"With Friends Like Newt"

Web ad de Romney que muestra las críticas de Gingrich al Plan Ryan.

Ron Paul quiere llegar hasta la convención

POLITICO.com:

In a far cry from his ragtag 2008 effort, Ron Paul is looking beyond the traditional early state contests and gearing up for a long primary slog that lasts at least through Super Tuesday.

It’s a strategy that could potentially make Paul a player at the Republican convention in Tampa.

The Texas congressman’s long-haul approach is designed to take advantage of new GOP proportional allocation rules that enable candidates to amass delegates without finishing in first place, and to leverage the unique attributes of his campaign — an intensely loyal following and a steady flow of money that will likely enable him to continue for as long as he chooses.

Paul has already put teams in place in 12 caucus states through March 6, when close to a dozen Republican primaries and caucuses will take place. On Wednesday, the campaign announced five new office openings: Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota and Washington.

None of it means that Paul is dismissive of the early states.

Rather, he’s assembled an infrastructure aimed at giving him staying power and a voice at the national convention — a strategic approach that few other candidates besides Mitt Romney are pursuing at the moment.

“Obviously, Iowa and New Hampshire are very important to us because of both their historic position and the intense vetting of candidates that their citizens provide,” Paul’s campaign manager Jesse Benton told POLITICO.

“Our campaign has worked very hard in both of those states, and we plan to do very well,” he said, but he added, “We are also, however, looking beyond those states to the delegate selection process and have organizational structure and voter contact programs in multiple states that will caucus through February and on Super Tuesday.”

“Our campaign has a comprehensive plan to win the delegates needed to either secure the nomination or enter into a brokered convention in Tampa,” he said.

Benton declined to detail precisely what their convention plan would look like. But if the nomination is still not settled by then — a scenario that is not as outlandish as it seems — a candidate with a significant bloc of delegates would wield significant power at the Tampa convention this summer.

Escenario para nuevos candidatos (III)

Nate Silver:

I think there is a small but nontrivial chance that the Republican nominee could be someone like Jeb Bush, Paul Ryan, Mitch Daniels, Tim Pawlenty or Chris Christie.

(...) The motive is pretty simple: Republicans are dangerously close to having none of their candidates be acceptable to both rank-and-file voters and the party establishment. It’s not quite clear what happens when this is the case; there is no particularly good precedent for it. But since finding a nominee who is broadly acceptable to different party constituencies is the foremost goal of any party during its nomination process, it seems distinctly possible that Republicans might begin to look elsewhere.

(...) Say that Mr. Gingrich survives this onslaught, as he certainly could. He wins Iowa and then either wins New Hampshire or finishes a respectable second there. He continues to lead in national polls of Republican voters, as he does now.

What happens then? One scenario, obviously — probably the most likely scenario — is that Mr. Gingrich wins South Carolina, and he wins Florida, and he holds on to win the Republican nomination.

But Mr. Gingrich might nevertheless be considered an unacceptable choice by much of the party establishment. That would put us in uncharted waters. There hasn’t really been a case in the past where a candidate who held the national polling lead after New Hampshire was considered unacceptable by the party elite. Most of the time, instead, the establishment (as measured by endorsements) and the rank-and-file (as measured by support in national polls) have agreed upon a candidate by that point in time.

There have been six cases, meanwhile, in which there was no clear front-runner after New Hampshire. These are discussed briefly below.

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1972 Democrats. Edmund S. Muskie, the clear favorite of the party establishment, won both Iowa and New Hampshire. The performances were perceived as disappointing, however, and Mr. Muskie was at only about 20 percent in national polls (still good enough to put him in a rough tie with Hubert H. Humphrey). A third candidate, George McGovern, who had helped to design the reformed nomination rules and cagily exploited them by dominating in caucus states, won the nomination despite taking only about 25 percent of the national popular vote.

