Off-the-cuff Dean goes off his rocker
9:02 PM 12/18/03

Democratic presidential candidate Howard "Dizzy" Dean's powerful imagination and penchant for spreading lies no doubt appeals to a small minority of angry leftists. <

But Democratic presidential rivals have rightfully seized on Dean's recent spate of flippant and false statements. Dean supporters say they appreciate his honesty and candor, but in fact, the candidate exhibits neither. <

Candidates should speak their minds, but Dean Deandoesn't want to be held accountable for what he says. He has even sealed his records detailing his term as Vermont governor to avoid political embarrassment. And most irresponsibly, Dean endorsed the idea that President Bush knew in advance about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Dean makes no apology for his bizarrely offhanded conspiracy theorizing. <

All told, Dean will suffer in the Wisconsin primary for aligning with an angry fragment of the frustrated left. He is caught in the anti-Bush crowd's panic that their one good issue, the Iraq "quagmire," has suddenly turned into politically lush territory for Republicans. <

Humorist Steve Hornbeck, writing for the American Spectator Online, summed up the dire Democratic situation following former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's capture last weekend: "For their part, Dean supporters posting messages on the campaign Web site were in a deep funk. Saddam's unkempt appearance and the fact he was described as 'very disoriented' gave most the feeling he was, in many ways, one of their own." <

It's still early in the campaign season, but it does indeed look bad for the Democrats. Their frontrunner is a dissembling mess. The Iraq war is not currently a winning issue. Wisconsin voters, and citizens across the nation, appear unenthusiastic about any of the nine Democrats when compared to President Bush. National party leadership is divided between angry insurgents and impotent stalwarts. <

Add one more factor - a likely landslide loss to the Republican incumbent next November - and the self-immolation of the Democratic Party should be at full flame. The Washington Post last weekend read this convergence of failures into a coming decline of the American two-party political system. That is a frightening prospect, and one that right now seems a little overblown to us. The Dean campaign's technology-savvy, voter-centered campaign catapulted him from Vermont obscurity to the national stage, and it could be a powerful and effective model for a viable Democratic candidate. <

But a brilliant campaign has bumped up against an unmovable obstacle: Its candidate's credibility has plummeted. Wisconsin primary voters should look elsewhere on the ballot for a reasonable choice. <