Dean Starting to Look Like Sacrificial Lamb – Sharpton Threatening to Eat Dean

Is it just us, or is Howard Dean starting to look more and more like
the sacrificial lamb, like the golden goose, or like the fatted calf. Little
Hansel being fattened up for the Wicked Witch. Do we detect a subtle undercurrent
of opportunistic defeatism in the camps of
the other candidates?

After all, it is looking increasingly likely that all Dean is in a position
to win is a chance to go down in ignominious and career-ending defeat.
Recent American history has not been kind to losing Presidential Candidates.
Gore has turned into a cranky and eccentric uncle, apparently permanently
unhinged by the vicious sucker punch that knocked him out of the Presidency
when he was ahead on all of the scorecards.

Before Gore, the loser was Bob Dole, reduced to doing Viagra ads. Before
Dole, in ’92 it was Bush Sr. and Dan Quayle, and after that election
they both retired from politics for all practical purposes. Dukakis and
Mondale before them? Don’t make me laugh.

In fact, the last loser to go on later to reach the ultimate
prize was Richard Nixon, and we all know how that sad and twisted tale
turned out now, don’t we?

So is it any wonder if most of the losing candidates in this losers
rodeo end up shedding crocodile tears and, with secret relief, slinking
away to lick their wounds, husband their resources, and plot their return
to
the fray
in
’08.  Whereas the "winner" will end up sloppy road kill under the
Cheny-Rove tire tracks, and disappear forever into the pages of history.

The bottom line is that Americans hate a loser. They don’t like having
them around, reminding us of defeat by their
very presence.  Better
to move on, to new faces, fresh meat, optimistic promises, and unrealized
potential.

The Dowbrigade has a feeling that the field is going to narrow considerably
in coming weeks, after the first few primaries, as some of the lesser
candidates start running out of money and gas.  Several of the big
names will probably go through the motions up until the convention.  Then
it’ll be: "Gosh darn that Howard, looks like he has the votes to be the
candidate. Whelp, we did all we could. Now we’ve got to get out there and help him try to beat Bush." Yeah, good luck guys.