1976 Democrats. Party leaders were extremely slow to endorse any candidates in 1976, but Jimmy Carter surged to the national polling lead after wins in Iowa and New Hampshire. Although Mr. Carter was a relatively obscure figure who was not beloved by the party establishment, he nevertheless took the nomination. This is among the more favorable precedents for Mr. Gingrich, although it differs slightly from this year in that there was no consensus among the establishment about who to support in lieu of Mr. Carter.

1984 Democrats. Walter Mondale was the clear favorite of the establishment and seemed headed for an easy nomination after a dominant performance in Iowa. The favorable media attention to Gary Hart’s second-place showing, however, give him momentum that he rode to a win in New Hampshire, after which he drew into a rough tie with Mr. Mondale in the national polls. Mr. Mondale eventually prevailed in a close race.

1988 Democrats. Michael Dukakis, the eventual nominee, had won New Hampshire but had lost Iowa to Dick Gephardt. Mr. Dukakis was roughly tied for the endorsement lead with Al Gore, and was roughly tied in the national polls with Jesse Jackson. Thus, Mr. Dukakis was in the strongest overall shape, although he was not dominant in any one category so the nomination took some time to sort out.

2008 Democrats. This was a strange case. Hillary Clinton regained the national polling lead following her comeback win in New Hampshire. However, Barack Obama — who had once considerably trailed Mrs. Clinton in party support — unveiled a series of key endorsements from senators like John Kerry and Claire McCaskill in the week just after New Hampshire, making the question of who had the party establishment’s support ambiguous.

2008 Republicans. John McCain pulled into the national polling lead after his win in New Hampshire, although it took further wins in states like South Carolina and Florida before endorsers (who had long been split between Mr. McCain, Mr. Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson) closed ranks around him.
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Although there are some loose parallels to this year in the 1972 and 1976 Democratic primaries, none of them involved an acute conflict between the establishment and the rank-and-file of the sort we have this year between Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich. It is not a year like 2008, when the Democrats had at least two broadly acceptable nominees, in which you’d expect to see a brokered convention or a dark-horse candidate emerging. Instead, it’s a year like this one in which all the choices are unacceptable to some degree or another.

There are deterrents, of course, to a candidate like Mr. Bush or Mr. Ryan entering the race late. Most notably, there is no guarantee that they would succeed. If they tried and failed, that could be an unmitigated disaster for the Republican Party, undermining its eventual nominee. But the odds of a dark-horse candidate or brokered convention will increase to the extent that any of the following conditions hold:

1a. Mr. Gingrich leads the delegate count, but does not have more than about 50 percent of delegates.

1b. Mr. Gingrich holds more than 50 percent of delegates but is involved in a significant gaffe or scandal at some point later in the campaign.

2a. Mr. Romney has performed poorly enough in the early states that he is no longer viable.

2b. Mr. Romney is viable but his unfavorability ratings have considerably increased to the point that he no longer qualifies as a consensus choice.

3. A factional candidate like Ron Paul holds 10 or 15 percent of the delegates.

All of these conditions seem plausible based on what we know right now, which is what leads me to believe that a brokered convention is plausible as well.

Escenario para nuevos candidatos (II)

The Weekly Standard:

It wouldn’t be easy to pull off a late draft or a late entry, but it’s not as impossible as conventional wisdom assumes.

The key, I think, would be if both Romney and Gingrich stumbled during January. If that were to happen, there would be a window of opportunity in February—during the gap between the first spurt of January primaries and Super Tuesday on March 6. The window probably closes around Valentine’s Day—Tuesday, February 14—so let’s call the late entry the Valentine’s Day option. That could be the last chance (unless there’s a deadlocked convention, which isn’t totally outside the realm of possibility either) for Republicans to throw off the old suitors and run into the arms of a new Prince Charming. Or two.

