BFLO NEWS: Dean, in Buffalo, courts Young Democrats

Another positive article about Dr. Dean!!

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

By ROBERT J. McCARTHY
News Political Reporter
8/17/2003

If Howard Dean really is the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, he showed the Young Democrats of America national convention, held in Buffalo on Saturday, what all the fuss is about.

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He was careful to note that he supported the first Persian Gulf War as well as the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan in search of Osama bin Laden. Then he recited a litany of milestones that he said separated the latest clash with Iraq from other military actions:

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"I will never hesitate to send American troops to any corner of the globe as commander in chief to defend our country and to defend our freedoms," he said. "But I will never send our brothers and our sisters, our sons and our daughters, to die in a foreign country without telling the truth."


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And as he has throughout his campaign, he appealed to the base of the Democratic Party to make itself known. The party has made mistakes in the past, he said, by trying to "be like George Bush . . . you vote for some of the tax cuts . . . you vote to send the troops to Iraq so you don't appear soft on defense."


It's that kind of rhetoric and a host of favorable stands on expanded health care, gay rights (he supported Vermont's landmark ruling on homosexual civil unions) and other issues that have appealed to the party's traditional left-of-center base.

But that same appeal is also sending chills down the more moderate spine of the Democratic Party that successfully rallied around Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996 and Al Gore's near-miss in 2000.

more at
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030817/1022368.asp

A little light still on Dean's issue positions, although well above average. Thanks for finding this one.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3036834,00.html

Some good parts:

The former Vermont governor was the only one of the nine active candidates who appeared in person at the biennial convention of the 43,000-member Young Democrats of America being held in Buffalo.

Asked about that after his speech, Dean said: ``I think they missed a great opportunity. This group of people are the people who are putting us over the top.'' He told the crowd that it was his third, straight YDA convention.

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That while some of his aides are ``chomping at the bit'' for him to give up public campaign financing given his fund-raising success, ``I would prefer to take matching funds.'' Dean said there would be ``no serious discussion about that certainly until after Sept. 30 and maybe not until after Dec. 30.'' Those are the next two financial filing deadlines for candidates.

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Dean aides provided all those attending the convention with pledge cards they could sign, promising to get at least 10 young people each to register to vote. And, Dean was promoting his own special Web site for young voters: www.generationdean.com.

I have been astonished by the strategic brilliance of the Dean campaign.

It's not that the Dean Campaign hasn't made mistakes. (They have, such as the Kucinich Social Security retirement age episode.) It's that they correct them quickly (without shame) and move on, and that they do so many things right.

This ability to execute is REALLY important. It's why we have the wrong guy in the White House right now. It's also why we have primaries and caucuses, to help candidates hone these skills for the big fight. Lord knows Democrats will need someone with brilliant campaign skills to win, going against the couple hundred million in corporate special interest money.

to support a candidate who can take care of himself.

I love Al Gore, but I was always on pins and needles when he spoke.
I hid my head under a pillow during the Dem Convention acceptance speech.

I do like the new "in your face" Al Gore a lot better.

"Kerry's well-received video, using an often shaky, hand-held camera and quick-cut editing, showed him sailboarding, playing hockey, riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and talking to lots and lots of young people. If the message was lost on any of the young Democrats, Kerry, 59, told them: "Hopefully this gives a feel for the young people driving my campaign every day ... Without young people I couldn't have a campaign." - http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=694&e=2&u=/ap/20030817/ap_on_el_pr/dean_young_democrats

Dean is wise to keep appearing at these gatherings.

But I think he would have benefited even more if he had come to the meeting.

Kerry's video was awful - it was as if he was trying so hard to be "cool and hip" when clearly it wasn't playing with the audience. The whole way it was shot, and how it framed Kerry, was very -- I hate to say this -- phony; there was not a genuine feel to the piece.

interesting..

They've been bombarded with "clever" TV ads targeted exclusively at them. So their B.S. detectors are turned way up. You have to be very careful not to try too hard.

Thanks for reporting on this! I read about this in advance and wondered how it would go! Saturday was a Good day for it!

Dean got around that day! I know he was in Ohio with AWD, too!