Work a little bit on your reading comprehension. There are remedial classes for that sort of thing in community colleges.

Part of what's going on here, in a meta- sort of way, is that we've created, in the last few decades, a class of professional lobbyists.

First, we need to keep in mind that "lobbying", in the purest sense, is protected by the 1st Amendment's gurantee of the right to petition for redress of grievances.

But once upon a time, if you were, say, the owners of Northeast Widget Mfg., you might have a department dedicated to communication with various Government officials.

But then Northeast Widget and Pacific Widget and Texas Widget and a few others decide to form the American Widget Advisory Board, a trade association. The AWAB then hires people to lobby for it, i.e., for the widget industry as a whole.

Trade associations proliferated in the 70s. (I remember when living in the DC area, passing an office for the American Assoc. of Professional Managers. It was the trade association for trade associations. That was my first clue.)

Then some evil genius came up with the Lobbying Firm. The Lobbying Firm has no interests of its own, only clients. They are hired guns, they have no principles. The same firm will occasionally have clients whose interests do not exactly dovetail. This is the toxic environment that the Vicki Isemans of the world inhabit. This is why the "K St. Project" got as far as it did.

When you think about it, it's much like Hollywood agents; they don't write, produce, act, sing or direct, but they have enormous influence over those that do.

There is nothing wrong about talking about McCain this way.

The Republicans do this kind of thing all the time, and the best defense is a good offense.

The Keating 5 is something that is going to have to be discussed in the run up to this election. McCain is going to have to convince the electorate that he was young and foolish at the time of Keating and that he is a new man now, but if he can't show that--not meaning to swiftboat him, or anything--then he is dead in the water.

Dean is absolutely right that it is of no importance whether he fucked the female lobbyist, the point is did he do anything for her? The Democrats can back off on the sex angle, because the Republicans are quite capable of crucifying their own.

By characterizing Dean's totally legit comments as rude, it would seem you are one of those Dems who thinks Joe Klein and David Broder are utterly reasonable fellas who decry "partisanship" when a little partisanship on the part of Democrats is what the rank and file in the party want from their leaders.

But thanks for playing, anyway.

Like Joe Lieberman, folks like you aren't really comfortable with a vibrant party which actually has few a winners.

When we enlarge our majority in the next election, it will be thanks to people like Dr. Dean, not Vichy Democrats like Harry Reid.

Look for him to be replaced by Chris Dodd.

If I may:

'How is Dean's statement "rude"?'

Because he violated the "bipartisan" conventional wisdom rule- Democrats may not criticize Republicans during a time of (permanent) war. Anything other than servile acquiescence and capitulation is anti-American, hurts the troops, and is oh so uncivil.

This rule is unidirectional and is never subject to change, revision, or amendment. Ever.

Dean is saying "mean things" about McCain, which is by definition rude (according to Ms. Manners). I didn't say he wasn't telling the truth - the truth can be very rude ("been putting on a little weight lately?"). I like it - just pointing out that it's been unusual for democrats in recent history, so it stands out. For example, in the 90s republicans in congress repeatedly called Clinton a liar, but in the past few years if any democratic congressperson called Bush a liar, Reid himself would call for a censure vote.

Just stick to corruption and hypocrisy.

Not really what McCain said, is it? He said he'd be OK with having bases there such as the U.S. has in other countries, like in Okinawa, but he didn't say he would be okay with us still being mired in a war there......did he?

Or is there no credible difference?

Also: Why didn't Dean mention that McCain has now added torture to one of the many issue's he's flip-flopped on?

McCain influence peddling? I guess he really is a Republican, after all!

Gooooooooooo Dean!

1) Hillary is now completely irrelevant.

2) McCain's defeat will be one for the history books.

McCain's response was brilliant - fight back and hard and he has the entire right to stick up for him with their media outlets. They've alrady got 75% of the nation thinking that it's librul press picking on him.

Shows ya what Obambi is up against and it ain't pretty. Heh.

well that's what you get when you put fluffie against the GOP instead of the tested gun.

This is how politics should be played. Dean avoids the trap of the sex scandal and instead goes right to the important stuff. Not only that, but he goes for the jugular in a way Democrats tend to avoid. He is not mean or petty about it, just tough and clear. He comes off not as a partisan willing to say anything to win an election, but as a leader willing to take on the jokes that masquerade as politicians and call on America to turn their backs on such embarrassments.

I actually find his comments about them just as interesting.

Dean: They are going to follow the wishes of the voters in their states, and I'll tell you why. They are elected by the voters in their states. Superdelegates are not cigar-smoking people who take corporate jet rides from lobbyists. Superdelegates are elected by the same people who went and elected the other delegates. For example, there are two classes, and one is elected officials -- senators, governors, congressmen. Those people are responsive to their own electorate. If you go and vote for a governor and you work in their campaign and you do all the things that activist Democrats do, you're going to have the ability to call the governor's people and say, look, I really want the governor to vote this way in the primary. That is part of the democratic process.