Some Dean Rivals Pin Hopes on Feb. 3 Voting

[Khephra]

Faced with evidence that Howard Dean is strengthening his standing in New Hampshire and Iowa, several Democratic presidential candidates are turning their attention to the burst of contests the Tuesday after New Hampshire. Many Democratic strategists now expect the voting on Feb. 3 to transform the race from a crowded fracas into an unencumbered two-way competition with Dr. Dean.

Aides to three Democrats, Wesley K. Clark, Joseph I. Lieberman and John Edwards, said they now viewed that day, Feb. 3, as perhaps their final chance to stop Dr. Dean, and to seize the mantle of being the second person in a two-person competition. Accordingly, they have invested significant time and money in Feb. 3 states like South Carolina, Arizona, Oklahoma and New Mexico, even as Dr. Dean, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri have encamped in Iowa and New Hampshire.

"The day after that, we will have a two-person race," said Nick Baldick, the campaign manager for Mr. Edwards, an assertion that was echoed almost word-for-word by senior advisers to General Clark and Mr. Lieberman.

Even as they sought to put the best face on it, aides to Dr. Dean's rivals described what they were doing as a strategy of necessity, and acknowledged that it would be difficult to pull off. It is the latest indication of the extent to which Dr. Dean, once considered a long shot, has upended the battle for the nomination.

more...............

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/politics/campaigns/07DEMS.html

[wtmusic]

1. Dean doesn't have a chance

Al From and Bruce Reed have already explained all this. C'mon, everybody line up behind the DLC. Over here guys, c'mon. Over here. Hello?

[IndianaGreen]

2. Dean supporters are "the biscotti and latte-sipping crowd"?

"Dean has a profile that works with the biscotti and latte-sipping crowd but is a much tougher sell for the biscuit and gravy crowd," said Chris Lehane, a senior adviser to General Clark, as he previewed the kind of attack that would be used against Dr. Dean.

We are all biscuit and gravy crowd over here (figuratively speaking that is, gravy ain't kosher!). The Beltway people have no clue as to what is going on across this country, and who comprises the majority of Dean supporters (I am speaking of Lehane as being clueless). Clark is part of the biscuit and gravy crowd too.

[On the Road]

3. Geez, I Didn't Know

42% of New Hampshire residents were biscotti and latte-sipping. I guess all the Yankee farmers in Vermont have secret yuppie lives, too.

I'm actually starting to be glad about the way Dean is being tagged. Once the general election starts, it will be obvious that he's not the same as his caricature. It sets the stage for a sea change later in the process. Dean will not allow himself to be defined.

(Note: should be biscotti-NIBBLING and latte-sipping.

[quaker bill]

4. The meetup I went to had no latte

The folks there seemed to prefer Heineken.

[Eloriel]

5. I've got some baaad news for these campaigns

Accordingly, they have invested significant time and money in Feb. 3 states like South Carolina, Arizona, Oklahoma and New Mexico, even as Dr. Dean, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri have encamped in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Dean's all over SC, OK, NM and probably AZ too. He opens SC ofc tomorrow. And while that may sound late, there's been plenty of organizing going on there well before this (and visits), and Dean is already ahead -=- tho not more than the MOE.

No one can out do Dean's organization at this point. Or his money.

Eloriel