From the Rutland Herald (Rutland being in Vermont, apparently), comes an article on Dean's chances in 2003.
"The job in 2003 is different. It is not Howard Dean's task to separate himself from recent Democratic failures, as Clinton needed to separate himself from Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis. He has needed to separate himself from the failure of the Democrats to give the voters a credible alternative to George Bush. It is an emperor-has-no-clothes problem. Bush's failures are huge and plainly visible to those who will see. Dean has been willing to help people see.
Dean has now entered a phase during which his opponents and the press are having at him with dangerous vehemence. Dean's inconsistent and provocative statements, combined with his unapologetic and defiant response to criticism, have infuriated his opponents and drawn the wrath of editorialists and columnists, liberals among them. This dynamic is the flip side of one of Dean's assets.
That asset is something Dean shares with Clinton: audacity."
Fighting the last battle again is usually a losing strategy, albeit a popular one.
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