Semi-Daily Journal

Al From has chosen to harm an attractive Democratic candidate for President. This is a mean mistake that can not be forgiven in a supposed Democratic leader. Democrats have lost the Congress and White House and have got to focus on the importance of finding and supporting attractive candidates for every level of office. Howard Dean along with several other candidates for President, along with Wesley Clark, is potentially electable. Bye, bye, Aleeee.

"The Wall Street Journal's Al From explains why it is that Democratic Leadership Council honchos Al From and Bruce Reed are suddenly 'discovering' large ideological gaps between themselves and Bruce Reed."

I trust that second Bruce Reed is in fact meant to be Howard Dean. Yes?

Howard Dean is a fine centrist candidate who Republicans will accuse of being radically left, for a supposed Democratic leader to intimate such rubbish means we need to clearly define other Democratic leaders. Al From has apparently become a Republican. Now, back to Democrats.

my personal wet dream involves wesley clark and howard dean running on the same ticket.

Howard Dean and Wesley Clark or Wesley Clark and Howard Dean. I love it!!! Democrats can be attractive, smart, and tough tough tough.

For anyone who was wondering, the cited piece is by Al Hunt not Al From.

Based on the DLC's reaction to Dean I can see how the Democratic Party has turned into a Bush-lite party since Clinton left office. The DLC calls Hillary a moderate and Dean a liberal? It surely is all about power and not ideology.

dean and gore!? clark as sec'y of state :D

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0308/04/lkl.00.html

---
CALLER: As a real Democrat, and a avid Dean supporter, I was wondering what qualities you would be looking for in a vice presidential running mate and if you would consider one of the well qualified women that we have in public service for the Democratic party?

DEAN: Well, first, A, let me thank you for your help and support, and B, when they say that it is much too early to talk about my running mate. I've got a long way to go and it's nice to be in the position I am right now, but five months before the first primary and caucuses are five an a half months. I do have some ideas. I think the first qualification, and Bill Clinton did this very well, choose somebody who could be president of the United States. That is the thing that you have got to do. Bill Clinton choose Al Gore, who would have be a very good president. Secondly, I'm going to look for somebody with a Washington background. Because the biggest mistake governors make, when they go to Washington, they don't know how to deal with the system.

It is a different world inside Washington than it is everywhere else in the country, which helps me as a candidate because I know that world and it's tougher for the Washington candidates. But to governor you have to get something done. Thirdly, you look at region. The south is a region I am always very interested in as somebody from the north. And finally you take into account the most important constituency groups and women are as important constituency groups, as are African-Americans and Latinos and others. So, all those things go into a mix. We won't work on that for quite some time because I think it would be a little cocky to start picking your vice presidential running mate with -- having won only one primary and that didn't have any delegates and that was the moveon.org primary.

" 'The Wall Street Journal's Al From explains why it is that Democratic Leadership Council honchos Al From and Bruce Reed are suddenly 'discovering' large ideological gaps between themselves and Bruce Reed.'

"I trust that second Bruce Reed is in fact meant to be Howard Dean. Yes?"

Well, yeah, and that's "the Wall Street Journal's Al Hunt" criticizing Al From, not Al From criticizing himself. Combine all this with Prof. DeLong's recent confusion of Stephen Moore with Michael Moore, and I'm forced to conclude that his declared shortage of oxygen on that recent mountain hike may be more serious than he thought.

The Dean message is one that most partisan Democrats accept, that the war in Iraq was a bad idea and Mr. Bush has misled America. However, appealing this message is to partisans, it is not the one most Americans want to hear. I told you so is not appealing because most Americans supported the war going in. I told you so is irritating and does nothing for addressing the current mess.

Americans feel that getting rid of Saddam was a good thing, but are concerned about our boys in harms way and our exit strategy or lack thereof. Americans don't want to hear Mr. Dean bash Mr. Bush. Whether or not Iraq was a good decision, that decision has already been made. Americans want Mr. Bush to succeed in Iraq. At this point, we must succeed in Iraq, the stakes are too high to fail. Americans want to know what are we going to do now that we are in Iraq and how do we protect and support our troops that have been sent on this mission. It is easy to criticize someone else's plan. It is hard to criticize someone who is not in charge or does not have a plan of his own. Americans will respond to Mr. Dean only if he provides a plan for Iraq that is better than the plan of Mr. Bush.

Whipping the partisans into a frenzy does not go far enough. Addressing the sober concerns is the only effective strategy. The DLC is right to criticize Mr. Dean for failing to address substantive issues concerning what we do next. At the same time, the DLC message and especially Senator Lieberman is off track. Al Gore and Bill Clinton are much closer to the core DLC message than Senator Lieberman. Many Gore supporters agree that his choice of running mate was not the best. Before Mr. Gore quit the race, it was clear that 2004 would involve a different running mate.

"bashing Bush" is different from not wanting America to succeed in Iraq. If the Democratic candidate for 2004 can't bash Bush seven days per week, and get the support of the American people, then Bush will win. Because Bush (and the rest of the GOP) won't hesitate to bash any Democratic candidate.

The strategy for what to do next in Iraq is obvious - get international involvement. However Dean's bashing role is necessary though it should be clarified. Instead of "The War was wrong" he needs to stress "The War was wrong because now we are wasting resources that should be directed towards Al Qaeda".

"I told you so" is not helpful on the national political scene, however I would like for David Thompson to return to this blog for a good "I told you so" bashing.

rotflmao!

>Well, yeah, and that's "the Wall Street Journal's Al Hunt" criticizing Al From, not Al From criticizing himself. Combine all this with Prof. DeLong's recent confusion of Stephen Moore with Michael Moore, and I'm forced to conclude that his declared shortage of oxygen on that recent mountain hike may be more serious than he thought.

Rotflmao?

I haven't seen that one in a couple of years:

"Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off"
R O T F L M A O

ROTFLMAO

Dates to the old "usenet" days.

Borosage fires back at the DLC:

http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/8551

McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton. Does that list of names suggest to anyone the viability of centrist politics and the non-viability of liberalism as a platform for the Democratic Party?

The liberal wing of the party is currently on display with all its vices: trade protectionism, race victimology, opposition to educational reform as a threat to the teachers' union monopoly. And most of all a foreign policy that has its only principles deference to the corrupt and ineffectual UN and opposition to any use of force in pursuit of US interests.