For better or for worse

This points to what will make Dean's chairmanship of the DNC so interesting (Forgive me for talking as if Dean's nomination to head the party is a foregone conclusion, but this is my blog, and I think it is.) :

And Dr. Dean, signaling again that he might not be a go-along, get-along party chairman if elected, noted disapprovingly that Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, had said he would support making Justice Antonin Scalia chief justice if President Bush nominated him.

"I don't think that's where most Democrats are," Dr. Dean said. "I sympathized with him, because many times in the campaign I said a few things like that without thinking through the implications of what I was saying."

I suppose Dean will be less likely to pick fights with the Senate minority leader once he is chairman. However, taking some control of the party's message away from party leaders in Congress may be a good thing. By their nature, law makers are always on the lookout for compromise - a deal or legislation in their name that will raise their profile. But when the chief party spokespeople are in Congress, the impression this leaves is that Democrats have no spine and don't stand for anything. Add to this the fact that the Democratic Party has always been made up of a mish-mash of different interest groups, labor and single issue voters that has made it hard to put forward a clear agenda comprised of a handful of important issues. The conviction Dean brings to his politics should help Democrats come up with a more focused message.