If Dean survives flag comment I think he will be our nominee

[CMT]

I admit I didn't see anything on the face of it wrong with Dean's comments about appealing to guys who have a confederate flag on their trucks because I knew what he was talking about and what he has said about bringing people together and opening a dialouge on race.

However, after long thought I feel he could have put it another way. Yet, maybe that is what people like about him is that he doesn't always put it the way the politicians say.

Will it have a lasting consequence to his campaign? time will tell. IMO, I don't think so. We will see what the polls show when the next batch comes out or if fund raising lags--or if he loses some important endorsements.

But I will say this--it is a test of the Dean campaign. Opponents finally seem to have found an issue they are united in driving at Dean on. If it has legs he could be in trouble.

However, if he survives and the fair-minded people of the United States accept that he had no malice in his heart I am almost certain he will be the next Democratic nominee.

Every campaign has its crisis--Clinton had its bimbo erruption (Genifer Flowers) and now Dean has this. My guess is he will ride out the storm and be stronger for it.

[w4rma]

1. Dean & Sharpton hand in hand after the debates

"Democratic presidential hopeful former Gov. Howard Dean (news - web sites) of Vermont, left, clasps hands with Rev. Al Sharpton of New York, right, moments after the televised Rock the Vote Democratic presidential debate at Boston's Faneuil Hall, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003. The two hopefuls had a heated exchanged during the debate concerning voters who display the Confederate flag."(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, Pool)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=650235

John Nichols: Rebel flag flap shows media failure

If you want to understand just about everything that is wrong with the way American politics is practiced these days - and especially with the malpractice of the media - consider the absurd controversy about Howard Dean's comment that "I want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks."
…
What isn't being reported is this reality: Every single presidential candidate who is now expressing concern about Dean's remark has sat in meetings where political operatives, pollsters and consultants have discussed strategies for winning the votes of white working-class males. These voters, whose economic interests would be at least somewhat better served by Democratic policies but who tend to vote Republican for social and cultural reasons, have fueled the rise of the GOP in recent years. And Democrats are obsessed with figuring out how to reach them.

So why has the Dean comment proved to be so controversial? Good question. It has something to do with the desperation of the other candidates, who have had a hard time keeping up with the former Vermont governor's fund-raising juggernaut and highly effective grass-roots campaign. But, in truth, it has a lot more to do with the media.

Too many political reporters practice stenography to power. They simply take down what candidates have to say. This week, the other candidates are trying to paint Dean as the reincarnation of Jefferson Davis, and the media are dutifully reporting it.

More responsible and engaged media would stop to ask the deeper questions: Why do so many white working-class males vote against their own economic interests? Is it because they are racists who really do embrace the Confederacy's legacy? Is it because the Democratic Party has so abandoned populist economic messages that even voters in what were once traditional Democratic constituencies have lost faith in the party and its candidates? The answers to these questions are complicated; but they are at the core of any serious examination of our politics.

Unfortunately, most politicians are unwilling to engage in real discussions about race and economics, let alone the complex zones in which they intersect. And as the current controversy illustrates, most political reporters have lost the inclination, and perhaps even the ability, to demand better of the politicians.
…
http://www.madison.com/captimes/opinion/column/nichols/60451.php

Howard Dean campaigns in Tallahassee

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean told a Tallahassee audience today that southerners have to quit basing their votes on "race, guns, God and gays."

Dean, making his first campaign foray into North Florida, spoke at a rally in Jacksonville then addressed more than 500 people at a luncheon of the Capital Tiger Bay Club.
…
Dean said he hopes to reassemble a coalition of conservative southern voters like President Franklin Roosevelt had in the "solid South" 70 years ago. Although his opposition to the war in Iraq and his criticism of the Bush tax cuts do not score well in polls in the South, Dean said he hopes working families will support his call for improving education and health care.
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/7181952.htm
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=76824

Did these SOUTHERN, BLACK, Baptists have a problem with Dean's remarks?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=73335

[Padraig18]

5. I've had several people in my shop today,...

... ordinary folks coming in for a paper, a book, some cigarettes or gum, etc., and every single one of them has either accepted his explanation at face value or admired him for his "not talking like a typical Washington politician" (actual quote). I'm fairly reassured by this reaction, because I don't think the issue 'has legs'. :hi:

[Code_Name_D]

9. Sure it has legs.

Kerry, Gepheardt, and Leabermen are trying to graft them on as we speak. Kind of like pin the tail on the donkey. Today its pin Dean with the paper legs.

