"And that means both the institutional support and the financial support.
"For Obama, my hunch is that, as president of the United States, he's not as beholding to any of the power brokers out there and has a much freer hand as president.
"That's what Obama is going to be like, but what about what the party is going to be like in terms of new candidates coming in, new policies involved? Where will the DLC fit in in terms of the new politics of the Democratic Party.
"What do you mean, new power centers?" I asked.
Lamont replied, "It seems to me that the traditional DNC, DSCC hand picked candidate is going to be less important. I think in the next cycle you're going to have a lot more folks from different walks of life who are getting engaged in the political process, seeing that the old power brokers are not the screen that they once were.
"I just think we've democratized the party... and that's good."
"Personally speaking, I certainly didn't have any of the political powers that be that wanted me to challenge a three term incumbent. That's for darn sure. I was not deterred by that two and half years ago. But I think more importantly there are a whole lot of people all around the country who are gonna be looking at Obama's ability to raise money online, his ability to create the grasssroots organization beyond the established political party. And it's going to inspire them to get involved."-
* * *
Next, I spoke with The Nation's Editor and Publisher, Katrina Vanden Heuvel.
Katrina Vanden Heuvel
"You have in Howard Dean someone who, whose campaign in 2004 was a striking repudiation of Clintonian centrism. It urged Democrats to end the war and it talked about a bottom up kind of campaign, using the internet, and organizing, and I think Obama is sort of Dean 3.0, fusing online and offline in ways Dean never had a chance to do and I think what Dean has done with the Democratic party, in terms of his 50 state strategy, is very much in line with what Obama has been doing and talking about, which is, not seeing the country as red and blue, but trying to organize in every state and bringing people into that organization so it's not just about suites but also about the streets. It's a party that's not just throwing some money at TV ads every few election cycles, but it's building, from the bottom up.
"It's not about a party that's just a money machine but really engages from the local level up, people in the party.
"In many ways, when Howard Dean became head of the DNC, it was viewed as a repudiation of the Clinton strategy of running the DNC, of what Terry McAuliffe, who was Clinton's person, did. There was no question that immediately after the 2006 election, there was a move by people like James Carville to sort of take on Howard Dean. So you could see that if Clinton became president, Howard Dean might not be their person. On the other hand, Howard Dean has made noises about leaving after '08, and it is the case that new presidents do try to put their person in. If it's Obama, Howard Dean is much more in synch with his vision than the Clinton vision.
Rob: "I see this whole contest between Clinton-Obama as more than just for president. It is for the leadership of the Democratic Party. I think that is part of the reason for the intensity of the conflict going on, really."
Katrina: "I agree. Certainly, Bill Clinton sees this fight as, probably; it's either a fulfillment of his legacy or a repudiation of Clintons and his control of the Democratic Party. But on the other hand, to move it beyond just personalities, there's a different vision of what the Democratic party's role in our country could be, which is again, not just top down, and a vacuum for money, but a party that is putting money into organizing people in 50 states. That 50 state strategy is the hallmark of Howard Dean's time as the DNC Chair. And it's come under fire. It's come under fire from people from people who think that the role is to fight it out just in the battleground state or certain states and not try to engage people across this country."
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