Unelectable, What?

The Broward Times › October 19, 2009

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Summary

"He could be intemperate and impulsive...the image of wrath - his forefinger pointing, his fist pounding his palm, his eyes ablaze." Sean Hannity on [Howard Dean]? No, Theodore White on Bobby Kennedy in 'The Making of the President 1968"

[Kennedy] was drawn into the '68 race by his indignation over the direction of America's foreign policy. "This nation," he said, "must adopt a foreign policy which says, clearly and distinctly, 'no more Vietnams."' Dean has been saying, clearly and distinctly, No More Iraqs, even when 70 percent of the public said they approved of [George Bush]'s policy. That's leadership, and that's the kind of boldness the Democratic Party has been sorely lacking.

Far from Dean not being able to "compete" with Bush on foreign policy, he's the one viable Democrat who isn't trying to compete on the playing field that Bush and Karl Rove have laid out. No Democrat can win by playing "Whose swagger is swaggier?" or "Whose flight suit is tighter?" Instead Dean unambiguously asserts that "We are in danger of losing the war on terror because we are fighting it with the strategies of the past...The Iraq war diverted critical intelligence and military resources, undermined diplomatic support for our fight against terror, and created a new rallying cry for terrorist recruits."