THE SUNDAY MORNING FISKING OF DR. HOWARD DEAN
Rare but deserved ” props ” to the far-Left posters and bloggers on the subject of Democratic candidate Dr. Howard Dean – they have been correct all along about two things: First, Dean while is ( judging from today’s performance on Russert’s show) a complete ignoramus on foreign policy and defense matters he is not actually the McGovernite kook he has been alleged to be and secondly, the elite Democratic party establishment is obviously scared to death of his candidacy. It’s been years since I have seen Tim Russert give a fellow liberal Democrat such an unrestrained mauling on national television. Now Republicans faced that sort of elite liberal media ” attack interviews ” on a regular basis for years but it was exceptionally weird to see this format directed at a Democrat for being too “pro-choice ” of all things. Russert often asks tough questions of his guests as he should but his pursuit of Dean on the numbers of soldiers in the armed forces bordered on badgering.
Actually, from my Libertarian to ” radical ” Neocon perspective Dean’s relatively dangerous ignorance of how the world operates actually makes him preferable as a presidential candidate to Kerry who is a transnational elitist ideologue by conviction. If elected president, Dean who buys into the post-Vietnam/New Left assumptions of the world in a vague, platitudinous sort of way will probably initially select as Carter and Clinton did before him, dovish transnationalist advisors in the mold of Anthony Lake, Strobe Talbott, Warren Christopher, Cyrus Vance. Then after several years of causing humiliation and foreign policy disasters Dean would like Carter and Clinton, chuck them in favor of more serious and realistic Democratic foreign policy specialists. There is a difference between a Strobe Talbott who sees American preeminence as a huge problem to be managed away by intentionally declinist policies and a Madeleine Albright who regards America as ” an indispensible nation “. Kerry is to the Left of Talbott on foreign policy and these views animate his political being but he is seldom upfront about them because in the post-9/11 climate to do so is political suicide.
I would never vote for Dean or any of the current crop of Democratic candidates ( though I’d sleep better at night if Joe Lieberman was their nominee) but the man is being attacked unfairly by a group of ruthless, power-hungry Democratic insiders who think the natural order of things is their ” right ” to stay in power forever. It isn’t and any one who bothers them unduly wins a salute from me.