Escenario para nuevos candidatos (I)

Rhodes Cook, del Center for Politics de la Universidad de Virginia:

The elongated layout of the nominating calendar this time provides the opportunity for a late-starting candidate to emerge. Should Mitt Romney stumble badly in the January events in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, another establishment Republican could enter the race in early February and still compete directly in states with at least 1,200 of the 2,282 or so GOP delegates. Many of them will be up for grabs after April 1 when statewide winner-take-all is possible.

Similarly, should non-Romney alternatives led by Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry fall flat in the January contests, there would be time for the conservative wing of the party to find a new champion to carry its banner through the bulk of the primary season.

In some respects, the layout of the 2012 primary calendar resembles that in 1976, starting in the dead of winter with events in Iowa and New Hampshire and building to a crescendo with California in early June. That year, President Gerald Ford and former California Gov. Ronald Reagan battled delegate for delegate until Ford prevailed at the convention that summer in Kansas City. It was the most closely contested and longest-running Republican nominating contest in the last 40 years.

On the Democratic side, the “back-loaded” arrangement of the primary calendar encouraged two late entries in 1976, Gov. Jerry Brown of California and Sen. Frank Church of Idaho. Each won several spring-time primaries. But they mounted their campaigns too late to offset former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter’s long lead in the delegate count.

Eight years earlier, Sen. Robert Kennedy of New York was a far more successful late starter. He entered the Democratic race after the New Hampshire primary and proceeded to run off a series of high-profile primary victories, culminating with a winner-take-all triumph in California in early June. Had he not been shot the night of his California victory, Kennedy might have gone on to wrest the nomination from Vice President Hubert Humphrey. As it is, Kennedy’s unfinished campaign is one of American history’s more intriguing “what ifs.”

To be successful, a late-starting campaign needs to feature a candidate with considerable fund-raising and organizational ability who is capable of quickly grabbing national attention. Charisma helps, as does a campaign message that can evoke widespread support. Robert Kennedy fit the bill in 1968, and there are arguably a few prominent Republicans on the sidelines this time who could mount a competitive, late-starting candidacy in 2012. These could include one of the establishment non-candidates who Republican elites pressured to enter the race earlier this year, such as Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Rep. Paul Ryan (WI), ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush or New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (although Christie has already endorsed Mitt Romney). The entry of any of these Republicans would cause waves, and because of their high profiles they would have little trouble raising money or attracting establishment support. On the other hand, if Romney gets off to a strong start in January’s opening round, then there might be pressure on the right to enlist former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to pick up the anti-establishment baton.

The long intermission next February — there are no primaries selecting delegates between Florida on Jan. 31 and Arizona and Michigan on Feb. 28 — provides a natural opening for major changes in the Republican nominating contest to take place. It gives time for active candidates to reassess their campaigns and for prospective candidates to make their move.

The main problem calendar-wise for late-starting candidates is there is often a lag time of two to three months between a primary filing deadline and the primary election itself. As a result, a candidate that jumped into the race early next February would still be too late to get his or her name on the ballot in all the primaries through early April, roughly 20 states in all. In these states, a late starter would have to be creative — “adopting” the Uncommitted line, for instance, in states where they are listed or mounting write-in campaigns in states where they are permitted.

But a late-starting candidate would be able to compete in caucus states immediately, where filing deadlines are rarely an issue. There will be fully a dozen states, plus territories, that will be holding their caucuses from Feb. 4 on. They will be offering a total of roughly 450 delegates.

And a candidate that entered the Republican contest in the wake of the Florida primary would be able to enter at least 15 primaries from April 24 on. It is a number that includes delegate-rich New York and Pennsylvania on April 24, Indiana and North Carolina on May 8, California and New Jersey on June 5 and Ohio on June 12. Taken together, this late array of primaries offers roughly 800 delegates, many of them to be awarded on a winner-take-all basis.

In addition, candidates that fall by the wayside as the primaries unfold often release their delegates, providing another significant pool for late-starting candidates to woo.

