Dean Drubbed by Post Editorial Page: It’s the War, Stupid
"Washingtonian"
The only Washington Post columnist or editorial writer to lament the popping of the Howard Dean bubble was Charles Krauthammer.
“I am bereft,” the right-wing scribe said Friday. He was being facetious. He wanted Dean to win the Democratic primaries so Republicans could pound him in the general election.
Krauthammer is the strongest voice in the anti-Dean choir at the Post. If Dean should overcome his distant third-place finish in Iowa and win the Democratic nomination, the Post likely would endorse a Republican for the first time since Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s.
The Post has editorialized relentlessly against Dean, beginning with “Beyond the Mainstream” on December 18.
“The former Vermont governor has compiled a disturbing record of misstatements and contradictions on foreign policy,” the editorial said.
In its December 28 “Assessing Mr. Dean,” the Post called Dean “condescending,” “quick to bristle,” “hypocritical,” and “disingenuous.”
The Post criticized Dean’s stands on domestic and international issues, but the paper’s primary complaint is simple: It’s the war, stupid.
Among the cast of Democrats vying for the nomination, Dean has been the most steadfast antiwar candidate. The Post has been a staunch supporter of the Iraq war.
Dean has had at least two formal sessions with Post editorial writers. Editorial-page editor Fred Hiatt and Ruth Marcus, the editorial staff’s political guide, met with Dean in August before a rally in Falls Church. Dean later came to the paper’s DC headquarters to meet with editors. Marcus also has been out on the campaign trail.
No one on the semisecretive editorial-page staff was available to comment, but apparently Dean did not make much of an impression.
Dean has fared even worse on the Post’s op-ed pages. The paper’s reliable conservatives have heaped ridicule on the former governor. Back in September, Krauthammer predicted Dean’s passion wouldn’t go well on TV. George Will criticized Dean for minimizing the capture of Saddam Hussein.
Even the paper’s usually reliable writers from the liberal wing couldn’t say nice things about Dean.
E.J. Dionne praised Dean for building a grassroots base, but he never cozied up to the former governor. “Can Dean do hope, optimism and patriotism and not simply shout himself hoarse with outrage?” Dionne asked on January 21, after Iowa. “He’s got less than a week to prove he can.”
Harold Meyerson, currently the Post’s most liberal voice, couldn’t bring himself to endorse Dean, either. He did note his appeal to the party’s liberal wing and suggested that Dean “broaden his repertoire beyond the bark.”
Richard Cohen, usually liberal, wrote, “I have my troubles with Dean” and then listed them.
The closest Dean got to support came from David Broder, who was recommending a book by reporters from Vermont’s Rutland Herald who had covered Dean as governor and wrote positive things about him.
Dean may miss the writing of Mary McGrory, the Post’s only unabashed liberal voice. She has retired from the paper after writing thousands of columns from the left since the 1960s.
Does anyone outside of Washington pay attention when the Post editorializes against a candidate such as Dean? Gone are the days when the capital’s main newspaper could have much effect on a national election, but when the Post wags its editorial finger, Washington’s Democratic establishment still pays attention.
At this point, the paper of record doesn’t seem to love any of the candidates. Retired general Wesley Clark is “the most puzzling.” Senator John Kerry does have “a well-grounded approach to foreign and domestic policy.” Senator John Edwards looks good because he “backed the war in Iraq and unlike some of his rivals hasn’t tried to minimize that support.”
It’s possible the Post could see its way clear to endorse Clark, Kerry, or Edwards, the candidates likely to prevail if Dean continues his swoon. It’s safe to say the Post would never endorse Dean.
Which is why Krauthammer wrote of Dean’s demise: “I’m not laughing, however. I’m cryin’. The dream is gone.”
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