My thoughts on last nights' debate at Morgan State (I even took notes!):
Dean is being auditioned by black Dems
This is the big story of this debate. Dean is now being taken seriously as the probable nominee, so now he has to show what he is willing to do for the black political establishment. Last night, Dean signalled that he is 100% in line with them.
Dean's stance on Palestinian terrorism may not help him with Jews, but it was music to the ears of the black members of the audience. I don't know if you've picked this up, but black people don't like Jews, so Dean's willingness to play 'fair' with Jew-murdering terrorists doesn't hurt him too much. With the new campaign-finance laws and his talent for harvesting small contributions, he is far less dependent than someone like Bill Clinton on big-money Hollywood producers and others who would demand support for Israel.
The Juan Williams question on gun contol (implying that Dean only favored it in predominantly black jurisdictions) was perceived by many to be a cheap shot, but I think it was just part of the audition process. Most importantly, Dean came right out with his support of affirmative action. There will be no Sister Souljah moment for Howard Dean.
Why is Dick Gephardt so unelectable?
I can't figure out why more Dems don't support Gephardt. He is the prototypical, party-line Democrat. Once upon a time, Gephardt was pro-life, but over the course of his career, he has jettisoned all stances that contradict party dogma.
I asked Liz (a slightly left-of-center Dem) about it, and she responded with a hateful tirade against Gephardt. Maybe he just looks too much like an albino.
Exit stategy?
The Democrats really showed how much they are stuck in the Vietnam mindset. The one phraee that they (especially the veteran Kerry) love to include in their pissing and moaning about Iraq is "exit stategy". This is striped-pants speak for running home with your tail between your legs, a la Vietnam, Beirut, etc. The only real 'exit strategy' in Iraq is something this country used to aim for in war: total victory.
I think Dean is the only candidate who realizes that if you are against the war in Iraq (as Dean was), then you have to be FOR something. Global terrorism is not something George Bush invented - it is real. You have to say what you are going to do as president to eliminate this threat to national security. Dean made a start by denouncing anti-Semitic education in Saudi schools, something the current administration has been too gutless to do (because they're our allies, remember?).
And the winner is...
I thought Gephardt looked good, but see above. Kerry was boring and meaningless as always. Lieberman spent his time attacking the front-runner, which can only help Kerry and Gephardt. He needs to take down one of the second-tier guys and try to make it a Lieberman-Dean race.
So that leaves Dean. I thought he did a good job of parrying Palpatine's attacks without getting angry. He satisfied the black demands and he focused on foreign policy (the economy is a loser for Dems by February). Dean solidified his front-runner position.
Transcript here.
Marc
