If you like what I do (or what I've done) for the Governor, please use my mini-bat to contribute - it'll end up on the main bat, regardless....

Thanks to Idiomstudio.com and Webmasters For America, the IA caucus speech from a slightly different angle....

Includes a second video for....comparison.

...and a pretty good analysis of the reasons why...

Blog for America has Diane Sawyer's Primetime Thursday interview (right column, in various file formats).

If you still doubt the sincerity and/or sanity of Governor Dean and the basis for his vision, please watch this....

David Corn at The Nation shows there's now more than one populist in the race for New Hampshire....

...is a good one (link downloads .mp3 file - need RealPlayer or another player to hear).

Thanks to Atrios at Eschaton for our morning yawp....

For more remixes, see Anatopia's list and the master Compiler at DeanGoesNuts.com (there's a link to the crowd view video, for the true context of the Rockne / Lombardi impression)...

How fitting that strange surgical techniques form the basis for this post's title....Tom Paine's Russ Baker talks about candor and reality losing to false senses of strength / safety / goodness.

If you support a different Dem candidate, you may not understand why Dean engenders the passion and support that he does in his supporters; you may not understand how the Dean grassroots feels truly a part of his campaign; and you may not understand that you cannot simply assume our support (if/when) without giving us what we ask for and receive every day from Governor Dean.

If you think electability is decided by someone else (pundits, Southerners, Swing States, Independents, Reagan Dems, etc.), you may not understand why Governor Dean is truly the most electable (issues, record, character, support).

If you are voting day decision-maker, you may not understand that you are predisposed to vote for a "safe" candidate than one that "seems" to challenge your perceptions...unless you start thinking and looking earlier than not.

If you are a media maven, you may not understand that it's okay to actually tell a story, investigate facts, validate sources...instead of commenting on commentary, keeping it light, avoiding the hard issues, describing only two sides to every story....when the future of our country continues to be abrogated in your deference to power.

If you are a political wonk, you may not understand that a confluence of reality television and re-invigorated community organizing has possibly changed what it means to be anything, including "hockey dad" or "presidential".

If you are not of the Web, you may not understand that the "Yeaaaaaaaghhh Heard Round The 'Net" is much more a playful tweak and an admiring homage than a horrific snub....a creative commons, indeed.

I've brought out the bat - I'm going for a $2000 goal, in honor of never backing down when things look tough. That's what we want in a nominee, that's what we expect in a President....and the Doctor will Deliver.

This campaign is bigger than each of us, and bigger than one or two states: I have no doubt the Doctor will do his part for us tonight (per Joe Trippi):

"1) Tonight, Howard Dean will appear at the Democratic candidates' debate in Manchester, New Hampshire. The debate will air live nationally on the Fox News Channel at 8 pm ET, with a one-hour summary on ABC News' Nightline at 11:35 pm ET. FOX News Radio and ABC News Radio networks will also carry the debate.

2) Governor Dean and his wife Judy sit down with Diane Sawyer tonight on Prime Time Thursday on ABC. The program airs at 10 pm ET.

3) Howard Dean will appear on Late Night with David Letterman on CBS tonight. Check local listings."

"You can't have buyer's remorse if you don't go shopping until the last minute on Christmas Eve....And especially if you decide to give them something you know they'll like, instead of something new."

Crossing The Chasm - review

If a successful entrepreneur learns any one thing, it is to keep trying to refine their product for the right target markets, yielding a "self-marketing" trend that outstrips competitors...

I would posit (in hindsight) a chain of events for Gov. Dean, something like:
- insurgent campaign reaches front-runner in an open market (first-mover advantage), with an early adopter product suite
- insurgent-leader marketing copied by market leaders("Bush as miserable failure"), eliminating "the message gap" while still selling same product
- insurgent-leader moves to pre-validate in overall marketplace through big customer deals (endorsements) without Early Majority product launched for Early Majority targets (IA - * see below)
- market leaders make it comfortable for customers to "come home" (keep negative off radar, drive negatives up for insurgent, etc.)

...occurred since last Fall....

I remember someone's DailyKos diary today mentioning the Dean high point as just before Gore, when an extension to Early Majority product would have been best timed. I think that the launch was occurring, but got drowned out in the insane negatives, then echoed by the media. Taken off one's game, a half-hearted launch (I also remember Dean saying something to the effect, "It's hard to move to the center when you're getting hit from all sides") is never followed through....

So,...what next?

You re-package from your base for the Early Majority. The base is still with the Governor, the product is still sitting on the shelf, and the only question is how much time it takes to re-launch...

Detractors and followers-on can be re-captured. An entrepreneur doesn't quit and neither should we Dean Supporters....

* (Maybe IA is actually Late Majority, despite being early by date)

We are neither blind, nor stupid - constructive criticism of Gov Dean needs to be utilized, just as it has been in the past. We may be down, but we are not out in the least...

But....the drafting, "nice", photogenic candidates who took a battle in IA by not engaging in one on the radar are still not risking enough of their political capital to make things happen, in one case within the Senate, in another case within the greater Democratic Party. They have co-opted the current leader's message, but the larger mechanics are not there (yet).

I respect John Kerry - he's obviously looking better than at any point since he lost his presumptive status many months ago; I like John Edwards - he's got something that rural Democrats obviously listened to and chose over both the old (Gep) and the new (Dean). Clark can also end up being the nominee with many positives for ABB.

Maybe that's the path to the nomination, to follow the leader, play it safe, know which way the wind blows before you set your sail; and maybe Dean will end up being the hare for the greyhounds (too many analogies right there, I know). Point being, there is a real hunger for true spine, true grit, true belief, true change in this country and the party. You can flip undecideds in one week, or you can build networks for the future - which one is going to have the greater effect on our democracy and our party?

Winning the White House is a priority - that can either be about putting a stop to the negative of GWB or about jump-starting the positives that we all know need to happen to create a better America for everyone. The Dean actives who have provided more money and support than to any other Dem candidate in history, who see the larger picture and how to start to fix it,...they won't take another round of "Republicans won't let us do health care", "Republicans made us give those tax cuts", "The President REALLY promised to be compassionate, and go to the UN"... History tells us all this has been the case - they have/had the power to be a Paul Wellstone every day, and we've exepected it since 2000...without much in return.

Governor Dean - first in the hearts and minds of his followers, whether they know it (Deaniacs) or not (Kerry / Edwards / Clark).