Friday, February 08, 2008

BARACK OBAMA

If You're Barack Obama, How Much Do You Trust Howard Dean?

If I were Barack Obama or an Obama supporter, I would be nervous about comments like this:

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has also said he fears an intra-party showdown at the convention in Denver.

Dean has suggested that Florida and Michigan hold caucuses to select delegates, but [Florida Sen. Bill] Nelson, who has endorsed Clinton, said “you can’t undo an election with caucuses.”

More Dean:

“I think we will have a nominee sometime in the middle of March or April,” Mr. Dean said Wednesday on the NY1 cable news channel, “but if we don’t, then we’re going to have to get the candidates together and make some kind of an arrangement. Because I don’t think we can afford to have a brokered convention; that would not be good news for either party.”

I suppose it could be interpreted as a good sign for Obama that Dean wanted to set up caucuses, where Obama is doing well, instead of primaries, where Hillary has thrived. But what "arrangement" could work out well for Barack Obama? How does the new guy, who doesn't intimidate people and have access to raw money and power the way the Clintons do, not end up with the short end of the stick? Isn't whatever deal is reached most likely to include arguments like, "Barack, you've done an amazing job, and as Vice President, you can fight for your issues and causes from within Hillary's administration"?

02/08 03:37 PMShare