Hangin' with the big dawgs
*PR and Howard Dean
Calpundit Kevin Drum appears to be a Dean man at heart. He is wondering how the candidate can overcome a couple of negative perceptions and enhance his credibility.
HOWARD DEAN AND NATIONAL SECURITY
I have to admit that I liked this statement from Howard Dean a few days ago about the Bush tax cut. Nice and fiery, straightforward about what he believes, sincere, and right on the merits.
On the other hand, as much as I like Dean's message and his charisma, I keep reminding myself that his opposition to the war and his lack of credibility on national security make him unelectable. Maybe that's not fair, but I'd like a Democrat to win the presidency in 2004, and I'm very skeptical that Dean can beat Bush.
Another blogger suggests Dean exploit his medical credentials by doing some volunteer work in Iraqi hospitals. That sounds like a good idea to me. In addition, I believe Dean should do something that suggests toughness. Shrub's macho posturing is so pathetic that it should be easy to upstage him in that regard. But, what should Dean do? Ideas are welcome.
*If they only had WMD
Atrios cuts to the chase in his own inimitable style in regard to the Wizard of Oz like search for weapons of mass destruction by the Bush adminstration.
The only evidence we need to know that the administration is simply in CYA mode is the fact they don't seem very concerned about the "missing" WMD. If they really believed they existed, the hunt for them wouldn't be motivated by a desire to justify the war, it would be motivated by the very legitimate desire to make sure the deadly weapons were not in the hands of evil-doers. Since the administration isn't sounding the alarm along these lines, it's obvious they're unconcerned. They just want to find some scrap of something - a la the ridiculous mobile "labs" - to pacify the media and dupe the public.
If there were WMDs, and we can't find them, then we have problems.
About the only person I correspond with who still believes there are significant WMD in Iraq (and that Pfc. Jessica Lynch was raped and tortured) is John Cole of Balloon Juice. However, somehow the Bushites have continued to fool a substantial part of the American population. To have any chance of winning the next election, the Democrats must put that fantasy to rest.
*Post v. Times
James Capazzola of the Rittenhouse Review compares the Washington Post's 'Dish' column to the Washington Times'.
Personally, I prefer the Post ''s version.
At the very least, the Post ''s "Dish" is fresh and unique rather than stale and rehashed, as at the Times, and though the paper wins no awards for ingenuity on this point, the Post was using the feature''s title first.
I'll raise him on that. As much as I loathe Steno Sue Schmidt and a couple of her colleagues, I still consider the Post a real newspaper. The Times? It is an exercise in advocacy journalism for the far Right and a sinecure for bigots.
