The Dems Version of Gen. Custer

David Hill writes in The Hill (no relation) about the resemblance between Howard "I Have A Scream" Dean and Gen. George Armstrong Custer:

Dean has Custer's swagger
“Is Howard Dean crazy?”

That’s not a question I’m asking, but it’s a question serious journalists and Democrats have asked since Jan. 19, 2004. And now there’s an additional question that must be asked: “Are the Democrats crazy to make Howard Dean their leader?”

The physician and former Vermont governor’s election as party chairman has to be the most puzzling development in American politics since his own meltdown and primal roar after the Iowa caucus debacle last year. Setting aside the sometimes bizarre nature of the man, let’s look at the political track record Dean brings to the leadership of his party.

Does this sound like a résumé for success? Dr. Dean rode what appeared to be an insurmountable primary polling advantage and rock-star status at campaign rallies, fueled by tens of millions of dollars in Web donations, magazine cover stories and numerous endorsements from top Democrats including Al Gore and Bill Bradley, into a full-fledged nosedive. Maureen Dowd aptly described Dean’s actions as “Ross-Perot-scare-off-the-women-and-horses crazy.”

The numbers thereafter seemed to indicate that a plurality of Democratic voters agreed. A Jan. 5-7 AP/Ipsos poll saw Dean reach 30 percent, his highest recorded mark in national public polls before the scream. In a Gallup poll taken Jan. 9-11, 2004, Dean led the large Democratic field with 26 percent of the vote. Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, at 20 percent, was the only other candidate to break into double-digit percentages in that poll. In a Gallup poll taken 20 days later, after the Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses, Dean had plunged to 14 percent while Sen. John Kerry rocketed to victory.

By February, some polls had Dean in single digits. A Time/CNN poll taken Feb. 5-6 pegged Dean at 8 percent. A Fox poll had him at seven points during the same time frame.

In New Hampshire, the state after Iowa, Dean was in a hopeless death spiral. A pollster at the University of New Hampshire was reported to say that Dean’s behavior on national TV crystallized fears about Dean: “It was, in a nutshell, all the things people were concerned about — the temper, the potential instability, the sense that he is not ready for prime time and not ready to deal with pressure.”

Dean’s December lead of 29 points in the first primary state evaporated. Even the usually mild-mannered Florida Sen. Bob Graham (D) seemed shocked: “Unfortunately, there have been incidents in history … where a few seconds can crush a lifetime.”

Crushed was what Dean appeared to be. By Feb. 17, he had suspended his campaign.

And he’s never really recovered in the polls. He’s persistently “upside down,” to use a pollster’s parlance, every time his name is polled.

A Gallup poll taken earlier this month found that his unfavorable name identification, 38 percent, exceeds his favorable name ID, 31 percent. According to a January 2005 poll published by The Wall Street Journal, just 27 percent of Democrats and 22 percent of all Americans view Dean positively.

But evidently the Democrats running their dazed party are so desperate for leadership that they can’t be swayed by polls, even of Democrats. So it’s not surprising to see a recent Gallup poll of 223 Democratic National Committee members showing that 63 percent believe Dean will do an excellent job as chairman and 27 percent say he’ll do a good job. Only 2 percent anticipate a poor or terrible job by Dean.

Some Democrat bigwigs say Dean will be successful because he’s a fighter. One even said Dean gave Democrats their swagger back. I’m inclined to remind Democrats that Gen. George Custer was also a fighter with more than a hefty dose of swagger, but see where that got the 7th Cavalry.

When nutty Ross Perot withdrew from campaigning and danced with his daughter to Patsy Cline’s eerie version of “Crazy” as the cameras rolled, it was disturbing, but with a certain charm, as if Perot knew. The “crazy-scream guy” waltzing back onto the political stage is simply disturbing.