Well, it was fun while it lasted. The New Republic's Jonathan Chait began his "Diary of a Dean-o-Phobe" last December, never suspecting he would write a mere six weeks later, "Farewell: my work here is done. I've loved writing the Diary of a Dean-o-phobe, but it's no longer necessary."
In the process of lowering Dr. Howard into his political grave, Chait has some positive words for Gen. Clark:
I'd love to see the Democrats nominate Wes Clark, who still has great potential as a general election candidate, or John Edwards, who has great potential not only as a candidate but as a president also. (For months I've been saying Edwards would make the best president and Clark, due to his unbeatable resumé, the best nominee. I'm now thinking Edwards's skills may nearly make up for his less-formidable resumé.)As for this week's frontrunner, Chait is less than enthusiastic:
John Kerry takes all the fun out of Dean-o-phobia. Indeed, if there's anybody who could make Dean attractive, it's Kerry. Kerry is a miserable candidate, bereft of political skills, and possessing of a record and a persona tailor-made for Karl Rove. The Republicans will merely have to say about Kerry what they said about Gore--that he wants to be on every side of every issue, that he's culturally out of touch with mainstream America, that he's a pompous bore--and this time the sale will be easier, because all these things are far more true of Kerry than of Gore.