I suppose I should have mentioned to you all that I linked you. Thanks for the credit.

It's only too bad GT has moved on to other subjects; maybe he'll come back to Dean as he picks up support.
Eric | Email | Homepage | 01.16.03 - 11:09 am | #

There was an article in the Burlington Free Press, 9/1/03: "Dean learned at mid-morning that he was featured in Wednesday's "Doonesbury" comic strip, carried by hundreds of newspapers across the country. The strip showed two college slackers trying to think up the least likely contender for the presidency.....Dean shook his head over the strip -- cartoonist Garry Trudeau is an acquaintance of his youth and a fellow Yale grad. On the one hand, the cartoon put Dean's name in front of millions. On the other hand, it marginalized his chances. "I don't know what to make of it," he told reporters after his speech. "What do you think?"

Interesting that Dean and Trudeau are old acquaintances. I wondered a while back if Trudeau might be tempted to have one of his characters get passionate about Dean the way Mike Doonesbury got into John Anderson in 1980, another 'unknown' candidate talking a lot of sense and connecting with people on the ground. I loved those old strips of Anderson making great speeches to an empty room with only Mike to stomp his feet afterwards. I thought Trudeau might get a kick out of boosting Dean's recognition and ratings the way he helped boost Anderson's back then. He did much the same in 1992 with Rick Redfearn mooning over Clinton. Then again, Dean's stance on medical marijuana and ownership of two SUVs won't have endeared him to Trudeau.

Thinking from Doonesbury to Duke to Hunter S Thompson, I was reading the opening few chapters of 'Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail' again last night - lots of very idle but interesting comparisons to be made there between that Dem primary race and this one, between the Dems' task in taking on Nixon then and Bush now, inevitably between McGovern and Dean, and especially between Nixon and Bush! Definitely worth a re-read.
Damian | Email | Homepage | 01.16.03 - 11:22 am | #