Obama needs to change: Dean whispered as a primary challenger to Obama 
by ystasino [Subscribe]
Thu Nov 04, 2010 at 10:16:20 PM PDT
Politico features an article by the sometimes incisive and sometimes irrelevant Roger Simon who says that Obama's people do not trust Dean and fear Dean might challenge him for the presidency should Obama make too many compromises to republicans...
The parallels with Jesse Jackson's '96 campaign that never was are in the article.
But the Clinton White House was extremely worried that Jesse Jackson would run against Clinton in the primaries. Clinton looked somewhat vulnerable: There was Whitewater, Hillary Clinton’s commodities trading, Travelgate, Troopergate and Paula Jones. The labor unions were still furious over the North American Free Trade Agreement, and many African-Americans had not forgiven Clinton for his treatment of Lani Guinier, a black woman whose nomination he withdrew for assistant attorney general for civil rights.
Team Clinton, especially Harold Ickes and Rahm Emanuel, worked hard, using both carrots and sticks, to keep Jackson out. (For a full account, see my article in the Feb. 24, 1997, New Republic, “Primary Care: How Bill Sandbagged Jesse.”)
- ystasino's diary :: ::
Having canvassed for both in Des Moines and Ft. Didge Iowa, respectively that would be heartbreaking. Ironically, Deaniac 83 has "blame the netroots who are ideologues" diary that is highly contentious. Instead of pointing fingers, it's good to see why Dean won't challenge Obama and what Obama needs to change.
I don't see this happening for practical reasons, but Obama definitely needs to improve on policy:
Practical Reasons Dean would be crushed by Obama:
- Dean's lone infrastructure was in Iowa a state Dean performed terribly and Dean's apparatus has been assimilated.
- Obama has had a formidable 50-state apparatus, that propelled him to 53% of the vote in 2008; Bill Clinton was re-elected with 49%. Of course Obama's race was a two-horse race, Clinton's wasn't.
- Dean's popularity was partly a result of the "anybody but Bush" era.
- They don't disagree on much.
Policy reasons that Obama needs to be challenged on:
A. He wasted time waiting for Baucus and Grassley, wasting the 60-senate seats advantage the Dems have to pass the healthcare bill after 15 months of deliberations. All this because of his "love of process" and his dismay of a dirty fight.
B. He chose Larry Summers and Tim Geithner to lead the economy. In the midst of the biggest populist sentiment in America in generations, in the midst of pitchforks against wall street Obama chose two insiders as his main advisers to lead the economy. And they put forth an inefficient and directionless agenda:
The foreclosure crisis is still going on
The deficit has ballooned because Obama refused to immediately end the Bush tax cuts for the rich
Wall street is making huge profits while the midwest and Florida are devastated
C. He has continued the Bush policy on Guantanamo and refused to prosecute Alberto Gonzalez.
I fear Obama has squandered a chance to impact the country as he wanted and promised. What's worse he does not appear to see it that way. I don't know about you, but I am finding hard to believe that a person of such intelligence lost his capability to reflect on his performance as soon as he went into DC.
As a result the republicans has swept into the midwest, the Dems have to defend 23 seats in the senate while the republicans only need to defend 9, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio are turning red.
Serious change in direction is needed, Obama much change course.
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