May 5, 2003

Dem Debate

In today's Best of the Web, James Taranto has an enlightening summary of the Democratic candidates' debate the other night. Below is part of his take on Howard Dean's candidacy, (but read the whole thing...)

Dean made a lot more sense on Saturday than he had in the past--but this is actually a drawback for his campaign. Dean's appeal is to the demented wing of the Democratic Party--the folks whose entire worldview centers on the delusion that President Bush "stole" the election. These people sympathized with Dean's pro-Saddam stance not because they care one way or the other about Iraq, but because in their minds the freedom of the Iraqi people and the security of the world were worth sacrificing in order to deny Bush a political victory. By bowing to reality, Dean can't help but alienate his base, and it's unlikely he picked up many sentient Democrats' votes either.

George Will handicaps the race as well. But it's not promising for Democrats, as Will notes:

The potential for volatility among Democrats is suggested by a poll conducted April 10-16 by the Pew Research Center showing that 69 percent of Democrats cannot name any of the nine candidates. Kerry, the most frequently named, is named by just 9 percent of respondents. Nine percent think Al Gore is running. The president has 71 percent job approval. Ronald Reagan had 58 percent in 1984, when he swept 49 states.
Posted by dan at May 5, 2003 11:12 PM