I've been holding off on posting much analysis of campaigning for Dean in Iowa because I just wasn't sure what the real lessons were going to be without a little perspective. One week later may not be enough perspective, but I'm totally convinced of at least one thing: corporate media in this country has way, way too much power, and the manufactured flap around Dean's speech last Monday night illustrates just how completely out of control this situation is.

The Columbia Journalism Review blog has this analysis of how the tale has been wagging the wags so far. The only part I disagree with is their description of campaign coverage as a "hermetically sealed world." That used to be true, but it's less true now. Taken all together, weblogs, email lists, and the ground organization and local meetings fueled by these sources, constitute a new medium for shaping people's understanding of reality and challenging the corporate media when they get it wrong. The hermetically sealed universe finally has sprung a few leaks.

Watching the Chris Matthews show Sunday morning, one pundit smugly proclaimed that "All that matters about the speech is how it played on TV." Hang on a sec: the truth doesn't matter? What actually happened that night doesn't matter? The incredible hubris of the corporate media doesn't matter? I think it does, and the good news is that that every time a blatant assassination attempt like this occurrs, the circle of people who understand what's going on widens. In this instance, based on the conversations I've had over the past few days (as well as Dean's revival in the NH polls) I think that circle has widened a lot. And people realize you don't have to turn the TV off or not enjoy it: you just have to think about it.

Ultimately, what most irks about this situation is that the press just plain got the story wrong. Governor Dean simply wasn't angry or anything like it. The six or seven folks from Santa Barbara who'd traveled to Iowa and who were there all agree: we saw a perfectly fine (in fact, spine tingling good) rally speech given to a room full of 3500 screaming, flag waving supporters. Dean's response to that situation was perfectly reasonable; the smile never left his face. I'm far more concerned about putting someone in the White House who can't generate that kind of energy and respond to it, because that's the only way we're going to break out of the rut we're in.

So: death to the "Conventional Wisdom." Keep thinking critically. Keep reading, and (this is so important!) keep talking to people. If we do this, regardless of who the candidate is this time around, we will get our country back.
- posted by Unknown @ 10:11 AM -

 
Update from Iowa. Sorry there haven't been any updates or pictures, but we're finally back at headquarters in Des Moines after not having a 'net connection out in the field. We'll post a full update & analysis later - we're a little disappointed with how things turned out of course, but not even a little demoralized. We've learned a ton, met a bunch of amazing people, and talked some really sweet (if inscrutable) Iowans. We have to go grab lunch now and then hop on the plane, but more soon when we get a chance!
- posted by Unknown @ 10:30 AM -

 
In Iowa! Jen and I are here, we're trained, and we're (maybe) shipping out to Fort Dodge soon to go canvass up there. I just spoke with Susan who is out in the field with Nico, knocking on doors already. Things are a little chaotic but we're having fun - during our training, Tim Russert came by and watched! Hopefully we'll have 'net access tonight in Ft. Dodge, we're outta here. I'll try to post some pictures then...
- posted by Unknown @ 1:56 PM -

 

Presidential race update. This weekend, eight members of the local Dean campaign (including me) are headed to Iowa to help the campaign out in the days leading up to Monday's caucus. Lots of bloggers will be covering what's going on, and the Dean camp is aggregating them in something called the BloggerStorm. We'll be posting an update or three here as well if we get a chance. If folks from other campaigns are also traveling to campaign this weekend and want to run updates here, drop us a line. Space and time permitting, we'll try to run those, too.

Whoever the nominee ends up being, the Dean campaign so far has illustrated one dynamic that we're unfortunately likely to be stuck with all the way through to November: the mainstream media is going to be hell-bent on the Al Gore style destruction of our candidate. Matt Taibbi wrote on this in the NYPress recently, Salon had some good coverage, and even the AP has picked it up now.

The way to fight this is simple, but not easy: it's going to take a mountain of one to one communication, door knocks, coversations over the back fence, coffeeshop and bar, letters to the editor and to individuals, and blog posts. If there's a news story that sounds more like RNC talking points than objective reporting, we've got to be on it.

- posted by Unknown @ 11:23 AM -

 
Watching RNC and DNC Chairmans Ed Gillespie and Terry McAuliffe yesterday afternoon on Crossfire was frustrating. They were going back and forth about the ads that were posted on the MoveOn site comparing Bush to Hitler. Note that these weren't ads that were actually run on TV or endorsed in any way by MoveOn: they were simply submissions to their contest, and both McAuliffe and MoveOn have been falling all over themselves to apologize for posting them since then.

Why not go out on a limb and stand up for the content of these ads? The fact is, there are absolutely some parallels between things Hitler said and things that Bush has said. That isn't the same as saying "Bush is the same as (or worse) than Hitler," - it's merely pointing out that there are some parallels. As Herman Goering put it during the Nuremberg trials, “Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.” That's all that an ad like this is saying: ("Chyron" refers to the voice-over part of the ad)

GRAPHIC: Pictures Of Hitler
HITLER: (Speaking In German)
CHYRON: We have taken new measures to protect our homeland, 

GRAPHIC: Pictures Of Hitler
HITLER: (Speaking In German)
CHYRON: I believe I am acting in accordance with the will of
     the Almighty Creator,

GRAPHIC: Pictures Of Hitler
HITLER: (Speaking In German)
CHYRON: God told me to strike at al-Qaida and I struck them,

GRAPHIC: Pictures of President Bush
HITLER: (Speaking In German)
CHYRON: and then He instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did.

CHYRON: SOUND FAMILIAR?
BACKGROUND: Cheering German Crowd

If there's a silver lining here, perhaps it's that this has gotten MoveOn and their contest a ton of well deserved earned media. I'm still not sure the focus of this contest was right: at a time when the left is being attacked for just being Bush haters and not having a positive vision of their own, I'm not sure this is what we need at this particular moment. This is really just a reflection of a larger problem I have with MoveOn - they've come up with some terrific tactics since they started in '98 or so, but I still don't have any clear idea of where they're headed or what they stand for. They're always reacting to things, never pushing their own agenda, which makes me wonder if they have one. We need to more clearly articulate the postive vision of the future the left has at its core!
- posted by Unknown @ 10:42 AM -