"Let Us Prey" - Commentary by Tony Seton

Let Us Prey

Joe Lieberman can’t be a happy camper today. Al the Bore deposited his nuts in the Dean treehole. The Senator from The Constitution State has gotta feel a nudge to withdraw now, even though Gore was a loser. I mean, for those who take Gore’s endorsement seriously, for him to back someone other than his veep choice in 2000, it’s gotta pull the plug on The Connecticut Sanctimoan.

My colleague/pal Steve said first thing that he thought Gore’s endorsement could be a kiss of death for the former Vermont governor, but then demonstrating a flexible mind -- plus he heard Dean give what he called an excellent speech -- he opined that Dean will be the party’s choice, and that he’ll add Clark to the ticket for foreign policy and military muscle.

I confess to feeling a sense of curious relief with the Gore announcement, even though I have little respect for the fellow. It may only be symbolic in the general scheme of things, but our country is awash in angst over the grotesque failure that is the Bush Administration, and many will grab for a ring, any ring, that has a hint of promise. Perhaps a better metaphor is that it is a thin fig leaf to cover our despair.

We are still a month from the start of the primary season, and eleven months from the election. The Bush Boy and his handlers have all sorts of time to make a further mess of our country, and they will certainly stoop to new depths to undermine their opponent, whoever he may wind up being. Every slip Dean has ever made, everything he’s done that could be misconstrued, will be hanging from the Novak and O’Reilly tongue-poles.

But they’ll be plowing up hill. The only reason why Bush’s numbers remain relatively high -- and they are lower now than they have been at any point in his presidency -- is because there hasn’t been a clear alternative. Remember that last February, Bush was losing in the polls to an unnamed Democrat by four points. The American people have never been happy with the man.

Indeed, the polling after he signed the disgraceful Medicare bill showed seniors split evenly on the measure. Surely the White House was expecting it to generate 65% support, and concomitantly raise Bush’s numbers among this key voting group, but a whole slew of them didn’t buy the scam. Just like they won’t be able to buy the drugs.

Some of my best friends have been Dean supporters for a while now. Steve, who’s pretty smart, said he’d been cool to the good doctor, but is warming up to him. He said he can’t wait to see him in a debate with the prez. Let us prey.

And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.