If it’s Sunday morning, it’s cartoon time around our house. But this past weekend, I wrestled control of the television from my kids to watch Howard Dean on Meet the Press. They like Dean and once brought him chocolate chip cookies when we were working in my downtown San Jose office. But they weren’t sticking around for the show. Maybe if he screamed, they would have.
Dean, of course, did not scream. Rather, he was articulate, focused, and relaxed. He was the old Howard Dean. His performance was like his first appearance on the show in July, 2002. I had met him earlier that year and set up his first meetings in California as he was exploring the opportunity to run for president. I couldn’t tell how far he’d go.
When I saw him deftly handle Tim Russert’s toughest questions, I knew he could play in the political big leagues. Other people noticed it, too. The phones in the Vermont headquarters began to ring off the hook – a real challenge for the hired campaign staff of two.
But watching Dean on Meet the Press is like watching a friend walk a tightrope outside on a windy day. He’s been on the show four times. Not all his appearances were solid performances.
In March, 2003, Dean sat for a full hour with Russert. I had been bragging to a good friend who’s a newspaper publisher about how Dean was the real deal. So we sat down to watch—and Dean just tanked. I explained how we had him on the road too long and how he unexpectedly returned home to Vermont to deal with family issues just before the show – all true. But that particular performance was the first major stumble that raised questions about Dean with the press and Washington insiders.
Nonetheless, Dean and the campaign surged. We had an unprecedented ascent in 2003 for a presidential campaign. The success was exemplified in September by what many people consider the best political event in San Jose: almost 1,000 people gathered for a backyard fundraiser at the home of John Marshall Collins and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Dean’s first and most active Capitol Hill endorser.
It’s good to see Governor Dean back on Sunday mornings. As for my kids, they won’t be voting for another ten years. So finishing second to Barney and Pokemon is no big deal for now.
Governor Dean is a good guy. It must have been disappointing not be be the nominee.
From June to December 2001, national magazines, newspapers, networks, cable news shows and pundits of all stripes declared him the “presumptive” nominee. His crowds were large everywhere he went, many on his staff were jockeying for west wing offices they wanted to occupy after the coronation.
Then January came and the enevitable slide that comes with being a huge frontrunner in a Presidential Race. Would-be aspirants had to “stop Dean”. They did.
For many, it was like watching an old rerun on television. For the thousands of Dean supporters it was a disappointing let down.
The scream in Iowa did not cause the collapse of the campaign.
In fact “the scream” was the first stage of grief, it was “denial”. Dean was trying to stave off defeat by declaring war. But it was too late.
But the candidate was not flawed, his message was not flawed, his supporters worked their hearts out—the only flaw in the campaign came from the chief strategist.
I will not enumerate the blunders, but I have always wondered why some people in politics continue to get hired when they have a solid record of disasters behind them.
No one, to my knowledge has hired the captain of the Exxon Valdez to pilot another ship, let alone the most prestigious ship on the water. Yet, routinely, politicians hire the same wrong people to guide their careers. Most of whom see nothing wrong with crashing and burning their clients in the pursuit of victory.
As in baseball, football or any competitive sport there are only a few great coaches with consistent winning records everywhere they went. Nobody has a perfect record, but if a Bill Walsh is available, why would anyone choose someone else—especially a known quantity with a losing record?
Let’s hope, if Dean ever runs again he avoids choosing the captain of the Valdez—but keeps the other smart, experienced members of the crew.
No one captures the essence of self-immolation more than our man Howard. And he’s going to lead the party back into power? Anyone up for a betting pool to see how many months go by before he’s thrown under the bus.
BTW, what a completely lame premise for a column. I can hardly wait for next week’s Dennis Kucinich piece.
You guys just never give up. The guy is a joke and his fiasco in Iowa proved it. The democratic party is dead with this guy at it’s head. They couldn’t have picked a worse leader. If he had won the nomination it wouldn’t even have been close. Just like the democratic party is dead if they continue to represent every splinter group in the country and not the hard working people who make the country work.
Howard Dean is as alienating a figure as Newt Gingrich. The believers love him but he can’t stop himself from insulting large numbers of people who represent the swing voters in this country. As a republican, I’m so happy to have this illiterate lout (Job is his favorite book of the new testament) running the democratic party.