[DemBones DemBones]

12. Where's your shop? And what kind of shop is it?

That's important to know to judge whether this has any significance.

[wryter2000]

11. Way cool

Al's great!

[xultar]

2. Nope, Clark will B the nominee...

I'm 96% sure of it.

Now don't get me wrong. I am a Clark supporter but I don't dislike Dean. I just honestly think CLARK will get da nod.

[Code_Name_D]

6. Clark already got "da nod" from the DLC.

Just a mater of whipping the grass roots into place. Me, I am tired of things being decided in back rooms. Dems or Repugs.

[demodan]

14. "Clark already got "da nod" from the DLC."

Me, I am tired of things being decided in back rooms. Dems or Repugs.

Yes it just seems so unfair that the whole process is sort of corrupted by backroom deals. But, is it true that Terry McCauliffe is the one pulling the strings on Clark?

Why would a the head of the party want to subvert the process and not give the guy who is in the lead (because surely the party voters put him there) the chance at the nomination?

[newyawker99]

21. Hi demodan!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Justice]

15. Great Now We are Back to Bashing Clark

Stop the Madness.....

[Cha]

13. I fervently hope Not!

[slinkerwink]

16. *almost spits soda out laughing*

[imhotep]

3. I have read comments from Independents

and they like the fact that Dean has not backed down.

[evil_orange_cat]

4. I think its a crapshoot right now

Too many things can happen. I agree Dean is probably the front runner at this point, but I think he's close to Clark, Kerry, and Gephardt with Edwards behind them. There are a ton of undecideds, and a lot of people aren't even paying attention yet.

I tend to think Clark is more electable, while Dean may be the more popular candidate for the Democratic base. I think Clark would be better for improving the foreign policy situation than Dean, while Dean might be better for domestic issues. It's still early, and I haven't decided who I like best yet.

[Justice]

7. Not Sure It is a Watershed Issue

Agreed: He could have, should have, put it another way. It was not though the words, but the meaning behind the words. As such, I hope that being stronger means having more understanding, more empathy for voters and potential voters.

I hope that stronger does not mean being tougher, angrier, more convinced that other candidates are united in driving him out. If Dean could display a softer side, more humor - not as a weakness, but as a tool - that would be very formidable.

[Demobrat]

8. Dean will be fine.

The only ones really bothered by what he said are his bitter opponents.

[Cha]

10. You gotta read this article and get some

real perspective on it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=656715

Dean's only getting stronger! And he's finding out how Dirty gepkerwards play. But we all should have known since voting for the IRW wasn't exactly Clean Politics.

[mandyky]

17. What's to survive? Sour grapes

from the peanut gallery?
Dean will be the nominee. (Period, exclamation mark) !!!

[DrFunkenstein]

18. I'm Sure It's Smooth Sailing From Here On

Dean probably lost alot of Black voters last night, and revealed the arrogance that will be his downfall. But I find it hard to believe that Dean has seen his last gaffe.

[Cha]

19. Dean "probably" didn't "lose a lot of Black voters

last night" and I'm sure since Dean is not the pc hankie boy that gepkerwards is.. that he will, indeed, have more "gaffes"! Bring 'em on!

[caledesi]

24. For Chr*st's sake, Jesse Jackson Jr. endorsed him...maybe

that is why the others jumped on this issue last night. JJ Jr. didn't endorse them.

Dean's roommate at Yale was black and talks about Dean in the bio video.

Dean has used this example at many speeches and gotten applause...and he usually talked about this issue DIRECTLY AFTER the QUOTA issue at the U of Michigan. I just put on my tin foil hat and am beginning to suspect that this sudden barrage was orchestrated by the DLC. Yeah, that's what I think.

I will bet the repugs LOVE this. Yeah, keep slamming Dean and maybe, just maybe we will have the candidate the DLC and repugs want: Joe Lieberman. Happy now?

[UnapologeticLiberal]

20. I don't understand what the big issue is

He has been saying that line for months...he got big cheers for it at the DNC meeting last winter.

[Selwynn]

23. The big deal is other dem candidates are scared shitless....

..and desparate to take a sucker punch at Dean.

No, I'm not a dean supporter but that is exactly what is going on. This such an embarassingly pathetic "scandal" it is ridiculous.

[Selwynn]

22. Oh for the love of God...