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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (20199)	12/17/2003 4:22:11 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793597

EASTERBLOGG AWAITS DEAN CALL: Supposedly Howard Dean won Al Gore's endorsement partly by flattering the former vice president via constantly calling him for advice. Fair enough. So when will Howard Dean begin to court the endorsement of Easterblogg, by calling up to curry favor? I could give some really valuable advice. A sampler: Foreign affairs. The situation in Mauritania is very, very complex. Federal spending. All great magicians rely on diversion, so when you talk about the deficit, move your hands a lot. Gay marriage. Change the subject with a joke. Say, "If I married another man, my wife would kill me." Congressional action. Point out that this year senior citizens got more than Halliburton--so far, at least. Jobs. Always say that jobs are your number-one priority--unless you're talking to environmentalists, retirees, farmers, teachers' unions, gun owners, snowmobilers, Cuban-American single mothers who own mutual funds ... Supreme Court appointments. Vow that all your nominees would meet the American Bar Association standard of "exceptionally moderately qualified." Health care. The Republicans stole the prescription drugs issue, so move out front by advocating federally financed acupuncture. Millions of voters long to lie on a table naked being stuck with needles. France. There's going to be a huge competition in 2004 to see who can sneer most at France. Get the jump on George W. Bush by calling France "a nation of pastry chefs." Withdrawal from Iraq? Be bold. Don't hedge. Say you would definitely consider it. While I await Dean's call ("Howard, can I put you a hold a minute? They're just announcing the Heisman winner..."), let me spin out a theory of what is really going on with the Gore/Dean/Clark/Clintons nexus. Gore endorsed Dean partly to raise his middle finger to the Clintons: As nominee, Dean would take over the party apparatus and throw out the Clintonistas. Clark will now press for Bill Clinton's endorsement as a counter, vowing to keep the party apparatus under Clinton control. (Bill Clinton has promised to support the eventual nominee, but he could endorse Clark now and then still support a different nominee later; it all depends of what the meaning of "support" is.) So suppose Clinton endorses or at least leans toward Clark to stop Dean. If Clark becomes the nominee, pundits will say that as long as the general gives Bush a good fight, this prepares the ground for a Hillary-Wesley ticket in 2008, with a four-star general and former presidential candidate lending heft and gender balance to a potential first female president. But aha! What if the ticket becomes Wesley-Hillary in 2004? That's a ticket that could win--it would scare the fake turkeys out of Karl Rove--and would assure Hillary a place in history as the first woman elected to the White House, though as vice president. The temptation for Hillary could be strong if, by August, polls show George W. Bush vulnerable. (Suddenly Iraq seems to be going well, but remember, voters threw Winston Churchill out as soon as World War II finished well.) Hillary might reasonably think: Who knows what the future holds, why not make history right now? And ponder the impact on the Democratic faithful if Clark announced during the primaries, "My running mate will be Hillary Clinton." The college kids would stick with Dean, but a huge share of the party base would instantly bolt to Clark. Call me, Dr. Dean, and ask my advice on how to avoid this. tnr.com