In short, the “new look” Republican nominating schedule for 2012 offers scenarios that the “front-loaded” calendars of the recent past could not. The likelihood of the usual quick knockout is reduced, while the prospect of a long slog for delegates is enhanced. And who knows, the latter could feature a late-starting candidate or two, adding another unique twist to a Republican presidential nominating campaign that has already displayed considerable fluidity.

Perry corteja a los veteranos de guerra en Carolina del Sur

Carolina del Sur es un estado con cientos de miles de veteranos (más de 400,000) de distintas guerras que suelen tener un enorme peso electoral. Por ello, el Gobernador Rick Perry que, a diferencia de Romney o Gingrich, sí ha servido en el ejército, está orientando su esfuerzo en el estado hacia esa comunidad de veteranos.

Ayer presentó la organización de "Veteranos por Rick Perry" a bordo del U.S.S. Yorktown, en Mount Pleasant. El candidato les dijo que eran prioritarios, les prometió cuidados para soldados heridos y la continuidad de los beneficios de asistencia sanitaria, y criticó a Obama por cambiar la política del Don't Ask Don't Tell.

(hacer click sobre la imagen para ver el video)

Gingrich ignora los ataques

Tras un acto de campaña en Greenville, Carolina del Sur, Newt Gingrich no dio importancia a los ataques de otros candidatos y prometió seguir en positivo.

"Voy a mantenerme en positivo. Voy a hablar de cómo resolver los problemas del país. Y tengo sólo un oponente, Barack Obama. Es así como nuestra campaña va a avanzar. Otros pueden hacer lo que quieran."

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Huntsman en John King USA (CNN)

"Smiling"

El Super PAC de Romney piensa lanzar un segundo anuncio atacando de forma directa a Gingrich. Es un detallado repaso de todos los aspectos más problemáticos (salvo los personales) de la carrera del ex Speaker.

NARRADORA: "¿Por qué sonríe este hombre(Obama)? Porque su plan funciona. Atacar brutalmente a Mitt Romney y esperar que Newt Gingrich sea su rival. ¿Por qué? Newt tiene un montón de lastre. Como el hecho de que Newt Gingrich fue multado con 300,000 dólares por violaciones éticas. O que recibió 1.6 millones de Freddie Mac justo antes de que causara un colapso económico. Luego están los 37 millones de dólares que Gingrich tomó de grupos de la industria sanitaria.

¿Y en los temas? Newt ha estado en todos los lados. Apoya la amnistía para millones de inmigrantes ilegales. Gingrich incluso formó equipo con Nancy Pelosi y Al Gore por el calentamiento global, y ha sido toda la vida partidario del mandato del seguro médico, la pieza central del ObamaCare. Tal vez por eso George Will llamó a Gingrich, 'el candidato menos conservador'.

¿El historial de Gingrich? 30 años en Washington, dando giros de 180 grados en los asuntos. Comprobad los hechos en NewtFacts.com."

Santorum podría superar expectativas en Iowa

Es lo que comenta en The Note, Craig Robinson, ex director político del GOP de Iowa y fundador de The Iowa Republican:

There has been a lot of talk throughout the race about where do all the Huckabee supporters end up. I don’t think there is an easy answer to that question, but I see signs that Rick Santorum is building a similar type of following with grassroots activists. Santorum has a very active group of supporters on social media sites. Last night, one of his supporters, Dan Davidson, started a “We Pick Rick” on-line radio show that broadcasts live on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights at 9 p.m. I think this is an example of how organic the Santorum campaign is and how passionate some of his supporters are, which is a lot like Huckabee had. Dan was a very active supporter of Huckabee four years ago. I think he was also one of his key social media ringleaders. While it’s impossible to know the reach an on-line radio show has, but it provides Santorum’s supporter a place where they can share their stories and converse with each other. This type of organic activity can really build a lot of loyal and dedicated supporters for a campaign… an interesting tidbit that shows that there is an undercurrent of supporting growing for Santorum. Something I don’t see for candidates like Bachmann or Perry.

