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Monday, December 22, 2003

General Consternation
Whether the Dean campaign offered the VP slot to Wesley Clark before he decided to run himself really doesn't matter all that much. What matters more is Clark's statement that he's absolutely not interested in being Dean's running mate and he doesn't see it "in the cards." Fact is, Dean needs Clark, and more so than he did before Saddam was nabbed. We've seen clearly in the last week that Dean's credibility on military and foreign policy issues is going to be a major issue in the campaign if/when he gets the nomination--which has probably always been true, but the criticism he's taken since Saddam's capture proves it. Clark is the best option for Dean, although his simple presence on the ticket won't be enough. Dean will need to craft a sort of co-presidency, with Clark taking the lead on military issues--which will give the Repugs an opening for further suggestions that Dean's not fit for the presidency because he admits that he lacks such expertise. (Although such an arrangement would little different than what Bush has done with the likes of Cheney and Rumsfeld running their own little fiefdoms within the administration.)

Dean best get busy mending fences. Events of the past week have shown that good news from Iraq won't keep Dean from getting the nomination--it's too late to stop him now. But good news from Iraq makes him vulnerable to Bush in significant ways, and the Dean campaign had better start thinking of ways to pre-empt the attacks we all know are coming.

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