The democrats are determined to herd the moderate Catholic vote into the arms of the republicans. Howard Dean is driving the herd. The politics of the bay area are so far to the left, that people here get the idea that Dean is a moderate.
I might add that if we didn’t leave it up to the hayseeds in Iowa to set the tone for the primaries, things would likely turn out differently. Who in their right mind would think that Kerry had a better chance at beating Bush than Dean did? Those Iowans are making too much moonshine out of all that corn. We need a California caucus that happens before anyone else’s. We’re the trendsetting state, the biggest state, and we need to drive our agenda, not sit back and have the country bumpkins shoving theirs down our throat.
This has nothing to do with “San Jose Inside” that I can see either, but hey Novice, I’m happy to share my opinions on this subject too, since with the current abuse of power by the Bush administration, my anger just grows over the fact that he’s in the White House—for a 2nd term no less. What a bunch of low intellect morons we share this country with. I’m all for studying a California secession so Washington DC will have to grovel for a trade agreement with one of the world’s largest economies.
“In all, 344 notices were distributed to city employees, including 217 sworn officers and firefighters. The advisory letters warned the employees that their jobs may be affected—and the changes could include reassignment or job elimination.”
– How many of the over-bloated city council staff got notices?
– How many of the over-paid city council staff got pay cuts?
– How many millions is in this year’s budget are earmarked for boondoggles like the Mexican Heritage plaza?
Rich – glass houses
Trippi was running a Presidential.
What were you doing?
Self-immolation, Novice? I guess you’re right. Honesty in politics can cause a candidate to fall on his proverbial sword. Let’s instead collectively back the proponents of deceit, who in our time have succeeded in making Nixon and his Watergate gang look like a bunch of playground thugs.
HoiPolloi, the real estate in Texas is a whole lot cheaper than the Bay Area. I guess that’s because everybody is clammoring to move here and pay top dollar to live among a bunch of crazed extremists. You might be more comfortable somehwere near Crawford TX—just don’t forget to pack your bible. And I hear those neighborly Enron types down there are famous for their kabobs. Look how they skewered California, while Bush stood by and fiddled while we got burned. We’re in the current economic mess here more due to Bush’s inaction around Enron than anything your precious Governator says our legistature did, and your man Pete Wilson, who championed deregulation. I will never understand people like you, why you vote for destructive types, be it destruction of the economy (Bush has bankrupted any corporate entity he has ever touched and he’s doing an exellent job on the entire country now), the environment, or enlisted men & womens’ lives, or why you hang around polluting this more enlightened corner of the country with your blockheaded and backward republican drivel.
Novice,
No city council staff got pay cuts. In fact last week, the Council lifted the freeze on city council staff salaries to allow Councilmembers to pay their staffs what ever the heck they want within the confines of each district’s budget.
WILL SOMEONE PLEASE PUBLISH THE MOST CURRENT LIST OF COUNCIL/MAYOR AIDES SALARIES AND THE RAISES THEY GOT IN LIGHT OF TUESDAY’S ACTION
It is truly galling that the city lays off police and firefighters – yet the staff get raises?
So when my neighbor’s house catches fire, the staff will show up?
Now is the time to hire an independant audit of San Jose finances and operations.
Novice, it’s clear that Gonzo and his henchmen are taking their cues from Washington DC. This is a big, arrogant demolition derby being orchestrated at City Hall. Come to think of it, a demo derby might be a more appropriate event for downtown in late July instead of the Champ race. Any driver who manages to knock Quetzie into oblivion gets a special cash award. And city staffers can handle the crowd control.
To Glass House,
I was supporting the winner, John Kerry.
And. . .I still have not accepted the results of the fraudulent November Election.
http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/ohiostatusrept1505.pdf#search=‘Conyers Election Report’
As Stalin once noted, it is not who votes that count, but who counts the vote.
…or who’s writing the Election Reports.
Go fo it Mark.
Tell folks all over the country what fools they are. Mock their religious beliefs. Yeah that’ll do it. Keep spewing the hatred. That will get a democrat elected.
When hell freezes over.
Richard,
First of all, to call John Kerry the winner is a bit of a stretch. Conyers or no Conyers – GW Bush is the President – as much is it pains me to write.
