The Vermont Woodchuck Breaks His Silence on Dean

Paul Cook, a Vermont native who writes for CTPolitics.net, observes the following:

Howard Dean was never a class act. He was known to be rude and disrespectful of his opponents, both in elections and in battles with the legislature. Dean is not a man who has ever developed a sense of tact and diplomacy. Being a medical doctor, he is accustomed to having his opinions accepted without question, a character flaw that years of politics have failed to diminish. Telling it like it is can be refreshing for a time, but at some point a politician needs to become a statesman if he (or she) aspires to be top dog in the land. Dean never turned that corner.

Cook also touches on the firing of Joe Trippi which he calls a "travesty," observing

"After taking Dean from unknown to frontrunner with innovative use of Internet technology, Trippi gets the boot after the second loss. What Dean seems incapable of understanding is that it was Howard Dean, not Joe Trippi, who lost. Nobody cast a single ballot for Trippi. Dean blew his lead in New Hampshire all by himself."

Overall, the column has the belief that "it's all over" for the Dean campaign.

Update: This can be discussed on an open thread at CTPolitics.net here.