Led by Dean, the Democrats Attack

Blood in the Water

To a greater extent than any other candidate, Dean has recognized that what Democrats want in 2004 is a Bush-bashing populist.

No candidate will overtake Dean merely by pointing out his inconsistencies. His supporters are not blind to their man's weaknesses; rather, they are awed by his strengths: a willingness to blister Bush, and a campaign that seems fluid and flexible on the surface but that is in fact exceptionally disciplined, with plenty of money and even more momentum. If Dean is to be displaced, it will be by a candidate who does a better job of convincing grassroots Democrats he or she will give Bush no quarter and, when the opportunity comes, deliver the knockout blow.

More than anything else, two words--"can win"--set the standard for a Democratic base. Stung by the tepid campaigns mounted by their party in 2000 and 2002, activists started looking for a candidate who was ready to fight in 2004, and Howard Dean made himself that candidate. Critics keep trying to say he has peaked too soon, but so far he's gone from strength to strength. And that ability to keep coming out on top has given him a mystique that seems to matter more to a lot of Democrats than ideological consistency. At the late-August Communications Workers of America convention in Chicago, Dean drew the sort of thunderous applause usually reserved for endorsed candidates. "I know we disagree with Dean on some things, but you just get a sense that this guy has a plan to win the nomination and beat Bush," said a top CWA official. "And, when you get down to it, beating Bush is what this is all about."