DEAN DOMINATED DEMOCRATS DOOMED

That's the thinking of savvy Democrat operatives, like Silicon Valley fundraiser Wade Randlett:

Randlett said he hopes and expects party leaders will soon "have a sit-down" with Dean over his message "that we're smarter than they are, and we ought to be running the country."

The American street isn't going to buy it. Go Howard!

Update: Improbably, Susan Estrich shares my view of Dean:

So it should come as no surprise to experienced Dean watchers to hear him say that most Republicans have never earned an honest living. This is what it means not to be ready for primetime. You make the sort of statements that are sure to get attention because they hit flashpoints like class warfare. It's a Republican talk show host's dream.

The reason other Democrats don't say such things is because you don't win elections this way. In point of fact, of course, what Dean is saying is wrong. Most Republicans are not coupon-clippers -- they go to work and earn a day's pay like the rest of us. And hearing Howard Dean say otherwise not only offends Republicans, but also moderates and independents who have no taste for class warfare or the strident liberalism that Howard Dean is selling.

Estrich hopes Dean will be long gone from the scene by 2008. I, on the other hand, passionately hope he's still around helping the Republicans defeat Hillary.