DLC slams Dean again in CAF letter

The DLC wrote a patronizing "drop Dean" letter to the Campaign for America's Future meeting. I'd say the letter is much more likely to energize Dean supporters than convince the CAF people that Dean can't win. However, it was referred to in a Washington Post story, which calls for a DDF response to the WP. Excerpts from the DLC letter:

We agree with you that congressional Democrats failed in the 2002 midterms to lay out a clear vision for the country. In our view, they ignored the dominant issue of security, and tried to change the subject to a laundry list of old, tired, unconvincing promises that turned off the very voters we need to win. Our party's nominee cannot afford to make the same mistake in 2004, by setting forth an old, tired vision -- or by ignoring the country's legitimate, immediate concerns about the need to make America safe.

That's why we will continue to send out warning signals that the party needs to face some enduring problems about how Americans perceive us. We cannot regain the White House if we raise new doubts in Americans' minds about Democrats, or if we deepen, rather than rebut, the lingering doubt that Karl Rove and company exploited in the midterm elections: that too many Americans don't much trust us to protect them against terrorists and other threats to our national security. We're not convinced that your panel on "Next Stages for the Peace Movement" will reassure the country on this count.