Wasn't lack of a clear and distinct message the numero uno problemo in the Kerry campaign? And does Dean really mean to say he will work with local to CATER the message to the area? I hope so.
I would hope he wouldn't truly just delegate 'the message' to about three thousand different political activists.
Dean has a habit of announcing meta-strategy thoughts publicly (e.g., Red State special speech, or when he said during the primaries that he was going to talk more about religion when he's in the South). I think he is doing less of this, and he is getting better, but it always surprises me because it seems so obvious that he should keep those thoughts to his private strategic meetings, not for the public.
My hope for the other concern is that there will be some national talking points, and continued trainings on framing the issues (like DFA is already doing). Even during Dean's primary campaign it was possible to subscribe to something called the Dean Daily Dose which listed daily talking points prepared by his Communications Director. But, he did allow three thousand different activists to craft their own words. I think there's a balance to be struck here, and his primary campaign was a little too free. But, I think that freedom brought a lot of energy at the local level. So, the balance may need to shift a little bit, but probably not a lot to be most effective.
The job of the chair is to bring new people to the party. He is working on a red-state speech that only talks about the good things we will do--he 'test-drove it' in Utah the other week. He will ensure all 50 states' infrastructure is supported all the time. Stand up for our core moral values.
--------- That doesn't sound like a gaffe to me. The short-hand we had before "He's working on a special speech for red states" with no more context sounded a bit odd. But, what he likely said (the more detailed notes taken) sounds fine.
But, I am a Dean supporter who can look at him critically (perhaps constructive criticism if someone he listens to hears that grassroots folks have these concerns). So many of us were on the Blog for America and DailyKos throughout the primaries and were critical while also supporting him, and I think the campaign itself never discouraged that.
The Dean campaign was always helpful with talking points and Dean was never unclear about where he stood on the major issues, but they left it to us volunteers to spread the message however we wanted, figuring we knew how to talk to our friends and neighbors better than the folks in Vermont (or DC in the DNC's case).
Yes the organization could have been better (cough, Trippi, cough) but I think Dean's notions about spreading the word and creating a movement were spot on. (Kerry was a traditional candidate promoting himself; Dean was generating a movement. And it took the rest of the candidates ganging up on him plus lots of outside help to stop him.)
As Chairman, Dean would not be pushing himself as a candidate for office but rather trying to create a Democratic movement -- something he is uniquely qualified to do.
