Self-declared Dean-o-Phobe Jonathan Chait, of the New Republic, makes an interesting point in his post-Iowa analysis: "Another thought on what Iowa means: As others have noted, voters no longer regard Iraq as the seminal political issue of the race. That's an extremely auspicious sign for Democrats. Dean's most important effect on the race was to make Iraq the ultimate litmus test of ideological purity. Iraq is a perfect wedge issue for Republicans--most voters support it, but most Democrats oppose it. Dean's harping on Iraq put Democrats in a no-win situation. In order to win they must somehow fudge the issue." [italics added]

--I firmly agree. And that outside of the Democratic left, most Americans are Deanophobic on precisely the Iraq issue, and national security issues more generally.

Posted by Laura at January 20, 2004 07:20 PM