YEEAARRGGHH ! Dean -- Make up your minds already!
Howard Dean is desperate. He wants the superdelegates to tell him -- right now -- who they will vote for. He obviously watched the debate on Wednesday and wasn't too pleased with what he saw.To be fair, this is the Democrat's fault. They're the ones who set up the primary schedule and rules. It was set up to favor Hillary, but dammit, the rookie upstart stepped in, and has taken all of her press:
An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they’re for – and “I need them to say who they’re for starting now.”
“We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time,” the Democratic National Committee Chairman told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “We’ve got to know who our nominee is.”
After facing criticism for a mostly hands-off leadership style during much of the primary season, Dean has been steadily raising the rhetorical pressure on superdelegates. He said Thursday that roughly 65 percent of them have made their preference plain, but that more than 300 have yet to make up their minds.
The national party chair, who has remained neutral throughout the primary process, said again it’s his job to make sure both candidates feel they are treated fairly – but not to tell either of them when to end their run.
He has two distinct problems here. First, the superdelegates could tell him who they're for, but their vote isn't set in stone until the convention. So Al Gore could call him tomorrow, say he's voting for Obama, and at the convention he could thumb his nose at Dean and vote for Hillary. (I doubt that'll happen given the animosity between her and Gore, but this is example, and it's one I'm making as simple as possible so Howling Mad Howie can understand the pickle he's in.)
His other problem is that if Hillary wins Pennsylvania by more than say, five points, she's not bowing out no matter what Dean tells her. She'll be hard-pressed to stay in the race if Obama takes Pennsylvania, but we doubt that will happen. The polls are showing the "bitter" comment seems to have run it's course, but we're not too sure about that. He didn't explain it away well on Wednesday. He stumbled his way through the first forty-five minutes, and we're surprised that more people didn't compare his opening performance with President Bush's oratory skills. (No offense to the president; even he admits he doesn't speak well.)
Howling Mad Howie has himself a serious problem. She's not going anywhere, and the supers don't seem ready to speak up. Furthermore, there is the possibility, which we posited not too long ago, that the supers could lock up the first ballot, and go to an outsider. But a consensus candidate is sure to shatter the Democrat base. He wants their decision now, and like this primary, a resolution isn't coming anytime soon.
Publius II
An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they’re for – and “I need them to say who they’re for starting now.”
“We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time,” the Democratic National Committee Chairman told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “We’ve got to know who our nominee is.”
After facing criticism for a mostly hands-off leadership style during much of the primary season, Dean has been steadily raising the rhetorical pressure on superdelegates. He said Thursday that roughly 65 percent of them have made their preference plain, but that more than 300 have yet to make up their minds.
The national party chair, who has remained neutral throughout the primary process, said again it’s his job to make sure both candidates feel they are treated fairly – but not to tell either of them when to end their run.
He has two distinct problems here. First, the superdelegates could tell him who they're for, but their vote isn't set in stone until the convention. So Al Gore could call him tomorrow, say he's voting for Obama, and at the convention he could thumb his nose at Dean and vote for Hillary. (I doubt that'll happen given the animosity between her and Gore, but this is example, and it's one I'm making as simple as possible so Howling Mad Howie can understand the pickle he's in.)
His other problem is that if Hillary wins Pennsylvania by more than say, five points, she's not bowing out no matter what Dean tells her. She'll be hard-pressed to stay in the race if Obama takes Pennsylvania, but we doubt that will happen. The polls are showing the "bitter" comment seems to have run it's course, but we're not too sure about that. He didn't explain it away well on Wednesday. He stumbled his way through the first forty-five minutes, and we're surprised that more people didn't compare his opening performance with President Bush's oratory skills. (No offense to the president; even he admits he doesn't speak well.)
Howling Mad Howie has himself a serious problem. She's not going anywhere, and the supers don't seem ready to speak up. Furthermore, there is the possibility, which we posited not too long ago, that the supers could lock up the first ballot, and go to an outsider. But a consensus candidate is sure to shatter the Democrat base. He wants their decision now, and like this primary, a resolution isn't coming anytime soon.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 2:40 PM
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