Dean lives up to his billing, right out of the gates

It was only a few days ago that I was wondering what effect Howard Dean would have on the Dems once he got elected to the DNC chairmanship. It appears that he has wasted no time preaching a message that will serve only to pull the Dem base even further to the left. The Washington Post tagged along as he paid court to many of the special interest groups (or "caucuses") that form his base -- GLBTs, blacks, seniors, feminists, Indians, Asian Pacific Islanders, Hispanics. Read the whole article to see how Dean is ready to be the answer to the prayers of each of these groups. Left unsaid is the fact that the Democratic Party is a coalition of innumerable special interests whose goals often conflict with one another. Dean, by promising to be all things to all interest groups, is setting himself up for disaster, because each of these groups will hold him accountable for his promises to them, even if it means reneging on promises made to other groups.

In his remarks to these groups, Dean proved that he was still in his element:

"You are among the most persecuted people in the history of mankind," Dean tells his first audience, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus.

[...]

"We Democrats don't pay enough attention to our core groups," Dean says [to the African American Caucus], and half the room nods in agreement. He takes a comment from a woman who says blacks didn't receive enough resources from the DNC last year. "Show me the money," she tells Dean.

"I'm gonna show you the money," he assures her. "And I'm gonna show you the responsibility, too." Applause.

He surveys the crowd of 150 crammed into the room. "You think the RNC could get this many people of color into a single room?" he marvels. "Maybe if they got the hotel staff in there."

I can't remember -- was McAuliffe this bad? More importantly for today, do the Dems really want this to be the image their leader is projecting?

(Credit: The Corner)