The spinners on the right are fond of invoking their favorite boogieman, Howard Dean, whenever they want to score points against the Democrats. While this tactic has been effective in scaring the less courageous Democratic leaders into distancing themselves from his remarks, it falls short when such remarks are compared with actual reality. For example, when Dean praised American troops for capturing Saddam Hussein, he added that Saddam's capture did not make Americans any safer. Given what we now know that no WMD were found in Iraq and no connection has been found between Iraq and 9/11, it's obvious that Saddam was never a threat to Americans in the first place.
But wait! There's more...
During his presidential bid, Howard Dean was one of the first politicians to publicly point out that the Bush administration wasn't telling the truth about the reasons for invading Iraq. Now, a majority of Americans believe the president intentionally misled us into war. Dean was widely criticized for suggesting jail time for Tom Delay. That was before he was indicted by a grand jury for money laundering. Delay may very well end up behind bars.
Now, in saying the idea that we're going to win the war "is just plain wrong", Howard Dean has had the audacity to cut the legs out from under White House claims of a "Plan for Victory" in Iraq. Predictably, the GOP has gone ballistic and again, even some Democrats are criticizing Dean. But, as it turns out, 68 percent of Americans believe the Bush administration does not have a plan for victory in Iraq.
Invoking the names of Howard Dean, Michael Moore, Move On, etc. is loosing its punch with the general public. Only the True Believers on the far, far right (plus a few Democratic Party leaders who continue to live in fear) are moved by this sort of thing.
Howard Dean will continue to tell the truth about President Bush and his Neocon friends - who even some in the Evangelical movement, are starting to see for who they really are. Happy Holidays.