"The Note" is back!
NEWS SUMMARY
The Note has made several New Year's resolutions, which we will unfurl throughout January, but there two you need to know about today.
First, we resolve to give you some pretty cool new stuff this month, including wildly expanded weekend coverage (As Paul Mason and John Roberts can tell you, the weekend is 2/7th of the week … .), and lots of Note-y streaming video delivered in all sorts of ways.
Second, we resolve to give you a more global perspective on American politics, turning this morning for our paradigmatic headline and this lead to Ben McConville of the Scotsman ("Scottish news direct from Scotland"):
"With 16 days to go before his first test at the polls, the question gripping Washington is: 'Who can stop Howard Dean from becoming the Democratic presidential candidate?'"
And that question seems right now to pivot NOT off of Dean's positions (Too left? Too right?) or his campaign organization (You won't really believe what he is building in Iowa, and the large crowds he drew in New Hampshire yesterday are sort of mind boggling … .).
No, what those auditioning to be the Dean Alternative have seized on for the home stretch are The Doctor's temperament and electability.
Will nomination voters care about these matters enough to deny Dean the Democratic Party nod?
And assuming that one or two challengers emerge as Dean Alternatives, will they be able to make the case better than the group gang-up is doing now?
If you know the answers to those questions, you possess the wisdom of Howard Fineman, the judgment of Matt Cooper, the experience of David Yepsen, the sagacity of Ron Brownstein, the puckishness of James Pindell, and the confidence of Chris Matthews.
Or, alternatively, your name is Ron Fournier.
Dean has a new policy: no responding personally to the attacks of his rivals, but that is going to be hard to sustain at tomorrow's Des Moines Register debate.
Indeed, after some campaign and journalistic weather delays, the road show has moved (mostly) from New Hampshire to Iowa, where today, Howard Dean holds four "Caucus for Change" events in Iowa including stops in Storm Lake, Emmetsburg, Fort Dodge and Boone.
Rep. Dick Gephardt holds seven "Countdown to Victory" events in Iowa including stops in Dubuque, Maquoketa, Clinton, Davenport, Marshalltown, Baxter and Des Moines.
Senator John Kerry highlights his plan to strengthen family farms at Care4Iowa Congress in Des Moines, Iowa.
Gen. Wesley Clark campaigns in New Hampshire. On Monday, Gen. Clark will lay out a major domestic policy proposal in Nashua, N.H.
Senator John Edwards delivers a speech explaining why he can bring real change to America from the steps of city hall in Nashua, N.H.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich campaigns in Austin, Tex.
Senator Joe Lieberman, Rev. Al Sharpton and Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun have no public events.
President Bush is in Crawford, Texas with no public events. He is scheduled to return to Washington, D.C. today.
abcnews.go.com |
