Written by: Beck

Mark Shields: "You saw more home made signs for Howard Dean tonight than for anyone else." Howard Dean is still the heart of the Democratic party.

Brooks: But they didn't think he could win an election, so they went with Kerry.

Dean's message, to the extent that there was one, is that Democrats shouldn't be ashamed of being Democrats anymore. The funny thing is, I've heard some of the same from Republicans regarding themselves. Perhaps the real message to take away here is that politicians all around deserve to be ashamed of themselves. They know it, and they're projecting their sense of guilt onto their supporters who at some level, have to wonder how it is that they keep electing losers like Kennedy and Kerry.

Some random talking head: Howard Dean is to republicans as Barry Goldwater was to conservatives. His supporters wanted him to run even if they didn't think he could win.

I think the real issue here is the profound fear of Democrats of being labeled "Liberal." Perhaps that's because Americans have figured out that Liberal means roughly the same thing as Socialist. Oh, and remind me some day to elaborate on my opinions about the abuse of the perfectly good word "Progressive."