Cattle Call 2004: 9/5

last week's rankings: 1) Dean, 2) Gephardt, 3) Lieberman, 4) Kerry, 5) Edwards, 6) Graham, 7) Sharpton, 8) Kucinich, and 9) Braun.

1. Howard Dean
Riding the crest from the Sleepless Summer Tour, Dean is charging toward a gangbusters Q3. Still, he needs to translate his success on the campaign trail to success in debates and studio interviews.

2. Dick Gephardt
Dominated the debate with a solid performance by acting -- angry. The Dean schtick really does work. We have plenty to be angry about. The GOP has decimated our nation and the ideal for which it once stood.

Still, he has to be worried about his SC numbers.

3. John Edwards
Funny how one encouraging poll performance can give one a boost. If nothing else, it might suggest Edwards may actually start to "catch on". Whether he does or not, however, still remains to be seen. 10 percent in a poll, even if at the top, does not necessary signal a breakthrough. But however you spin it, knocking Lieberman down in SC increases his chances of being the "anti-Dean". And Edwards would be a far more formidable anti-Dean than Lieberman.

4. Joe Lieberman
Lieberman is a Democrat, but a lame Democrat. A "Dean depression"? Lieberman actually said Dean would be worse than Bush. Whether you like Dean or not, it should be obvious that Dean -- heck, any of the current crop of Dems -- would be better than Bush.

His SC numbers sucked, which are more significant than his latest national numbers. Lieberman will need a firewall after he gets pummeled in Iowa and NH. That's fine -- he's not expected to win those states or even place reasonably well. But he will be expected to win SC if he has any chance of victory.

5. John Kerry
SC poll numbers, gathered at the height of his announcement buzz, were disappointing. Rumors of a campaign shakeup abound. Announcement buzz stolen by Clark mania, terror alerts, and Arnold getting egged.

His debate appearance was solid, but he's in desperate need of some good news (a la Edwards this week).

6. Graham
He blew his VP chances by running an incompetent campaign. And to think his consultants are some of the best in the business (the Daschle guys).

7. Carol Moseley-Braun
Really comfortable in debate setting. Classy. I can't forgive her for inflicting Fitzgerald on Illinois, but she at least seems to be maintaining self-dignity in this race.

8. Dennis Kucinich
Is building a dedicated corps of supporters, and 10,000 meetup signups is pretty impressive. But, looking at the polls, it seems those 10,000 are his only supporters.

9. Al Sharpton
This guy's entire candidacy is based on attending candidate forums and hurling vicious barbs at Bush's direction. Missing last night's debate must've nearly killed him.

We missed you, Al.

Others: As for Clark, who the heck know if he's running. I'm not sure he knows.

Posted September 05, 2003 01:23 PM | Comments (154)