Por qué Gingrich provoca pánico en el partido

David Frum expresa todo el miedo del establishment republicano:

Today’s question is: will the Gingrich balloon deflate like all the previous Not Mitt balloons?

The answer is: yes of course–but given that these balloons take typically 6-8 weeks to shrivel, the impending Gingrich bust may not arrive soon enough to save Romney. No question though, it will arrive in time to freak out the Republican party.

The most important thing to remember about Gingrich is not the three marriages, not the dubious financial practices, not the abrupt reversals on healthcare mandates and climate change. It’s not the grandiosity of language, not the habit of casting opponents as un-American, not the lack of self-awareness that allowed him to impeach a president for lying under oath about an extramarital affair while engaged in an extramarital affair of his own.

The most important thing to remember about Newt Gingrich is that his colleagues in the House of Representatives effectively fired him as their leader even before the impeachment crisis, shifting power instead into the more competent hands of Tom DeLay. It was Tom DeLay who ran the caucus while Newt Gingrich was traveling the country giving speeches about Total Quality Management and the Struggle for Western Civilization.

Gingrich was not pushed aside by his caucus for any of the offenses listed above. He was pushed aside because he plunged the caucus into chaos, because he lost fights that he himself had chosen, because he could not control his mouth, because he wanted to be a star more than he wanted to get things done. There’s a reason Gingrich is fascinated by management gurus: he needs the help.

That weakness in Gingrich will not now abruptly change. The chaos that surrounded him as Speaker, the chaos that engulfed his presidential campaign earlier this year – that chaos will replicate itself again. But when? It’s less than 5 weeks to the New Hampshire primary. Perhaps Gingrich can behave himself till then, in which case Mitt Romney has a big problem on his hands. But it’s more than 8 full months to the Republican convention in Tampa.

Prediction: if Gingrich has emerged as the nominee by then, the mood of that convention will be full unconcealed panic.

"Repeal"

En un nuevo anuncio, Perry vincula a Gingrich y Romney con la reforma sanitaria de Obama y el mandato individual.

El spot entra dentro de la inversión de 1.2 millones de dólares que el Gobernador de Texas prepara para la recta final de la campaña en Iowa.

NARRADOR: "No queremos una asistencia sanitaria con mandato del gobierno. Sin embargo, Newt Gingrich lo apoya. ¿Y Mitt Romney? Lo convirtió en ley en Massachusetts. Peor, Barack Obama lo hizo obligatorio en toda la nación. ¿Rick Perry? Lo revocará, empezando desde el primer día.

GOBERNADOR PERRY: "No dejaré que los liberales de la intromisión gubernamental arruinen este país. Soy Rick Perry. Soy un outsider que revocará el ObamaCare."

Perry planea una gira de tres semanas en autobús por Iowa

POLITICO.com:

In a final push to resuscitate his floundering campaign, Rick Perry will be headed to Iowa on Saturday — and staying there nearly non-stop through the Jan. 3 caucuses, POLITICO has learned.

What Perry’s campaign calls a “wall to wall” bus tour of Iowa is an attempt to put the Texas governor back into contention by capitalizing on the retail politicking skills that were once thought would be an overpowering strength in the state.

Candidates this year have had lighter on-the-ground schedules in early states than previous cycles, with most candidates swapping voter face time for debate appearances. Not a single GOP hopeful was in Iowa on Wednesday and only two are slated to be there on Thursday.

But with weeks left and poll numbers that put Perry in single digits, his campaign says he will spend the rest of month in the Hawkeye State.

(...) “He’ll be nearly wall to wall in Iowa,” campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan said.

Perry’s scheduled to be out of the state only for a few days around Christmas, when he’ll return to Texas.

¿Os suena de algo?

