First Door on the Left

Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean will begin running a combative anti-Bush television commercial Monday–in Texas only.

In the ad, which Dean taped last Wednesday in Council Bluffs, Iowa, he wears a blue, open-necked work shirt, faces the camera, and says, “I want to change George Bush’s reckless foreign policy, stand up for affordable healthcare, and create new jobs… Has anybody really stood up against George Bush and his policies? Don’t you think it’s time somebody did?”

The media buy cost between $100,000 and $200,000, U.S. News has learned. It will run in Austin, 87 miles away from where Bush is vacationing in Crawford.

Among the other exclusive details to be reported in Monday’s edition:

–Dean’s road map for victory is to come in first or second in Iowa, first in New Hampshire, attract the supporters of the Democratic challengers and roll to victory.

–Although most media reports have focused on Dean’s money, his number of volunteers is even more important. He currently has 226,775 volunteers. He wants 450,000 by Sept. 30 and 1 million by Dec. 31. If he gets the million, Joe Trippi, his campaign manager says, “I don’t know what specific states we will win, but it will be very hard to stop us.” (By the end of the Democratic primaries, Dean wants 2 million volunteers, and 3 million by Election Day.)

–Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe secretly went to all the campaigns a few weeks ago and said that when it was “mathematically clear” that the party had a nominee (a date he estimated would be no later than March 9) he wanted the losers to drop out, release their delegates and endorse the presumptive winner. Dean refused. He is going to the convention with his delegates pledged to him no matter what.

–Dean wore a bulletproof vest during the debate on civil unions in Vermont.

–The only person Dean consulted before running for president was Hillary Clinton, to make sure she wasn’t going to run.

I find the bit about the bulletproof vest kind of hard to believe.

I don’t believe Mr. McAuliffe needs to be to concerned about Governor Dean releasing his delegates because I don’t believe there will be any need. At this point in time I do not believe there can any longer be any doubt that Howard Dean will be Democratic nominee for president in 2004.