Reply #51: yes Clark will be the flavor of the month

[CMT]

and Dean people and campaign will deal with it. Trippi and company have raised the bar many times and they won't let Clark's entry into the race slow 'em down. I've said before this is a good thing for Dean--if he and his campaign can overcome the Clark challenge and win the primaries--it will prove that he is battle tested and ready for Bush.

Now why the Clark move will be good news for Dean:

1) Right now he is getting all kinds of bad press regarding flip-flopping on issues. When Clark gets in (as I expect he will do) it will take the glare off of Dean on this issue as Clark will dominate the news for a time.

2) Dean will be back in the headlines with positive news in about a month when the third quarter fund raising dollars will be announced. It is clear that Dean will break Clinton's 1995 record and estimates are in the 11-12 million dollar range. He will easily have raised more money than any other democrat in the race taking the top spot once again. At this point in the game reporters look at fund raising as a source of legitimacy and Dean will be the big victor. The news again will be how much came from small contributors. This should put Dean back in the headlines. This along with continued good performances in debates (his best one yet was last week) will help him.

Finally, I know this is off topic but speaking of debates the best way for Dean to handle Clark is to praise him for his patriotism and his duty to country. Never attack Clark. Point out that the two of them share the same view on Iraq. The best way to contrast with Clark will be on his record as a elected official. When Clark says "I support Civil Unions" Dean should say, "again, we agree Gen. Clark, and I signed the first civil unions bill in the country...". When Clark says, "we need to make sure our citizens are insured." Dean should say, "Yes, I agree and as a matter of fact in Vermont I...".

I hope, and expect this will be the strategy that the Dean campaign employs against Clark.