Se siguen investigando vías para nuevos candidatos

Steve Moore desarrolla en el video lo que escribió hace un par de días en el Wall Street Journal:

Efforts are underway by some wealthy Republican donors and a group of conservative leaders to investigate whether a new Republican candidate could still get into the presidential race. The talk is still preliminary and somewhat wishful, but it reflects dissatisfaction with the two leading candidates, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

Conservative leaders are looking into whether it is feasible for a dark horse to get on the ballot in select states. The deadline to qualifying for the ballot has passed in Florida, South Carolina, Missouri, and New Hampshire. But a candidate could still get on the ballot in states like Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Michigan and Texas. At the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, voters write in their choice, so there is no formal filing deadline.

The chatter about potential new entrants include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, businessman Donald Trump, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint.

Gallup Daily

Gallup:

Newt Gingrich 34% (-2)
Mitt Romney 25% (+2)
Ron Paul 10% (+1)
Michele Bachmann 7% (+1)
Rick Perry 5% (-1)
Rick Santorum 2% (-1)
Jon Huntsman 1% (=)

El RNC no apoya el debate de Trump

El Presidente del Partido Republicano, Reince Priebus, ha dicho que el partido no puede respaldar un debate moderado por Donald Trump.

"Apreciamos lo que el señor Trump ha hecho, pero si todavía estás hablando de una potencial candidatura independiente, creo que eso es un problema. Creo que sería negligente por mi parte como presidente del RNC no creer que eso es un problema... Creo que tener a un empresario exitoso como moderador es algo valioso. Pero el asunto aquí es si puede ser moderador una persona que todavía está discutiendo la idea de presentarse a las eleccioens como independiente."

Si vemos todo esto en relación a la batalla entre Romney y Gingrich, podemos concluir que se ha posicionado del lado del ex Gobernador de Massachusetts. Romney rechazó la invitación al debate, al igual que Huntsman y Ron Paul. Mientras que Gingrich fue el primero que aceptó participar.

Perry en America's Newsroom (Fox News)

El Gobernador Perry da explicaciones sobre el camino elegido por su campaña para intentar alcanzar la victoria: complacer a los votantes evangélicos.

Niega que esté haciéndole la pelota al electorado religioso, y manifiesta un sincero interés por traer el debate sobre los valores judeo-cristianos a la campaña.

"Now You See the Problem"

Restore Our Future, el Super PAC pro-Romney, tiene pensado invertir más de 3 millones de dólares en publicidad de tv y radio sólo en Iowa.

Su primer comercial resalta el perfil de gestor y solucionador de problemas de Romney.

NARRADOR: "¿Cuántos empleos creó Barack Obama como organizador comunitario o como profesor de leyes? (En pantalla se ve un "0 ZERO") Puede que ahora veáis el problema. Mitt Romney sacó a flote a docenas de compañías americanas y creó miles de puestos de trabajo. Rescató unos Juegos Olímpicos golpeados por el escándalo. Tomó el mando de un estado con enormes déficits y lo levantó sin subir los impuestos, vetando cientos de proyectos de ley. Mitt tiene un plan detallado para dar un giro a la economía americana. Mitt Romney."

Team Romney inicia la ofensiva contra Gingrich

First Read:

*** The attack on Newt begins: In the last 24 hours, Mitt Romney’s campaign has started its attack -- though in a subtle way so far -- against Newt Gingrich. First, it launched its latest TV advertisement with Romney saying what he mentioned at the November CNBC debate: “I’ve been married to the same woman for 25 -- excuse me, I’ll get in trouble -- for 42 years.” (Hmmm, with whom could he be trying to make a contrast?) Then last night in West Des Moines, IA, as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was stumping for Romney, an undecided GOP voter asked the governor to say something she might not know about Romney to help influence her vote. Christie answered by observing how Romney interacted with Christie’s children. He added, “This is a guy who is a father and a husband and loves his wife and his kids.” And Christie concluded, “When you look at candidates say, ‘Is this the kind of person who’s always going to make me proud in the Oval Office and never have to worry will embarrass America? That I’ll never have to worry will do something that will just make me ashamed?’ [Romney] just won’t.” (Hmmm, who could possibly embarrass the country?)

