Flight of the Bumblebee

Rick Perlstein's latest article in the Village Voice is an analysis of the New Hampshire primary and of the current state of the Dems' campaigns. The bumblebee in the title is Dean ("after the sting, they die"). It is not certain that Dean is dead although it looks more likely by the day. And Perlstein, like other commentators, doesn't give high odds for Clark's chances either; he accuses the Clark campaign of "magical thinking" for believing that by being a liberal and yet a general, Clark can somehow resolve all political paradoxes. But the major point is that Dean's candidacy has stirred up the Democratic party and demonstrated that you don't have to act like a Republican to beat them. And also that the plethora of Democratic candidates, all but one of whom will fall by the way, all have good ideas that can be incorporated into a truly liberal but pragmatic platform for the nominee to carry forward.