Dean's foot remains in his mouth

Dean's tone deafness, presumably made worse by his consultation with Jimmy Carter, is severe to politically disabling. Not only does he condescend to potential constituents, but his message is all wrong. When it comes to race, God, gays and guns, it's the Democrats, and specifically Dean, who can't stop talking about them.

Permit me to offer a little advice: If you're courting the area of America known as The Bible Belt, don't dis God. If you're addressing a demographic group that sets its calendar by the start of dove season, try not to imply that there's anything wrong with guns or gun racks in the back of trucks.

As for gays and race, the South seems reasonably relaxed. A majority of Southerners (especially blacks, according to a recent Pew poll) may prefer the one man-one woman marriage formula, but that hardly constitutes regional homophobia.

Meanwhile, blacks are returning to the South in droves because, one might reasonably infer, they feel welcome and at home. According to 2002 figures, South Carolina alone had more than 30 black mayors, a dozen black sheriffs, 31 black members of the General Assembly and hundreds of black officials in local and school governments.

In 2000, the South accounted for eight of the top 10 states in numbers of black elected officials, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank that focuses on issues related to blacks.
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/7209562.htm