I'm having second thoughts about Dean.

[poskonig]

First of all, it is not my intent to have this post degenerate into a candidate bashing fest. We all should know the dirt on the various candidates by now. There is a difference between presenting hard criticism, personal feelings, and mindless "Go-Team" smearing shennanigans.

I'm making this post to share some concerns about Dean, to brainstorm what options are ahead of me, and to inquire what advice I should follow.

I became a Dean backer way back in March, when he gave his famous "What I wanna know" speech where he came out strongly against the war in our darkest hour, and basically laid out why a meek Daschle-like strategy isn't going to win us elections, though Dean didn't say it in those words. I saw a lot of passion from the guy, and a lot of sincerity.

During the summer, despite what other campaigns and Bill O'Reilly have said about Dean blowing interviews and such, Dean has generally been good. While he wasn't the most polished guy in the world, I appreciated that he didn't give me a line of b.s. when asked difficult questions. I also liked the way the campaign took risks from fundraising to the various media stunts, which put Dean from worst to first. Lastly, Dean did all of this without singling other Democrats out directly for bashing, making vague comments about "Bushlite" and "backbone."

Things are a bit different now, and I'm concerned. Since Dean has become the frontrunner, the campaign has become extremely risk-averse. Dean no longer sounds sincere in his answers to questions, and I'm sure others pick up on this too. Dean sounds very "stumped," and some have described him as "shifty." Well, I agree. His staffers have totally changed his appearance, and in every debate, Dean now sounds like a Washington-style windup toy candidate. The problem is, he's not very good at it, and it sounds extremely fakey.

Secondly, Dean is starting to get negative with other candidates. When he attacked Clark last debate, it didn't seem like Dean really meant it from the heart, it merely seemed like he was trying to get political points. I wish Dean wouldn't say what he doesn't mean.

The campaign has stopped taking major risks. The strategy seems to be keep Dean on autopilot, don't make any mistakes, and cruise to victory next spring. This may be a good idea, but I'm not convinced we could keep a lead on George Bush with such an attitude, nevertheless the other candidates. Why not keep it fresh?

To summarize all of this, while Dean has criticized all of the other candidates for being "Bush-lite," I believe he has become "Kerry-lite." Dean is trying to sound like a Washington candidate, though Kerry is much more polished in this regard. Secondly, Dean's attacks are flimsy, while Kerry, as everyone knows, likes to do the underhanded stuff and is pretty professional about it. Lastly, the Kerry campaign has been consistent throughout the campaign, while the Dean campaign doesn't seem sure where it wants to go at the moment.

I originally supported Kerry, and am wondering if I should switch back. While the war resolution vote still pisses me off greatly, Kerry's ideas on other issues make a lot more sense to me, such as on the environment, on a graduated tax policy, the death penalty, and so forth. If Dean loses the authenticity that his campaign originally had, all of his advantages are flushed down the toilet and all of his disadvantages remain, making someone like Kerry a superior candidate. If Kerry wasn't making the entire election about Dean, getting the goods about John Kerry in the open instead about taking out the garbage about everyone else, I may have joined back already.

As I was taught back in my music performance days, an audience will forgive you for making mistakes, but they will never forgive you for being boring.

How long should I stick with Dean? I'm not ready to jump ship yet, but am dissatisfied with the current direction. Dean supporters, remind me of the positive things Dean is doing! And any other campaigns, remind me of what *you* are doing right! I don't want to see any candidate bashing.

Thanks for listening to me wiffle-waffle! I've done it before, as everyone knows. :toast:

--jason--