Better late than never: Dean blasts media

When addressing the Democratic National Committee this past weekend, DNC Chairman Howard Dean took some well placed jabs at the media, and with good reason. The media coverage of the primaries have been, to be kind, disgraceful, mostly toward Clinton and Obama. And Dean is more than familiar with what negative coverage looks like (see video below).

Anyway, I digress. What an unpleasant walk down memory lane. (You're welcome! ;) His I Have a Scream speech was replayed, literally, hundreds and hundreds of times in the days that followed.

But, in the video at the top, Dean took some pretty nasty swipes at the media for its coverage, but my big question is, where were these comments 3-4 months ago? I'm pleased that at long last, Dean is blasting away at the media, but talk about being too late. Most of comments in the video (at top) qualify as yelling at a train long after it has left the station.

Dean appeared on This Week over the weekend as well, and his sage words are noted, but seriously, again, too little too late.

Dean shouldn't be completely castigated for all that he's done at the chair of the DNC, however. His 50-state strategy could be setting up the party for success for a long time to come. While I'm not slavishly devoted to the Democratic Party (or Howard Dean, for that matter), I certainly identify with it better than any of the other choices available to me right now in this country.

Pardon the pun, but this spring's primary races, when this is all said and done, will look like a blip compared to what this fall's campaign will look like. And I certainly hope that NO ONE buys into McCain's b.s. about running a "totally clean campaign" in the fall, because it ain't gonna happen. (His wife Cindy dutifully parrots this talking point at every available opportunity, as well.)

In fact, just days after publicly making that proclamation, McCain appeared on The Daily Show, and when asked about Hamas wanting to see Obama win, he repeated the claim that the terrorist organization "...wants to see Obama win. It's a fact. They don't want to see me win, that's for sure." Wow - squeaky clean, senator.

My point in all of this is that Dean had better not sit on his hands and keep his mouth closed when the attacks undoubtedly begin, and they will begin soon. (How about tomorrow - when Obama is all but certain to be the nominee?)

Make no mistake about it, many, if not most of the attacks won't come from McCain, but from groups that are backing his candidacy. One of the more notorious groups, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (or whatever they are calling themselves these days), recently stated that they intend to do the same sort of thing to Barack Obama.

Obama and Dean had better be ready, and I don't mean to just fight defensively.

Hillary's Michigan strategy in under a minute

This one's been making its way around the Web, and I just saw it again over at Daily Kos, so I thought I'd share it. It's pretty funny illustration of Hillary Clinton's stance on Michigan in under a minute.

Having said all that, I think the Democratic National Committee is making a big, BIG mistake by effectively disenfranchising voters in both Michigan and Florida because of some petty squabbles over those states' primary dates. In my estimation, this is a colossal miscalculation on the part of Howard Dean. And time is running out to fix it. The last thing the Democrats can afford is angering Democrats and moderates going into the fall election, because one thing is certain - Florida and Michigan will be must-wins for the Democratic Nominee to capture the White House.

Happy 4th of July, Senator McConnell

Check out this protest in front of Senate Minority Leader - and senior Bush enabler -- Mitch McConnell's home in Louisville, Kentucky. Talk about wishing someone a happy July 4th. McConnell is up for reelection next year, and you can bet your hanging chad that he will be target #1 for Howard Dean and the Democrats. Think of him as the Rick Santorum of 2008.

If you want more information on showing McConnell the door next year, go to Ditch Mitch KY.

Yo, Carville - to the Dean's office!

Would James Carville and Howard Dean just shut up already? There's nothing worse than sore winners, an that's exactly what these two sound like right now. I wonder how much they'd be whining if the Democrats had been unsuccessful?

To be fair, I don't know all of the facts, but I think Carville (Above) makes a number of good points. To leave that much money on the table is inexcusable, especially when there were some very close races. I was very disappointed that Lois Murphy didn't prevail in her race vs. Republican Jim Gerlach in Pennsylvania's 6th District, a district I used to reside in. The race was so razor thin, I wonder if a little more infusion of cash by the DNC would have helped. It sure wouldn't have hurt.

Murphy was the victim of lots of Republican dirty tricks, too, including Robo calling by the Republican National Committee.



But, Dean deserves his due, too. The man's got balls and a backbone, something Democrats were sorely lacking when Terry McAuliffe was chair of the DNC. McAuliffe is a very smart businessman, but he couldn't deliver for the Dems. A pick-up of six governorships and both houses of Congress looks mighty good on Dean's résumé, and those pick-ups will play a critical role in the '08 election, too.

Dean's also a good fundraiser, but as Carville rightfully states, you can't leave money under your mattress in an important election, either. Money will play a critical role in '08, but it will come down to the party nominees, too. More on that in a bit.

Dems in da House!

The Democrats have done it! Put differently, you could say Bush (and Iraq) played just as much a part in the GOP's loss of the House as Democrats did. The Senate is another matter; as Howard Dean said on TV a little while ago, there's still a long way to go for Democrats to capture the Senate.

It will be very interesting to see how Nancy Pelosi is greeted in Washington as the country's first female Speaker of the House. Now, people who have painted her as a "San Francisco Liberal" (Do Republicans ever tire of using the "L" word?!?) have to work with her to pass legislation.

I laughed like crazy listening to Bill Bennett, the gambling addict Republican blowhard, who predicted "gridlock government" in the face of a Democratic takeover in the House. Ridiculous - that's just a spoiled Republican attitude stemming from a rubber-stamp Congress that would pass basically whatever Bush and Rove wanted. Now, Democrats will have a voice. That ain't gridlock - it's accountability and oversight over the Executive Branch.

Even the best of presidents have had to work with opposition in Congress to accomplish their goals; Ronald Reagan had to work with a Democratic Congress, and Bill Clinton had to work with a Republican Congress for six of his eight years in office.

With a few races left in the Senate, Democrats even have an outside shot at winning control. I hate to sound like a political pundit, but America has spoken that it wants change - now let's see if President Bush is listening.