yesthattom | USA Today got it right (Reply)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-02-18-dean-usat_x.htm

I agree with most of what's in the article. Especially...

"Rogan, hired by Dean to handle money and personnel, and travel aide Kate O'Connor, who filtered Dean's contacts and information — saw their job as protecting Dean. They clashed with Dean's national political advisers, who felt thwarted in trying to improve the campaign."

[...] "He didn't grow as a candidate," says John Weaver, who was senior strategist for Republican John McCain's 2000 campaign. "Once he became the front-runner, he never understood he was in the making-friends business."
For better and ultimately for worse, Dean set his own course. He refused to get coaching to ready himself for presidential-level speeches and debates. He rarely read debate preparation books.
He ignored advice on speeches. Over aides' protests, he penciled into a foreign policy speech the line that America was not safer after the capture of Saddam Hussein. He tossed his talking points in Iowa and the result was his shouted "concession" speech.
Many advisers urged Dean to relate more personally to voters. Some urged him to talk about senior citizens and children in Vermont who have prescriptions and health care as a result of his policies. Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a supporter, advised him to tell stories about his medical practice, his family or people he met on the campaign trail. But Dean didn't.
In the final weekend before the caucuses, Harkin's wife, Ruth, made a breakthrough other Dean advisers had sought for months: She persuaded Dean to ask his wife to appear with him. Judy Dean flew in for two rallies the day before the caucuses and appeared on network television with her husband in New Hampshire. He seemed warmer in her presence, but his angry image already was fixed.
[...]
Dean and his team also appeared blindsided when news organizations and rivals dredged up his past support for corporate tax breaks, the North American Free Trade Agreement and changes to Medicare. "Every campaign running against them had more opposition research (on Dean) than they did," says Anita Dunn, a party strategist.

And the most frustrating part was that there were many, many people in the office (including myself, once I got here) that were saying these things but had no way of getting the message to Dean or anyone that would listen.