But moreover, the name-calling attack on Dean is now in full force by Karl Rove and his lockstep gang of wingnuts. Mona is quite the good (and need I say, predictable) Rovian footsoldier here...
Despite what liberals always say about us conservatives (we're supposed to be the party of hate), I don't want to spend the year 2004 in a lather. I don't want to hate the Democrats' choice. If they nominate Dick Gephardt or Joe Lieberman, the country can have an honest debate, and bitterness need not reign in the land. Both candidates are honest, and even winsome.Conservatives don't hate. They just resort to name-calling. There's a big difference and as soon as I figure it out, I'll call you.
Not Dean. His arrogance is so hot it throws off sparks. Speaking of hate, his campaign has so far been about little else. One searches in vain for any flicker of humor, and his relationship to the truth is showing signs of Clintonitis. The latest example: Last August, the Quad-City Times of Davenport, Iowa, circulated a questionnaire to the Democratic candidates for president. The paper asked the candidates to complete the following sentence: "My closest living relative in the armed services is …" Dean wrote: "My brother is a POW/MIA in Laos, but is almost certainly dead." In point of fact, Dean's brother Charles, whose remains have recently been returned from Laos, was not in the armed services. He was a tourist, visiting Laos as part of a one-year world tour. The Quad-City Times editorially expressed dismay at Dean's mendacity. Instead of apologizing for misleading readers, Dean dashed off an indignant letter to the editor.
What seemed so clear to outsiders -- that the Democrats' best bet was a war-supporting liberal like Gephardt or Lieberman -- did not seem to sway the nominating wing of the Democratic party. They are thirsting for a Bush-bashing, small America liberal -- someone who will genuflect before the United Nations. But Dean is more than a liberal, he is a liar and a narcissist. So if he is nominated, it's going to be long, long year.
They also would LOVE a candidate who is pro-war and who thinks like Bush. Because given a choice between Bush and Bush Lite, well, the election would be in the ag-bay for them. Ain't gonna happen, babe.
Oh, and according to Nora, Dean has no sense of humor. Or I think that's what she said - I was too much in the throes of laughter at her witty milk-shooting-out-my-nose zany writing here to catch all that.