*** It’s two fold: personal and professional: And today, at 9:00 am ET, two Romney surrogates -- former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu and former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent -- are holding a conference call to discuss Gingrich’s record. This is the first time that Team Romney has held a conference call to engage the former House speaker. And after the conference call, Sununu will appear on MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown.” Meanwhile, on TODAY this morning, Romney backer Dan Quayle said he chose Romney over Gingrich because of leadership. “It comes down to one thing: leadership,” he said. “Mitt Romney would be a much better leader.” So the attack on Gingrich is two fold: personal and professional.

Quayle explica su apoyo a Romney en Today (NBC)

Dice que todo se reduce a una cosa: "liderazgo."

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Fotos de campaña: shock

El 9 de diciembre de 2003, el ex Vicepresidente y ex candidato presidencial Al Gore convulsionaba el establishment demócrata anunciando su apoyo al Gobernador Howard Dean, candidato insurgente a la nominación demócrata, en el Teatro Negro de Harlem.

ElPais.com:

Dean iba delante en los sondeos y en el dinero recaudado, pero le faltaba el respaldo de una figura importante en la dirección demócrata, y eso es lo que Gore, ante la perplejidad de algunos compañeros, puso sobre la mesa.

(...) Ha alterado a parte de la dirección demócrata, en la que hay un núcleo que se estaba moviendo informalmente bajo lo que se llamaba ABD (Cualquiera Menos Dean, en la traducción del inglés) y que considera que Dean ofrece algunos flancos débiles contra Bush.

(...) En un país casi dividido al 50% y con un presidente que depende de dos factores no garantizados para la reelección -Irak y la economía-, ¿hay que plantear la batalla sobre lo que más atrae a los militantes o sobre lo que sería más asumible por los votantes moderados? Dean, que se confesó ayer "sorprendido y extasiado" por el apoyo, no tiene ninguna duda sobre su apuesta: "Hemos perdido un montón de elecciones en las legislativas de 2002 porque decidimos que íbamos a por los votos de los indecisos y que nuestra base se acomodaría después. Creo que ahora es importante que distingamos a los que están con nosotros desde siempre".

(...) Dean tiene ahora, en todo caso, un panorama más despejado, aunque no completamente, en el proceso de primarias. El único obstáculo para su nominación es que Dick Gephardt -respaldado por sindicatos y otros grupos conservadores del partido- salga bien librado de las primarias internas de Iowa, dentro de cinco semanas. En ese caso, podría encabezar una corriente alternativa a Dean, a la que sin duda se sumarían los que guardan mal recuerdo de la campaña de Gore de 2000 y que creen que es suicida, en estos momentos, abandonar la orientación centrista que dio Clinton al partido. El resto de candidatos, desde John Kerry al ex general Wesley Clark, que ya no iban bien en los sondeos, quedaron ayer fuera de combate después del terremoto causado por Gore.

Clarin.com:

En la Casa Blanca están de festejo porque creen que George W. Bush tiene el camino despejado para lograr su reelección el año próximo. Consideran que el ex gobernador de Vermont, Howard Dean, que recibió el apoyo del ex vicepresidente Al Gore para la candidatura presidencial demócrata, sería el oponente ideal.

El republicano espera acorralar a Dean por ser opositor a la guerra en Irak y por ubicarse a la izquierda en su discurso patriótico.

(...) "Descorchan las botellas de champán", afirmó desde la Casa Blanca un comentarista de televisión cuando el ex vice de Clinton anunció el apoyo total a Dean e instó a los americanos a votarlo en las elecciones presidenciales en noviembre de 2004.