February 15
Howard Dean appears to be preparing to withdraw from the race after the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday, despite comments to the contrary.
Given Wisconsin's history of favouring outsiders, Dean had been optimistic of a strong showing, and had painted the midwestern state as his last stand.
But for Kerry to take the state - as polls indicate he will, to add to his weekend victories in Nevada and Washington DC - indicates that, this time around, it's more important to Democrats that they bolster a credible candidate able go up against President Bush, than encourage a late insurgency candidate.
If Dean does withdraw, it leaves everyone standing around in the playground waiting for a Kerry vs Edwards scrap. It might never happen.
The Bush campaign, meanwhile, has been trying out its anti-Kerry tack on a website ad, a strategy which allows a national trial of how a message is going down with the press and voters before it might be rolled out in expensive TV spots.
But the GOP had an online setback when NBC objected to the Bush campaign's use in a promotional clip of footage from the president's appearance on last week's Meet The Press.
On this week's show, Democratic congressman Charles Rangel said there would to an extent be a carry-over in anti-Bush sentiment from the 2000 election, and predicted a huge turnout - not just among minority voters - in the coming contest.
"...it just won't be the minority community. I think those people that have managed to reduce the tax burden on the richest people in the world, those people that refuse to have their kids involved in a draft but have no problem in saying, "Let's go to war, I'll hold your coat," that they are so anxious to maintain this power, both in the House and the Senate and the presidency, that they are going to raise all the money that they can to destroy the Democratic candidate and the Democratic Party.
But I think that we Democrats know that, in a democracy, we have taken it for four years, we are mad as hell, we're not taking it anymore."
Howard Dean appears to be preparing to withdraw from the race after the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday, despite comments to the contrary.
Given Wisconsin's history of favouring outsiders, Dean had been optimistic of a strong showing, and had painted the midwestern state as his last stand.
But for Kerry to take the state - as polls indicate he will, to add to his weekend victories in Nevada and Washington DC - indicates that, this time around, it's more important to Democrats that they bolster a credible candidate able go up against President Bush, than encourage a late insurgency candidate.
If Dean does withdraw, it leaves everyone standing around in the playground waiting for a Kerry vs Edwards scrap. It might never happen.
The Bush campaign, meanwhile, has been trying out its anti-Kerry tack on a website ad, a strategy which allows a national trial of how a message is going down with the press and voters before it might be rolled out in expensive TV spots.
But the GOP had an online setback when NBC objected to the Bush campaign's use in a promotional clip of footage from the president's appearance on last week's Meet The Press.
On this week's show, Democratic congressman Charles Rangel said there would to an extent be a carry-over in anti-Bush sentiment from the 2000 election, and predicted a huge turnout - not just among minority voters - in the coming contest.
"...it just won't be the minority community. I think those people that have managed to reduce the tax burden on the richest people in the world, those people that refuse to have their kids involved in a draft but have no problem in saying, "Let's go to war, I'll hold your coat," that they are so anxious to maintain this power, both in the House and the Senate and the presidency, that they are going to raise all the money that they can to destroy the Democratic candidate and the Democratic Party.
But I think that we Democrats know that, in a democracy, we have taken it for four years, we are mad as hell, we're not taking it anymore."
posted by Steve at 8:19 PM
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