By Lucy Mohl
The Howard Dean phenomenon in the Seattle area has reportedly caught most people off guard, including Howard Dean. "Awestruck" was the word Dean used to describe the size of the crowd that greeted him at Westlake Center Sunday night, estimated by police at about 8,000 and the Dean campaign at 15,000 -- either way, the largest yet on his campaign trail for the Democratic Presidential nomination, and a surprise this early in the game.
That's what the papers -- including the Seattle Times -- largely wrote today. But, hang on, says at least one Republican website, GOPUSA:
The Sleepless Summer Tour will, except for a stopover in San Antonio, Texas, confine itself to Democrat strongholds where turnout can be expected to be high. 15,000 people attended Dean's rally in Seattle, and about 5,000 greeted him in Portland, Oregon, and Falls Church, Virginia, according to his campaign. Smaller groups attended rallies in Idaho and Wisconsin.
You know a campaign is getting interesting when you start taking shots for hitting big numbers. For President and candidate Bush, it's his $2000 a plate fundraising dinners. For Dean, says GOPUSA, it's the opposite:
Simple division reveals that the average contribution to Dean's campaign is under $60, and at times hovers near $50. Dean also primarily derives his support from activists who are involved with his online network. These two facts combined should be a source of concern, not jubilation, for Dean's campaign, because they highlight the fact that Dean's grassroots is almost entirely composed of college students and recent graduates.
It's downright mind-bending to see a GOP website go out of its way to point out that John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and Bob Graham have also attacked Bush on issues from the Iraq war, presumably because Dean is punching away on the Bush's policies, and polls are starting to show the marks.
Back to top