Dean also has an unfortunate tendency to sound bad, a clear result of his off the cuff style that has gotten him this far. The problem is mixed though since I tend to often basically agree with what he is saying, even if I know he is asking for trouble by saying it that way. For instance, his latest is that even Bin Laden should have a fair trial. "What an idiot," was the basic response (John Kerry also joins in these bash Dean events ... or so is the usual flavor of the media quotes ... and it's getting tiring, since again, Dean actually has a point most of the time), so he had to join the bloodthirtsy brigade and "clarify" that he obviously wants the guy dead. The fact is however that we should be able to say things like that. And, yes, even if he "admitted" to his guilt. Do people who confess not get trials in this country?

[As noted here (12/27), "Howard Dean said something eminently responsible and correct, though it was insane for a Presidential candidate to say it," but also that he should have said it differently. I felt the same way about his "we aren't safer now that Saddam is captured" statement. I don't know if this is quite true, and it needs to be said a bit differently.]

The fact the media has many who just plain don't like the guy (some feel Sen. Kerry gets bad press ... Dean has his share) also is getting clearer by the day. One theme is that the South just won't like this guy. I do not think John Kerry is much better in this regard (for instance, Dean's doctor spouse does not like campaigning with him, which turns off traditional southerners; I don't think Kerry's rich, outspoken, foreign second wife will impress them much more), so I guess, the idea is that Gen. Clark should be the candidate. His recent spat, including calling Dean a liar for saying he didn't off him the v.p. spot, suggests he leaves a bit to be desired too.

Today I read another smear job, this time calling Dean a phony for saying he will start to play up his religion, in part to help him in the South. Others do such things but are less upfront about it, so I guess that makes that less phony, huh? The column also explains "his people" include "techies, yuppies, peaceniks, [and] gays." It goes on to say that there are enough of these individuals in the region to win the primaries, but not the general election (the idea he cannot win Florida and/or a few "red" states, all he will need to win plus the Gore states, is quite debatable). The column also notes that Dean is: "a Christian so tepid that in the 1980s he quit his Episcopal church in a dispute over a bicycle path" and basically suggests that his statement that he prays daily is a lie.