Most of the day, I thought that Edwards was going to be the un-Kerry from now on. Dean was too damaged after losing both Iowa and New Hampshire. But Edwards’ disappointing fourth place showing – behind the nutcase Clark – after such a big win in Iowa has to make his candidacy more suspect. Dean did a little worse than the exit polls suggested. But his concession speech was easily the best of the night. It was authentic, uplifting, and red meat to the Democrats. It actually rang true to me as Dean’s real view of the world. It isn’t one I entirely share, to say the least, but it is genuine, represents a lot of people in this country and deserves a hearing. He seemed more affable than recently as well. He smiled more. He spoke more calmly but not ineffectively. He’s real. Kerry is so fake, in contrast, I cannot believe that Democratic primary voters will continue to support him in such numbers. Dean gave arguments. Kerry spoke in packaged Shrumisms. Dean has a vision. Kerry has ambition. If I were a Democrat, I’d vote for Dean over Kerry in a heartbeat. To my mind, this is a battle between the Democratic party’s soul and its fear. The exit polls showed how Kerry won by seeming more electable – thus trashing an old golden rule of American politics. But the more you see of Kerry the less appealing he is. I’m not sure he really is less electable than the dreary Kerry. Maybe Dean needed this early drubbing to make him more tolerable as a candidate. Maybe it’s too late and Kerry is way too far ahead to be caught. I don’t know. All I know is that what I saw in Dean’s speech – and the extraordinary crowd that accompanied it – was more authentic than anything I have ever seen Kerry say or do. That must count for something.
BUSH IS IN DEEP TROUBLE: I’d say something else. The huge turn-out in New Hampshire; the electability factor for Kerry; the passion of the Dean people: all this shows how thoroughly energized the Democrats are to win back the White House. Bush is in the Rove-Cheney cocoon right now. From the SOTU, it looks like he’s going to run on 9/11. Bad, backward-looking idea. His coalition is fracturing; his reach out to Hispanics seems to have hurt him more with the base than won him new votes; his spending has independents deeply concerned; Iraq is still a wild card; prescription drugs pandering hasn’t swayed any seniors; the religious right wants him to attack gay couples in the Constitution – which will lose him the center. More worrying: I’m not sure he even knows he’s in trouble.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Physically, Kerry’s repertoire is painfully limited. He thrusts his index finger at the audience in an overhead arc again and again, as though launching a projectile. He seems to be trying not to animate his thoughts but to expel them. Above the neck, nothing but his mouth moves. If you showed anyone a video of Kerry with his lips blacked out, they’d never know he was speaking. On television, it often seems as though Kerry is looking at you but not seeing you. In person, you realize he is looking at you but not seeing you. His words are even more stilted, particularly when he ruins a good line by adding prepositional phrases-“in this country … as a fundamental commitment … to all our citizens … regardless of circumstance”-until everyone is silently begging him to stop.” – WIll Saletan, devastatingly persuasive, on the awfulness of John Kerry.
The Dish 