Obama = Dean 2.0

I was a certified Deaniac when he ran in 2004. I ran our local Meetups, helping them grow from 15 crazy people to a couple of hundred crazy people. I lobbied at the behest of other more prominent bloggers to help him get elected as DNC chair. The reason being was that Dean is and always has been a pragmatist. He's not an ideologue and before he was DNC chair he was barely a partisan. After all, how partisan are you if your main war cry is an attack on your own party ("I'm from the Democratic wing of the Democratic party!"). Look at his term as governor. It's a pragmatic approach to governing, filled with compromises. He knows that if you want to accomplish A+B+C, it's just fine to start out just getting A, and then working on B and C. His energy policy was a prelude to Obama's. Dean wanted to invest big in green technologies and related infrastructure because he knew that living on the Saudi's oil wasn't only a bad economic policy, it was a bad national security policy as well.

But Dean had a glaring problem. He lacks polish. Look at his shirts (yeah, it's a bit superficial, but people notice, just ask your wife/girlfriend). The collars are too tight, they're not always ironed, and they're a few years out of style. Look at his suits. He was famous for wearing suits that even the least fashion-conscious could pick out as either 10 years old or off the rack from KG Men's Store. Also, he never sounded like a politician. He lacked the ability to smile and speak in circles not answering a question. Instead, he'd answer the question pretty straight-forward, which too often got him in trouble. Remember when he said we're no more safer now that Saddam has been caught than before? There couldn't be a truer statement, but it's just a little too unpolished.

So, enter Obama. He's taken the same pragmatic approach as Dean has. He may want universal health care, but he knows it's DOA, so he proposes something close that he'll compromise on so that some form of health care reform gets passed. The difference is Obama is polished. He can say bold things without having his words jar the listener. He can soothe the Washington punditry. He can deflect attacks with a wry or mocking statement that would've gotten Dean hammered because Dean would come off more insulting than witty.

Together, Dean and Obama have accomplished what most of us thought wouldn't happen for at least 4 more years - sweeping change and Democratic majorities. It was Dean who first pitched and tried to sell the 50-state strategy. The Washington aristocracy laughed. Paul Begala mocked, asking why would the DNC spend money on staffers in Mississippi, they'd only be picking their noses. Well, Paul, I hope that crow tastes good. Democrats wouldn't have won Indiana and North Carolina, Senate races in Alaska, and House races in the reddest districts. But Dean needed a good pitchman to sell the 50-state strategy. Obama was the perfect guy for the job.

Now, as far as I'm concerned, we have Dean in the White House, only better. Dean 2.0