedication that Democrats must inspire if they want to stop giving concession speeches on Election Day.
I should note that earlier on in the column, he gently mocked the scream and Democrats' recent losing ways. Alas. Also, when Crawford lists other contenders, he leaves out Rosenberg for some reason. I will add a link whenever this pops up on NYTimes.com; for now, you can only access it if you have a government job like me and can get to CQ.com.