Sharp Elbows

The air in Iowa and New Hampshire is getting colder, which means the caucus and primary are getting closer, which means all of the candidates are getting sharper elbows as they try to race ahead of the others.

The first sign of this was the emergence of Dean's so-called negative ad a few weeks ago. His leading competitors (mainly Gephardt and Kerry) suggested he went "negative," and the news media dutifully reported it as such.

As I said a few blogs ago, I would follow up on the text of Dean's ad as soon I saw it. I taped some of it (it's hard work switching channels quickly during local newscasts, hoping you can tape an ad in between all of the car, furniture store, and Wal-mart commercials), so here is my partial transcript:

(Dean in a head shot, in slow zoom, with a pastoral scene in the background):
"... got healthcare coverage for nearly every child in my state. For years the politicians in Washington have talked about health insurance and the prescription drug benefit, and all you got was talk. But in Vermont, we did it. I'm Howard Dean, and I approved this message because only you have the power to change Washington."

I still maintain this isn't negative. It's good for Dean to point out his healthcare accomplishments in Vermont, particularly since his primary opponents are all proposing similar national programs for their campaign. In fact, Edwards' main healthcare proposal is healthcare for children. (As an aside, for whoever takes on Bush, making children the centerpiece of a Democratic healthcare plan is a savvy strategy.)

Since the debut of Dean's "negative" ad, it seems all of the candidates have stopped pulling punches. (It had to happen at some point.) As Eric Woolson has pointed out, Dean and Gephardt staffers have had a public dispute, and Dean's Confederate flag comment has become a big issue that his opponents don't want us to forget.

My take on this: Like a lot of politicians, Dean has yet to master the diplomatic admission that he said the wrong thing. Sometimes it can be powerfully honest to just say "I made a mistake." Dean should know that out in the small towns of his own state, there are people in pickups with Confederate flags. I've seen 'em! (I've seen them in Iowa, too.) The flag is foremost a symbol of the old, racist Confederacy, but for some people (who could stand to be better informed about just how offensive the flag is to many people) it is just a symbol of general resistance that says "I'm a badass, I'm a rebel."

If his point was that the Democratic Party needs to win back voters (particularly white voters) in the South--which they do--then he needs to say it without the stereotype.