Those are good points. One of the things that reassures me about Dean is that - in contrast to, say, McCain - he's good at crafting his message and then sticking to it. McCain's off-the-cuff remarks could really wander into dangerous shoals, and then he'd get tangled up trying to extricate himself. It's the kind of thing that people love to watch, but it's not the kind of thing they want to see in their president.
Dean, on the other hand - well, for example, it's obvious if you follow his public remarks that a month or so ago he realized he was in serious danger of being miscast as "the pacifist candidate." Suddenly, every time he was before a camera or an audience, he managed to work in an explanation that he doesn't oppose war in general, just the Iraq war. It wasn't a change in position, it was a change in presentation of his position - and it seems to have been effective, if you can judge by the changes in how the press questions him and writes about him. I guess you'd call that "effective authenticity?"
I agree with you, as well, about the critical necessity of electing people who will be able to work within the current system to get their policies enacted. That's why I'm not a Kucinich supporter, and why I didn't vote for Nader.
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Date: 2003-08-13 10:38 am (UTC)Dean, on the other hand - well, for example, it's obvious if you follow his public remarks that a month or so ago he realized he was in serious danger of being miscast as "the pacifist candidate." Suddenly, every time he was before a camera or an audience, he managed to work in an explanation that he doesn't oppose war in general, just the Iraq war. It wasn't a change in position, it was a change in presentation of his position - and it seems to have been effective, if you can judge by the changes in how the press questions him and writes about him. I guess you'd call that "effective authenticity?"
I agree with you, as well, about the critical necessity of electing people who will be able to work within the current system to get their policies enacted. That's why I'm not a Kucinich supporter, and why I didn't vote for Nader.