Dean To End His Campaign

Associated Press

Looks like the DNC didn't appreciate his "suspend" idea, in which he would keep his name on the ballot just to siphon-off votes from Kerry and Edwards. Or maybe the Associated Press is simply inaccurate, and the suspend plan is still on. Either way, it will be interesting to see if Dean makes an endorsement soon.

If Dean is true to his principles, he should support Edwards - he's a bit more of an "ideas" candidate, while Kerry just campaigns on being electable, experienced, and a Vietnam vet, none of which has anything to do with how he views the country or where he wants to take it. Thus far, Kerry's ideas have been defined by negatives, not affirmative statements of principle. As in "I will not follow Bush's foreign policy," "I will not cause Americans to lose jobs by following Bush's economic policy," etc. Every candidate plays the "will not" game, but Dean had a few more ideas behind him, and Edwards does too (the have/have not divide, anti-free trade, ect). If I was Dean, I'd be annoyed that Democrats would rather have a candidate who is uncontroversial than a candidate who brings something new.

Plus, I don't think Dean likes Kerry very much personally, so endorsing Edwards might be easier for the Dean folks to swallow. It also makes the race a little more interesting.