Look at what CNN published tonight:
Ignoring his rival Democrats, the Massachusetts senator hammered the Bush administration, taking the president to task on the economy, health care, international relations and his military record.
This shows Kerry’s strategy is working. He’s carrying nearly every state with one platform: he’s willing to take on George W. Bush. He’s looking past all the other candidates; he’s assuming he’s already won the nomination, and the voters are reinforcing this view. Is this what is meant by “electability?” Howard Dean, apparently, was not electable. Kucinich never had a chance.
Tonight someone asked me what happened to Dean’s campaign. I’m not exactly sure. I think there are several factors at work. Certainly the media have impacted Dean’s plummetting campaign. In addition, as I’ve written before, Dean’s campaign peaked too early.
At this point, the “Dean is finished” meme has been hammered home so vigorously and repetitively in the media that everyone believes it. Dean is finished. But he made his mark on the American political landscape. The nature of the dialogue is different because of him. At least John Kerry is openly criticizing George W. Bush.