The Dean Distraction

For the past few days, Democrat strategists have been whining about the Dean problem. They insist that Republicans are focusing on the lunacy of Mad Dr. Dean’s remarks to distract the public from the important issues. They claim it’s part of the Republicans' evil plan.

Frankly, I think this is absolutely ridiculous. It makes the Democrats look even more unstable than they do already. The argument that the Dems are making is based on the premise that the Bush administration would prefer to have conservatives talking about Dean’s divisive, outrageous, and in some cases, bigoted statements, than about the benefits of the Bush Social Security plan or the qualifications of the Bush judicial nominees or the success of Bush policies in helping to break up an al Qaeda terrorist cell.

Certainly, it benefits the Republicans every time Dr. Dean opens his mouth. That much is true. Talking about the insane things that Dr. Dean says, making people aware that a maniac is the chairman of the DNC, is most definitely a plus. However, an argument could be made that following Dean’s loony adventures is a disadvantageous distraction for the Republicans.

It helps the Republicans when the focus is on President Bush, when he takes his message to the people. The Republicans have ideas. They have an agenda. They don’t need to waste time on highlighting Dr. Dean’s ramblings.

Naturally, Republicans need to respond to Dean’s insanity. Although they do benefit when the media focus on Mad Dr. Dean, Republicans do not need to exploit.

In their joint appearance Thursday, Harry Reid and Dean’s charge that the Republicans are criticizing the inflammatory rhetoric only to avoid dealing with more important issues is as absurd as the demented comments Dean made in the first place.