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November 28, 2003

Dean-Jackson '04?

Posted by Nico Pitney

The other night, I was playing around with the idea of Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. as an '04 running mate. I knew very little about the guy and had never seen him speak, until last night.

The only video I could find was a talk Jackson gave to students at Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland, as part of a C-SPAN series called Students and Leaders.

I was totally blown away. You really have to watch this video.

Every recent Democratic POTUS has won the general election by losing the white, male vote and winning the votes of women and people of color. Jackson, Jr. isn't from the South, which is a notch against him, and he's quite young.

Still, it's amazing how many times Jackson touches on the themes of the Dean campaign (the speech was given back in May, when Dean was an asterisk in every poll)... does anyone know of anything that would make him a less-than-stellar VP candidate?

UPDATE: Understanding Jackson's draw means revisiting (ironically) Rev. Jesse Jackson's "David and Goliath" speech of 1984, which he updated for the Take Back America conference earlier this year:

Al Gore lost New Hampshire by 7,200 votes. We can win. He lost Ohio, Nevada and Missouri by only 3.5%. The five key states lost by a handful of votes, with thousands of progressives unregistered and thousands more not voting. We lost the governor's race in South Carolina by 40,000 votes, 40,000 blacks unregistered. We lost the Senate vote in Georgia by 50,000 votes, 600,000 blacks unregistered. The once Democratic solid South has become the totally Republican solid South. We need to bridge that rift between the white and black Southerners. Beyond matters of race divide. Beyond matters of fears that divide.

It also means recognizing the role that America's youth (who would surely respond positively to a Jackson VP candidacy) will play in 2004.

One of the most interesting points that Trippi made at the Grassroots Summit came after he was asked how Dean would appeal to the Midwest's NASCAR dads. He answered the question, but also argued that the critical swing vote in '04 wouldn't be NASCAR dads or security moms - it would be the youth. Moreover, he said, if the Dems lose the large and affluent generation now coming of age, the Party really would be lost in the wilderness for years and years to come.



04:34 PM



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Comments



well he got caught with his pants down, sure one sitting pres white man got away with it (after a fashion), but a black man?



Posted by: degustibus at November 28, 2003 05:15 PM


Got caught with his pants down? I think you're referring to Jackson, Sr., not his son, the U.S. Representative...



Posted by: Nico at November 28, 2003 05:25 PM


This may actually come out in JJ Jr.'s favor in that department - some writing on how Dean can and should appeal to black voters.

http://www.blackcommentator.com/65/65_jackson.html



Posted by: April Follies at November 28, 2003 07:08 PM


Thinking of Jackson as a "stellar VP candidate" is okay... but how many people can actually envision him being vice-president ? I certainly can't.



Posted by: Liam at November 28, 2003 07:38 PM


I listened to the speech/Q&A; and it was very good. I like anything that talks about how class unites us more than race divides us, which is why I like Dean's position. I don't think JJJr is ready to be on a ticket yet. He has to do something else on the national stage to overcome his father's baggage and to build up a rep on his own. I really liked what I heard though. I hope he campaigns for Dean.



Posted by: Get HR2239 Passed Now at November 28, 2003 07:50 PM


***The other night, I was playing around with the idea of Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. as an '04 running mate. I knew very little about the guy and had never seen him speak, until last night.***

If you knew very little about Jackson what possible reason could you have had for considering him as a VP candidate in '04?



Posted by: J.P. Carter at November 28, 2003 08:03 PM


I should have written, I was considering the possibility that Dean might choose Jackson as a running mate - because he's an African-American leader (I think there's a reasonable chance that Dean will choose a person of color as a running mate), because he's been particularly vocal in his support of Dean, and because he's probably got an incredible set of connections through his father.



Posted by: Nico Pitney at November 28, 2003 08:50 PM


Picking Jackson for VP would be a collosal mistake. The first and most important reason to pick anyone for veep is that they would make a good president, if the need arose. It is transparent that Jesse Jr. doesn't have anywhere near the experience or stature to be pres. (at least not right now -- who knows in another several years). Picking him would come off as garden-variety liberal democrat pandering.



Posted by: The Tough Democrat at November 28, 2003 09:05 PM


wow. i was only going to watch a few minutes of that video, but i wound up watching almost the whole thing (i fell asleep for the last few minutes because it was almost 5:30 am...) jackson, jr. is a powerful speaker. at one point, i was sure the audience would start to applaud and cheer, but alas the students sat there quietly. well, *i* was inspired! i appreciated his incorporation of history and figures into his speech as well as his appeal to common sense regarding basic human rights. it'll be interesting to see how his career further develops.



Posted by: joolie at November 29, 2003 12:37 PM


Jesse Jackson Jr. Would work well and it would get a lot of press and start a dialog that Dean talks about amongst whites about racism. Why not a African American for Vice President. I don't think he would be a bad choice at all for VP I would vote for a Dean - Jackson ticket if Dean chooses Jackson he will be the right choice. My mother who is 82 said to me in an off the cuff remark she likes Dean and will vote for him but "I just hope he doesn't pick a black woman as a running mate" I think even she would vote for a black man VP. Because America isn't as divided on race as it used to be.

Same Nico as the web master at HQ?



Posted by: Danny at December 1, 2003 01:25 AM


He would be a fine choice for VP for Dean besides having the best record in the congress for not missing a vote, he has the highest percentage of votes against the GOP agenda, including the war agenda. He is one of the most eloquent speakers in the congressional black caucus, his book "A Most Perfect Union" involves everyone in the nation for human rights and is a serious and formidable volume of history and values. He was one of the first in the congress to come out for Dean and he was born in Greenville, South Carolina. He would totally energize the ticket and the whore media would have to do their homework for once. This guy is a standout in any group of public speakers or policy wonks.



Posted by: Tom at January 12, 2004 08:58 PM


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