Why be upset about reciprocation? Fair is fair.

For those of you who are really under the impression that Dean is being attacked for no reason, please allow me to refresh your memories. The other candidate have every right to go after Dean politically. I only wish they hadn't let him get away with it for so long to begin with.

First phone attack

Straight-talking Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is testing his attack message in Iowa. Political operatives say Dean's phone polling is probing for weaknesses in support for Sens. John Edwards and John Kerry and Rep. Dick Gephardt. For rookie pol Edwards, it's about experience. For Gephardt, it's his alliance with Bush on key issues. Questions about Kerry test Iowans' reaction to his vote backing the war in Iraq."

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/archive/030512/12whisplead.php

From a USA Today, 4/29-29/03
Campaigns spar over remarks about military
By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY

(full text at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-04-28-dem-words_x.htm)

WASHINGTON — The only Democratic presidential candidate to regularly whack his rivals got a taste of his own tactics Monday and didn't like it...

...Until now, the competition has been relatively harmonious, at least for public consumption, with the exception of Dean. His attacks on fellow Democrats have been so cutting that sometimes the Republican National Committee e-mails them to party members. "Gephardt Plan: 'Pie-In-The-Sky Radical Revamping' " was the headline on one last week, quoting Dean.

Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri have been Dean targets in recent weeks. But Dean has reserved his sharpest thrusts for Kerry, repeatedly accusing him of selling out Democratic principles. The two men are virtually tied for the lead in polls in New Hampshire, which holds the critically important first primary election...

... Dean's remarks underscore his off-the-cuff style. In March, he accused Edwards and Kerry of softening their support for the Iraq war when they spoke to a dovish California crowd. But in reality, both had referred to their support and gotten booed. Edwards was furious and received an apology from Dean. Kerry said he deserved one but didn't get it.

After Gephardt proposed last week to roll back President Bush's tax cuts to pay for a major expansion of health coverage, Dean blasted him for wanting to repeal "huge tax cuts" he said Gephardt had supported. But Gephardt led the fight against the tax cuts passed in 2001.
>>>>

Mutually Assured Destruction.


Of course, the whole point was to keep that first attack from happening.

How wise. How fair.

Governor Dean has told us repeatedly that he "is a pin cushion."

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and that the Dean people get all the breaks...

Posts that I see attacking Dean are opinion. Every once in a while some poor soul makes the mistake of claiming they are facts and after repeated requests are unable to produce them.

To merely post a quote from Clark is considered a horrific attack and such "smear" tactics are denounced loudly. I always find that so amusing.

Julie

.

Dean got ALL the media coverage in the beginning - and most of it was positive. I noticed the media turned on him the day that his supporters leafletted Clark rallys with anti-Clark leaflets (a rather class-less act) and when his campaign was accused of trying to bring in people from outside the state to vote in the Iowa caucus. Shortly later, the 2 Dean people were caught (and fired) for spying on the Kerry campaign.

This changed the story from the "cute" young innocent kids working on the Dean campaign to "dirty" campaigners. I think that this was the end of the love affair that they had with the Dean campaign.

The minute I heard about the leaflets - I knew it would backfire and only end up in some very bad NATIONAL publicity - vs. a few LOCAL votes that they may or may not have gotten. The national media was following Clark all over the place in New Hamp. - where he was generating lots of crowds, excitement and good feelings. When the Dean people showed up with "negative flyers" at another candidates rally - that went a long ways towards turning the media off of Dean. This was witnessed by 50-80 media members.

If Dean loses the nom. - mark this as the day that did him in....

Whoever's idea that was should be demoted to stuffing envelopes.

by the time I get to weigh in most of the negatives are deleted.

Without actually seeing what was deleted, I can only assume it's because they were more than just "the slightest negative remark about Clark or Kerry"

<sarcasm> Then again, if I told you the real reason, my magic posting potion would be taken away as well as my membership in the magic posting potion club. </sarcasm>



And then there were none!
” JAFO”

moderator bias in the the Ask The Administrators forum?
Just trying to be helpful (in the spirit of the new civility)
mitchum

and took issue with the hand-wringing Dems in Congress. I couldn't have been more delighted.

Of course he has not said that any of them are UNelectable and he's not run any ads that subliminally associate any of his opponents with Osama bin Laden either.

I guess everyone's got a line they won't cross. For some that line is in a different place than others.

Julie--who knows full well politics is a blood sport

eom

Heck, Kerry was being attacked relentlessly by Dean even while he was in recovery from his cancer surgery.

I think Kerry's campaign went after Clark's political weakness, because Clark referred to Kerry as a Washington insider, which Clark camp sees as a political weakness for Kerry.