Gephardt moves left to attack Dean, becomes unelectable

I think attacks like this only strengthen the case for Dean in the eyes of the general public:

The latest assault came Sunday in a speech in Cedar Rapids in which Rep. Dick Gephardt, in a pitched battle for Iowa's labor vote in January's caucuses, said Dean was too eager to cut social programs for the disabled and funding for children in poverty during his 12 years as Vermont's governor.

"Time after time, when faced with budget shortfalls, Howard Dean's first and only instinct was to cut," Gephardt said. "This is the measure of the man who would be president. I believe in a very different approach from Howard Dean."
...
Speaking in a telephone interview from New York, Dean responded with his own assault on Gephardt's record in Congress.

"My response is this is a guy with no executive experience and who has never made a tough decision," Dean said.

Dean said Gephardt, D-Mo., former Democratic leader in the House, has been talking about expanding health coverage for nearly 20 years, but nothing has happened.

"Dick is great at criticizing, but what has he accomplished?" Dean asked. "This is more Washington claptrap."

Gephardt said his remarks merely underscored fundamental differences between his record and Dean's.

"Howard Dean wears his bravado as a budget cutter like a badge of honor," Gephardt said. "There is no place for governance without compassion."

Note that Gephardt just made himself irrelevant against Bush. How's he going to argue that deficits are bad in the primary if he thinks cutting the budget is heartless? The only answer, Bush will counter, is that Gephardt must want to raise taxes...