ArchivedHoward Dean and His Campaign Gaffeswww.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=5437
"Howard Dean and His Campaign Gaffes"
Posted by John Averyt
Monday, December 29, 2003
Howard Dean's declaration for Christ seems phony to some. For him to announce it upon the most joyous of Christian holidays, Christmas, sets new levels of insensitivity. What kind of fellow, who has previously only mentioned God in passing or to insult Southerners (Gods, guns and gays) appears on Christmas, says "I Love you, Jesus," then goes back to what? Coveting his neighbor's wife? Or was that something else?
What does a man who can think like this do? Does Howard Dean have focus sessions with other out-of-touch campaign planners? Can you think of anything more irrelevant to Iraq, the economy, and the place of the United States in the world? Or more revealing of a candidate's contempt for voter intelligence? It is yet another in a series of eye-rolling gaffes that would have downed a lesser office seeker. Like an M-1 tank, Howard Dean keep rolling on, firing gaffes left and right.
Since his Bush-slashing style caught fire earlier this year, Dean has moved steadily upward in the polls. Money master, Internet community creator, hard worker, no matter what he has said, everything has come to the man. This is because his primary voters seem to respond not to logic, but to deep emotions, among them hatred of George Bush. As long as primary voters are being counted, nothing Dean says will cut into such solid support. Polls can be deceiving.
Jesus would never have stepped forward with such a bald-faced declaration. Indeed, He was crucified for not doing so. Doesn't Howard Dean know there are millions of devout Christians, all worshipping in their own way? Might not these folks tire of being instructed by the Great Secular from Vermont as to how to practice one's faith?
Coming on the heels of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's recent denunciation of Democrat conspiracy theories as "Dean Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest," one had to wonder if this "Jesus" report was in jest, in error, or both. Further reading indicated that he was, to the dismay of many Democrats, neither kidding nor mistaken. How much does the Jeusization of Dean add to the nut factor?
A long string of insane sounding statements, from Confederate flags and pick-up trucks, to Gods, Guns and Gays have issued from Dean these past weeks. The latest, that we are no safer since Saddam Hussein has been captured, is particularly stunning.
If we are no safer, are we supposed to let Saddam go? Even if things were more dangerous, we would have had to capture him. Also how would one go about measuring this supposed safety? There is also the matter of the who-asked-whom-to-be-vice-president imbroglio that Dean has going with Wes Clark. One needs a scorecard to keep up with this foolishness. Now, here comes Jesus. The question is where did Jesus come from?
Was Dr. Dean simply trying to say something nice on Christmas? If so, he certainly set tongues a-wagging. Dean has been characterized as the most secular of candidates. Otherwise, there was no outcry for more religion in his campaign.
Dean's campaign reeks of amateurism. Perhaps no one dare tell the great man his every word is not golden. Part of the Dean problem is that he knows he has to move to the center sooner or later. He feels he can't just jump from the socialist shuffle to the Clinton centrist Hoochie-koo without sacrificing credibility. John Kerry recently excoriated Dean for voicing doubt over the guilt of Usama Bin Ladin. So the gaffes just keep on coming.
The main question is, can these incidents offer the other leaders, especially Dick Gephardt, the leverage needed to defeat Dean in Iowa, perhaps even in New Hampshire. A flip like that in "Big Mo" would send Howard Dean into South Carolina (Clark-Edwards, bible country) without a single win.
Dean's appeal to Christ may actually be just in time. If Dean keeps up his gaffes, perhaps only Jesus Christ can help him.
Thank goodness I'm not the only one who's suspicious about Dean's motives for bringing Christ into the political arena. I don't doubt that Dean worships God (even though God would never support abortion and doctor assisted suicide, like Dr. Dean does). However, I do wonder why he'd suddenly announce to one and all, "Hey! I'm a Christian, too." For some reason, I'm hearing a very quiet - but very obvious - "So vote for me!"
Does he really think the voters are dumb enough to believe that he doesn't have ulterior motives, and that he's not just pandering to the 90% of U.S. citizens that happen to be Christians?!
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