contrapositive

Marshall Again The Dean camp has, it seems, already decided which lessons it's ready to learn from Iowa--at least that's what an early afternoon campaign trail post from Joshua Marshall suggests:

If you thought Dean in New Hampshire would be anything like his full-throttle speech last night, you’d be mistaken. The crowd is getting a bit more lively now that he’s taking questions and loosening up. But he started the speech calmly, either listless or measured depending on your interpretation.

He said there’d be no red meat (his words), and that he wanted to give a policy speech. He said it would be a “different kind of speech.” And it certainly was.

He didn’t talk much about the war. It was mainly balanced budgets, health care, etc. [...]

So there you have it. Stature, electability and nuts and bolts issues are what matters. Firing up the base is passe.

It's too early to say for sure, but Dean sounds like he may finally, finally, finally be ready to let his impressive Vermont record take center stage.

Let's hope so.