>December 10, 2003
>Al Gore's Judas Kiss
>Dean Joins the Party
>By DAVID LINDORFF
>Pity Howard Dean.
>Just when it looked like he was getting somewhere, with the polls showing
>him moving decisively ahead in New Hampshire and Iowa, and starting to climb
>out of the cellar in South Carolina, in steps Al Gore with his endorsement.
>The Judas-like electoral kiss of death. What on earth does Howard Dean, the
>self-styled opponent of the Democratic Party powerbrokers, want with this
>sell-out has been? The New York Times opines that Gore would somehow bring
>blacks into Dean's camp.
>
>
Actually, it's hard to see Gore's endorsement as a "Judas kiss." He
obviously recognizes that Dean's created a fire in the party, and that
he'll probably get the nomination. And most Dean supporters aren't
supporting him because he's fighting the DLC: they're supporting him
because he's been slamming the Bush administration very, very hard, and
in the way that many Democrats wish the party had been doing all along.
We _know_ he's not a radical, and I can't think of how Dean fits into
the garden at Gethesemane-- so where does this "Judas Kiss" stuff come
from, anyway?
If anyone should feel betrayed, it'd be Joe Lieberman. Not that I'm worrying about that too much.
And I guess we can speculate on Gore's motives here. I don't think Gore's angling for the VP spot on the ticket. Maybe he wants a Cabinet position. Or, maybe he's acquired the old "retirement wisdom," i.e., once someone gets out of the Beltway, they start thinking in ways they hadn't before. Maybe stewing over the 2000 debacle's given Gore a newfound desire to smash the Republicans. Maybe he recognizes Dean's potential to win, and he wants to get the party behind him now so they can pull together and win in 2004.
In general, I think Gore's endorsement's a good thing, but mostly within the party. Remember, the Democrats had wanted him to be President, so his his imprimatur's probably going to help a lot of Kerry, Lieberman and Gephardt supporters make the switch to Dean without feeling as though they've been bowled over by the radicals. And it'll encourage the core DLC'ers to support the Dean campaign after the convention.