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As I said many times, I respect John Kerry and admire his courage for speaking out against the Vietnam War after his return from duty. But DAMN, I still don't hear the fire in his speaking. I'm still trying to buy the package, but it's difficult, especially after hearing this - Kerry's version of a rally speech. I can't help but think that drone is going to wear very poorly as the year drags on.
I've been rehashing the last couple of weeks in my mind and in my heart. I'm really trying to like all these guys, but I'm just not seeing America being wooed by button-down college professor types going against the perceived Texas folksiness of the spoiled brat from Connecticut.
I went with Dean because he's the first guy since Clinton '92 who pulled me into the process after years of disappointment. He has a track record, a clear vision (read it - don't depend on sound bites, you're not going to get them), and is by all accounts a good guy. My father, rest his soul, would have had a word about the fallout over Dean's Iowa speech: Horseshit. Now, don't blame me. That's my dad talking. He was a car dealership owner for decades and he could spot horseshit three towns away. Dean delivers the least amount of it. Sadly, he's caught in a nation that yearns for it.
None of the other candidates have done anything to really excite me yet. The Dean camp is shaken, stirred but not deterred. The message is still there. He needs to answer more questions about his plans and policies - he's INCREDIBLE at that. And he needs to stop answering to people who just want to talk about the horseshit.
I want Bush out. That's no secret. And I want one of these guys to do it. But none of them will do it by being polite. America IS angry. Deal with it. Embrace it. And use it to get the message out.
Chris Bowers, commenting on how the polls have followed the positive-press arc, has a sobering post at Daily Kos which draws this conclusion:
Democrats are Dittoheads who will do whatever the Political Opinion Complex tells them to do.We're better than this. We've got to get our act together or face the consequences for another four dark depressing years.
We simply cannot afford to wait for Hillary in 2008. We need more people with passion. We need them with guts. We need them as big as life to draw in the disappointed and the disenfranchised. We need more people like Dean. And we need them now.
