Throughout the primary race, Howard Dean has been at his best when taking a tack different from the other candidates, adopting stances the others were too afraid to early in the game and speaking in a less stilted, more conversational way to his audiences. How frustrating, then, to see his ad campaigns and speeches rehearse more and more Gorean populist boilerplate. Yes, the Gephardt Medicare ads are distortions, but is calling them “the last gasp of the Washington establishment” helpful? In one sense “Washington Democrats” refers to something specific (the bet-hedging DLC and Congressional leadership), but in another sense it’s become an empty signifier. The Globe’s Scot Lehigh (admittedly a man not prone to Dean’s political sway to begin with) calls the candidate on this:
Rallying his troops Wednesday night in Des Moines, Dean stepped up his use of the phrases “Washington Democrats,” “Washington politicians,” and “people who have been in Washington” as terms of derision for his main rivals. He, and not they, had dared to stand up to George W. Bush on the war and on tax cuts, Dean said, and he, rather than any of them, was therefore the best choice for voters who want a Democratic nominee brave enough to do real battle with the Republican incumbent.
But Dean’s act is starting to wear thin here…
The danger of this “act” is clear: every politician, from Bush on down, rails against Washington. But while the sentiment still holds appeal for voters, the left-leaning populist version is at worst a turn-off, at best tepid in its inspiration. People liked McCain because he wasn’t imitating someone else, and people initially liked Dean for the same reason.
Meanwhile, John Edwards has been running his own ad, showing him jogging, and noting on voiceover that “when people say I can’t change Washington, I say they’re wrong.” Well, the man has been in Washington for several years now. What has he done to change it? Is he waiting to be president before starting his revolution?
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