For conservatives it is a rare and beautiful sight: liberals savaging each other for a change.
The prospect of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's becoming the Democratic presidential nominee has panicked a large part of the liberal establishment. They want to stop him now-not because they disagree with his left-wing agenda, but because they are convinced that most Americans do. Dean has etched his angry, inelegant, leftist persona so deeply into the public mind this winter, many in the liberal elite have concluded, that it would be preposterous for him to run this fall disguised as a "moderate." (That's not to say Dean wouldn't try.)
As the anti-war, tax-hiking, gay-civil-unions candidate, they fear, Dean would drag their party on an electoral trajectory reminiscent of 1972. That's when Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota, the candidate of "acid, amnesty and abortion," won one state-Massachusetts-against Richard Nixon.
The Stop Dean camp achieved real success last week as the candidate showed signs of slippage-with polls in both Iowa and New Hampshire indicating those races were tightening.
Surprise Endorsement
But Dean's tormentors were careful not to attack him on issues. That might backfire, reinforcing his appeal among left-wing primary voters. And, besides, Dean's liberal tormentors largely agree with him on issues. So, they went after him with mini-scandals that colored in the already familiar (and accurate) sketch of Dean as a strange and hollow man.
On January 8, Tom Brokaw introduced an NBC scoop this way: "In presidential politics, the Iowa caucuses are less than two weeks away now, and former Vermont governor Howard Dean hopes to certify his place as a front-runner who must be taken seriously as a national candidate. But NBC News has come across a number of videotapes from a Canadian public television show where Dean often appeared as governor."
Dean, it turns out, once said in Canada that the Iowa caucuses were "dominated by special interests."
That Sunday, the Des Moines Register ran a surprise endorsement of North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who was running fourth in state polls. The editorial began with these inspiring words: "When we first met John Edwards, we were inclined to write him off as the possible Democratic presidential nominee." The paper reversed itself, in part, it said, because it was impressed by Edwards' success at suing people. "John specialized in trial law, winning some of the most spectacular verdicts in North Carolina history and earning a small fortune," the editorial explained.
In a debate that night, Al Sharpton started a media frenzy by forcing Dean to admit he had not lived up to his commitment to affirmative action. "Do you have a senior member of your [Vermont] cabinet that was black or brown?" demanded Sharpton. "We had a senior member of my staff on the fifth floor," said Dean lamely.
Then the New York Times delivered a front-page piece examining why Dean's wife, Judith Steinberg, stayed home tending to her teenage son and medical practice rather than traveling with her husband. "During Dr. Dean's two years of relentless campaigning for the Democratic nomination, Dr. Steinberg has stood by her husband's side at a political event exactly once," reported the Times. The story raised interesting questions for traditional conservatives. But it was a curious piece for a paper that endorsed both Mr. and Mrs. Bill Clinton.
After that, ABC News took its turn. Dean, it revealed, had signed an affidavit saying that the state trooper who headed his security detail was "a firm but gentle disciplinarian." The affidavit was used in a custody dispute in which the trooper was accused of spousal abuse.
All this may reward America with a longer, more vicious Democratic nominating process. By last Thursday, the MSNBC/Reuters/Zogby tracking poll showed a three-way statistical dead heat in the Iowa caucuses. In this one poll, at least, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry had actually taken a nominal lead over Dean and Rep. Dick Gephardt, with Edwards right behind.
Does it make much difference which one emerges as the Democratic candidate? As the Des Moines Register conceded in endorsing Edwards: "On issues, the major contenders for the nomination aren't far apart. They differ in emphasis and detail, but all have the same general thrust..." Right. And that thrust is far to the left of America's mainstream. But whatever their gripes right now, without question, if Dean is the candidate, the liberal media will rush to support him.
