January 29, 2004
Dean's Strategy
I've been curious for quite a while where Trippi ended and Dean began in the Dean campaign. After hearing stories about how Dean didn't know what a blog was, could barely post on the blog (and only has like five times so far), and was freaked out and thought the blog was hacked when they had way more money coming in than they expected... it started to come across to me like Dean wasn't all that attached to the Dean campaign.I thought it was a flaw, but hopefully not a big one. But the question remained, what part of "Dean" was Howard Dean, and what part of it was the Dean campaign?
The problem with Iowa is that for a few weeks there, they made the campaign too much about the campaign's existing supporters, and not as much about reinvention and attracting new supporters. They improved this in New Hampshire. It felt to me like Dean was showing more leadership as a candidate again, and that it was slowly becoming more about him again than about the campaign.
However, it was still tough to see what part of it was really him, and what part of it was him following advice from his team and campaign managers.
It's essential in any campaign to feel that when all is said and done, the candidate is the boss. That sense was missing for a long time, and now - for better or for worse - we have our first very clear indication that Dean took action on his own.
The buzz is that Dean's staff wanted him to coast through the Feb 3rd primaries and instead focus on the three states that came afterward, all of which are more friendly to Dean. Trippi wanted this strategy as well. Alternatively, they only want him to focus on a small number of the Feb 3rd states, and not all of them.
Dean disagreed. Dean wants to campaign in every state - he wants to show that his campaign has new momentum and that he can campaign in every state.
Trippi lost his job over the disagreement. That's what it seems like from reading the rumors.
So that's who Dean is. I don't know if it's a good strategy or a bad strategy... and in the stupid blogosphere, most bloggers seem to think it's a bad strategy... but that's who he is. And I like it. Go large or go home.
No matter how it shakes out, people like this sort of decisive action. Others take it as moving furniture on a sinking ship.
I have no idea what effect it will have and I make no prediction. But I do think it's a decision that comes out of his integrity. For all he says about a campaign based off of conviction, and how he's a guy that stands up for what he believes, this action seems consistent with that. And the glimpse of who Dr. Dean really is is refreshing.
(Contrast that with Kerry firing his campaign manager while on the phone, distracted, eating a sandwich.)