Editorial: Ask Primary Man
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Monitor editorial
It's time to help the national press corps see the real story.
Dear readers: Primary Man had a revealing IM chat with Bigtime Beltway Network reporter Jim Jones, who had just landed in town. Here's an excerpt:
Who's going to win, Primary Man?
Not so fast, Jim. You know-it-alls from BBN anointed Howard Dean last summer. Now you're all trying to segue into New Hampshire without owning up to the evil of your ways.
You were so taken with kingmaking that you failed to examine your own assumptions. Something was happening, but you didn't know what it was, did you, Mr. Jones?
Lighten up, Primary Man. We were just doing our job. And who was hurt just because we all got the hots for Howard?
You hurt the voters. Remember them?
Now here we are in the second voting event of the campaign, and voters have not yet seen a thorough media examination of whether and how John Edwards's past as a trial lawyer might be a liability in the general election. Your infatuation with Dean made Edwards irrelevant.
New Hampshire voters will go to the polls with Wes Clark just unpolished enough that they can't be sure he's a gem. You guys saw Clark as an intriguing threat to Dean, but at his slightest failing, you decided he wasn't worth close scrutiny.
Okay, Primary Man, down from the soapbox. So what do you know about New Hampshire that you're not seeing reported by me and the rest of the beltway brigade?
We're still proud of our state's heritage, so we like the way you portray us to the rest of the country - the town greens, covered bridges, crusty Yankees. It's good for tourism, for one thing.
But that rural view can also mislead. Most of our votes are southern-tier suburbanites, many of them with Massachusetts roots. This is a huge plus for John Kerry, as it was for Michael Dukakis and Paul Tsongas in crowded Democratic fields in 1988and 1992.
I saw you guys endorsed Kerry. Any last-minute advice for him?
See laryngitis for the blessing it is. Smile more, say less.
And how about Dean?
Primary Man feels terrible for his many friends who answered Dean's siren call. Even if he hangs on in New Hampshire, his crazed speech Monday night will be the death of his candidacy.
Will New Hampshire miss Dick Gephardt?
Watching Gephardt's sad concession Monday night and even sadder goodbye the next day was a reminder of how personal politics becomes once the masks are off and the play is done.
Gephardt was a throwback: an old trade union candidate resisting the tide of free trade and a global economy. This wasn't just politics to him; it was a view of life. In his grace and humanity, Gephardt set a fine example.
His issue - the conditions under which workers everywhere must toil - needs a new and more progressive voice.
How about the general?
Didn't you see? Bob Dole demoted him to colonel after Kerry won Iowa. Then Clark pointed out that, "with all due respect," he - Clark - was indeed a general, had won a war, etc., and Kerry was only a lieutenant.
Now, Primary Man was only a PFC, and that was after four years of active duty. So I guess I'd better watch what I say about my superiors. With all due respect.
So back to my first question. Who's gonna win?
New Hampshire voters want a candidate who offers three things: credible leadership in the war on terror, a determination to tackle troubling domestic issues and a positive outlook. The candidate who comes closest to this trifecta will give them what they want most: the Democrat with the best chance to beat George Bush.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
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