What if Howard Dean hadn't screamed?

Ah, would he though?

Dean would have lots of problems. For one, he couldn't keep his mouth shut - his campaign team found him almost unmanagable. Speaking your mind during the nomination phase in order to the win the heart of your party might be good, it would be less good during a general election.

And how does the public generally react to Dean? I think he would be riding a very unsteady horse. He's got no foreign policy experience, or even a whiff of it - Dean could counter that with his running mate and by turning the argument back on Bush, but it would still be a sore point. Dean would likely also experience the 'Obama problem' of a lack of appeal to blue collar workers. His political positions do not easily fit into a convienient box - fiscally tight, socially liberal. This could go either way, but you would have to say that it doesn't provide a very firm basis for support. That was part of Dean's problem in the primaries, and I can't see it going away for the general.

I agree. Dean running his mouth would run him into the same kind of problems Goldwater had in 1964. Bush could then just bury him with his loose statements to undermine his credibility.
 
That didn't stop people from supporting Perot. Or Reagan. Or Bush Jr. Or Truman. Much of the public likes someone whose perceived as speaking their mind in an unscripted, blunt, or direct way. And every one of those listed survived self inflicted foot in mouth disease.

In fact Kerry's biggest problem was that he was perceived as Dukakis with some service medals added. Too indecisive, too willing to straddle issues, to be forthright, or to fight for what he believed in.

Remember?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=kerry+flip+flop&aq=0&oq=kerry+flip&aqi=g1

Or even this?
http://www.freedomtothemax.com/shop/product.php?prodId=768&c=66+

Plus Dean certainly showed he could plan a campaign better than Kerry, who did not have a campaign plan at all.

Really, almost any of the other nominees would've been a better choice than Kerry. Too much of the Dem party establishment were blinded by his vet status which they thought would neutralize Bush on the war.


My favorite John Kerry soundbite. "I actually did vote for the 87 billion dollars before I voted against it" It was taken out of context but it was the most effective campaign commercial I have ever seen in my life
 
In fact Kerry's biggest problem was that he was perceived as Dukakis with some service medals added. Too indecisive, too willing to straddle issues, to be forthright, or to fight for what he believed in.

Which is why I reserve ultimate judgement on Dean's hypothetical performance. It could go either way. I'm just strongly drawn to the notion that it wouldn't go any better than Kerry's performance.

Yes, Dean wouldn't have had many of Kerry's deficiencies. But he would have had plenty of his own, which would render him a far from perfect candidate. To be sure, if there's one thing in politics which gives your opponent an easy ride, it's loose talk. And Dean would have had a shitload of that.
 
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