I’m not surprised that Dean melted down, in multiple senses, last night. This isn’t based on any sophisticated political analysis, just given that America generally prefers candidates who are taller and better-looking, with better hair, you’d expect either Wesley Clark or John Edwards to be the eventual nominee.
The fact that Kerry won means little, since Iowa is a very poor predictor of the eventual Democratic nominee. He strikes me as being far too lugubrious for one thing, and boring for another, and for a third, senators tend to make for unsuccessful candidates. Edwards is also a senator, of course, but very few people know enough about him to realize that. According to NRO’s Corner, he speaks well, which is unsurprising considering that he’s a successful trial lawyer.
Clark makes a decent candidate when seen from afar, but he’s already committed enough mistakes to sink himself twice over. His abortion comment alone would be enough to sink him, and the fact that he’s loathed by everyone in the military from generals on down means that what should be his greatest strength is actually his greatest weakness. This doesn’t matter in the Democratic primaries, where the military vote is nonexistent, but will matter greatly in the fall.
I’m not that interested in politics as horse race. But it was fun to see the media’s pet, Doc Sausage, implode like that. The only thing that would have been better is if he’d actually burst out crying. Three whole weeks of people being mean! Live by the media, die by the media. I suppose they play nicer in Vermont. What a loser.