Wednesday, February 11, 2004

DEMS THE FACTS

So the final wheel of the Dean bandwagon has lost its nut and is about to fall off.

"Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) cruised to victory in Virginia and Tennessee last night, adding the first southern states to his growing string of primary and caucus wins as he continued to run away with the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"Kerry's victories claimed another victim late last night when retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark decided to end his candidacy after finishing third in both states. Clark plans to make a formal announcement in Little Rock this afternoon.

"The results left Kerry's two other major rivals, Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) and former Vermont governor Howard Dean, in precarious positions ... Dean was still winless after the first 14 events of the nominating season, not counting the District of Columbia primary, in which no delegates were chosen. "

Man with hands in air.

There's one last chance to screw the wheel back on:

"Governor Howard Dean spoke in Madison, WI about the importance of the next week:

"Wisconsin, let me get right to the point: Over the next eight days, the power to make this country great again is in your hands."

It looks bleak for Dean and now the wooden man, John Kerry, is an odds on cert for the Democratic nomination.

Tom Carver, last week, looked at some of the exit poll numbers on Kerry. They don't look that good.

"Exit polls from Tuesday's primaries show that the main reason people voted for Mr Kerry was his electability...

"But the same exit polls show that electability is not the most important quality people seek in a candidate.

"The main thing they look for is "a candidate who cares about people like me", the second is "a candidate who stands up for what he believes".

"And in these areas, John Kerry did not score so well.

"That suggests that

- he doesn't relate well to voters
- voters are not sure what he stands for.

"Who does that remind you of? Al Gore. "

Ouch!

Julian Borger in the Guardian thinks the early end to the battle for the nomination might just be bad news for Kerry and the Dems.

"...that would be a shame - not just for the grand circus of consultants pundits and journalists that follows the primaries around the country accumulating expense account meals and mileage points. It will also be a loss, paradoxically, for Senator Kerry and the Democratic party.

"For one thing, the show has been playing well to a receptive public, and far from damaging the Democrats as had been expected, the jousting has eaten into George Bush's support, by giving an airing to popular grievances. "

Back slapping at the Kerry-blog:

"Once again, the message rings out loud and clear. Americans are voting for change - East, West, North - and today in the South.

"...You showed that the mainstream values we share - fairness, love of country, a belief in hope and hard work - are more important than boundaries or birthplace. "

I quite like the sock puppet analogy by Steven R down the bottom of the comments.

Kerry now has support from the Dems own worst enemy:

"John Kerry lined up support from former rival Dick Gephardt on Thursday in a quick paced rush toward the Democratic presidential nomination. "

That's gotta hurt.

P.S. - it gets worse. Kerry is endorsed by "wraock" group, Dull-play.

:: Posted by pete @ 13:28