You were “supporting” the John Kerry. Not running his campaign. You criticizing the campaign Trippi ran after the fact is nothing but Monday morning quarterbacking.
If you were so involved:
Which of your ideas brought in millions of dollars into the Kerry campaign?
Which of your ideas brought hundreds of thousands of people into the Kerry campaign?
Which of your ideas actually helped Kerry “win”?
You go Rich! I supported both Gore and Kerry, who both won. Is there any wonder why we have the abuse of power that we’re seeing now? This guy cheated his way in and now is cheating the country out of a healthy economy and he’s not stopping there. I have never seen such blatant fascism outside the old Eastern Bloc. The illegitimacy of his regime makes all of this particularly difficult to accept. His thugs are too sharp to be able to trip them up on any of their electoral antics, and I have to give them credit there, but a thug is still a thug and an idiot is still an idiot.
I’d like to request that the columnists for this board kindly keep the topics relevant to San Jose.
If you run out of current events, then write about historical events that have led us to where we are today. So what if a lot of people don’t post – that doesn’t mean the content isn’t interesting or educational.
How about dossiers on the movers and shakers in San Jose and their connections to city hall? Connect the dots between the lobbyists, developers, and city council for us outsiders.
What’s the inside story with VTA? I get the feeling there’s enough ‘drama’ and ‘intrigue’ there to fuel a few columns.
This Howard Dean column was nothing but rhetorical red meat followed by the predictable Pavlovian responses. Boring and irrelevant.
BTW, Mark T – you need to take a vacation amigo.
HoiPolloi, hatred is all in your point of view. How you can not call Bush’s stance on hot button issues like equal rights for gays or the right to die with dignity not rooted in hatred for the people involved or for their values is beyond me.
Enough said. I agree with Novice that this blog should deal with local issues and not national ones, unless they have a specific impact here.
How is the non-election of GWB not relevant to San Jose?
To Glass House:
I predicted the Trippi disaster long before it occurred. It is the sole reason I would not consider endorsing him early.
I have great respect for Jude, but he will tell you I had no interest in helping the Vermont Governor because I knew Trippi would tank the campaign.
I don’t take much pleasure in being right, either. I think Dean was a good man who only learned of Trippi’s downside later.
Trippi who was quick to take credit when things were going well and he blamed everybody else when he was fired. His disloyalty to past candidates is legendary.
How he gets any work is beyond me.
Further, I haven’t participated nationally in a campaign since 1992 when I worked for Bill Clinton in the California primary.
My son was born in November of that year—and he has been my priority since—though I regret, very much, not being even more active in the Kerry race.
For those who want a San Jose connection, Joe went to SJSU—though he never graduated.
He ran for ASB President and lost to Nancy McFadden who worked in the Clinton Administration and was chief of staff to Gray Davis.
I still have high hopes for Nancy.
Jude, if he just hadn’t screamed back in Iowa, the majority of us wouldn’t be screaming right now over the way Bush is running this entire country into the ground. I’ll take a screamer over a smug and thoroughly misguided smirker any day.
Thanks for reminding me that I need to order that slash-through-W sticker that I’ve been meaning to put on my car to counter all of the sore winners who still flaunt their Bush stickers.
I suggest you lads have a conference call to discuss who’s a bigger loser.
Re: the upcomimg Kucinich article on this blog, a friend of mine walked by Dennis’ Congressional office and noticed a sign that read: Civilization – Kielbasa, Bowling and Beer. The Dems can really crank out those Presidential hopefuls!!
Jude…I have it on the highest authority that Howard Dean absolutely NEVER screamed at you. Not so sure about Tom McEnery.
Well, I don’t know about Howard Dean’s chances in 2012, but a couple of big-feet seem to have been noticing this modest blog author as the guy who could make it happen:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/05/24/karl.rove/index.html
Love the rock-star, long-lens photo, too.
Incidentally, this talk about Howard Dean as presidential candidate misses the point about Howard Dean the DNC Chair. The story on the left since 2000 (and, really, since 1980) is the division in the Dems between the moderates and the liberals. Howard Dean is in the rather amazing position of being idolized by my radical friends in Berkeley even as his policy portfolio, pace Iraq, is remarakbly moderate. If he can keep the the Daily Kos groupies from sniping too much about the 2008 nominee, he’ll have earned his keep for that alone.