2004 Elections: Democratic Party Contenders

Who voted in the MoveOn.com primary? Who did you vote for?

(I voted for Wesley Clark.)

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 26, 2003; 8:41 AM

So what are we to make of the first Internet primary in recorded history?...

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Dick Polman scrutinizes the process:

"Why wait for Iowa and New Hampshire, when you can have a national Democratic presidential contest right now?...

The Washington Post looks at the other candidates' complaints:

"Some opponents have charged that Moveon.org has tipped the scales further in Dean's favor. They note that the primary began just hours after Dean commanded headlines and television coverage with his official announcement that he is indeed running for president. They also have complained that Dean recently hired a Moveon.org employee -- there are only a handful -- as a consultant...

Salon's Joe Conason sounds a word of caution:

It isn't a 'primary.' With a few hundred thousand participants, it cannot be representative of tens of millions of Democrats -- or even millions of progressive Democrats -- as a group. Because only three candidates were permitted to e-mail their statements to the MoveOn membership, the poll doesn't offer an opportunity to evaluate support for the entire field. And the involvement in the Dean campaign of a MoveOn principal has raised questions about fairness and impartiality...

The New Republic, which had pushed McCain in '04, tries to move on:

"There probably aren't many people still clinging to the hope that John McCain will make another run for the White House in 2004. And if there are, they can forget about it. We recently caught up with McCain advisor John Weaver, who, in contrast to tantalizing hints coming from McCain's camp a year or two ago, left little doubt about his boss's plans. 'He's not running,' Weaver flatly stated. 'I don't think there's any way. He's just not going to.' Instead, Weaver says McCain will run for what should be an easy reelection next year. . . .

American Prospect's Michael Tomasky says Dean was sandbagged:

"It's not as if we needed one more example to prove that the mainstream media have developed a reflex of accepting the premises of the right in order to make liberals look discredited. But try this one on for size...

In Slate, Christopher Hitchens unloads on Kerry:

"So, the junior senator from Massachusetts has finally come up with a winning line. 'Vote for me,' says John Kerry. 'I'm easily fooled.' This appears to be the implication of his claim to have been 'misled' by the Bush administration in the matter of WMD. And, considering the way in which Democratic Party activists generally portray the president as a fool and an ignoramus, one might as well go the whole distance and suggest a catchy line for the campaign: 'Kerry. Duped by a Dope.' . . .