On the alien planet known as Keith Olbermann’s “Countdown” on MSNBC last night, Keith and old Time hand Margaret Carlson were feverishly working on the Dean’s-not-liberal line. First, Keith insisted Burlington’s radical, but “the rest of the state is extraordinarily New England conservative,” so Dean is “essentially, conceivably, could be a liberal conservative.”
Carlson agreed: “Right. It’s a rural state. They think of it as Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and civil unions. Their minds haven’t expanded. He’s a fiscal conservative.” But then try to figure out what Margaret is trying to say: “He looks more left because his main issue has been Iraq. And his followers, because they’re so young and kind of hip. You know, a smart person, actually my daughter, said that if Jerry Garcia were still alive, there might not be a Howard Dean movement.” Huh?