I Was Thinking

about Howard Dean and just how naive people on the internet can be. The problem with Dean is ultimately he adds nothing to any national ticket. He's from an itty-bitty state, and it is a state not from the South. The last time a Vermonter won the presidency was Republican Calvin Coolidge, and Coolidge didn't initially win the presidency but inherited it after Warren Harding croaked from a heart attack (or if you believe the farfetched Gaston Means' version, poisoned by wife Florence). It's not a good presidential precedent.

One of our favorite Howard whores, Howard Fineman, talks about the political Howard, and naturally it is less than flattering overall. Of course, he's the darling of those Democratic suckers who want somebody who has a "spine" (but of course isn't accountable to anybody in terms of a federal office, so he can shoot off his face on all kinds of issues). You know, the old Greenie line that he ain't "DLC" material (even though he's at least as moderate or to the right as any garden variety DLC-er). He's a maverick, and mavericks are always appealing to Democratic neophytes. The trouble is simply mavericks never win presidencies. Look at Jerry Brown, Ralph Nader, John McCain, Jesse Ventura, any old maverick you can name, and they never graduate beyond statewide office, if they get that far. They don't have the broad appeal to win nationwide elections. They don't know the art of compromise.

Of course, this last sentence begs the question of King George and his merry band of robber barons, but the rules don't apply to Shamalot.

Anyway, getting back to Dean. Fineman does talk about the "aggressive" or the "mean" issue, and to tell the truth, Dean comes across very, very poorly in any kind of public forum. He reminds me of old Bob Dole, except Dean doesn't have the saving grace Dole has of a sense of humor. Dean is mean and arrogant. And when he started on that bullshit Saturday about how qualified he was to speak about the health care crisis because he was an M.D., well that lost me totally. One bastard with a messiah complex is enough for this country. We don't need another one.

However, Dean "is" the man to watch, and I am sure Karl Rove and gang are watching this guy very closely. He's their best bet for a 50-state walkover next November. He's Rove's wet dream come true.