Saying Rahm deserves no credit makes no sense

Posted by Naftali Bendavid at 10:33 am CDT

Commenter "Weinerdog43" wrote:

I'll be very curious to see if Mr. Bendavid discusses Rahm's taking credit for the 2006 election, despite overwhelming evidence that it was Howard Dean's 50 state strategy that delivered.
Good luck Mr. Bendavid. Here's hoping it's a good read. You've got some interesting characters to work with.
May 7, 2007 6:25:10 PM

I do talk in the book about the relative credit due Rahm Emanuel and Howard Dean.

Dean supporters argue that it was his 50-state strategy that was responsible for the Democrats' victory. By placing activists and putting money into states the Democrats did not traditionally win, the argument goes, they enabled the party to pick up seats in places like Indiana and Kentucky.

Emanuel's supporters counter that it was his aggressive recruitment of moderate candidates, like Heath Shuler in North Carolina and Brad Ellsworth in Indiana, that led the Democrats to victory. For too long the party insisted on an ideological orthodoxy that resulted in purist nominees who got clobbered, according to this way of thinking.

I do think it's not entirely reasonable to have someone in charge of an election and then, when the election turns out well, argue that he had nothing to do with it. Emanuel was in essence the campaign manager, and saying he does not deserve the credit doesn't make that much sense to me.

But more broadly, as I say in the book, I think it's clear that both Emanuel and Dean deserve some credit.

In truth, the Republicans had more to do with their own loss than anything the Democrats did. The war in Iraq, the response to Hurricane Katrina, Tom DeLay's ethics problems, the Mark Foley scandal--those things created the climate that led to the Democratic takeover.

But the Democrats for once did a good job of positioning themselves to take advantage of the political winds, and both Emanuel and Dean helped with that. Emanuel recruited successful candidates in tough districts, raised record amounts of money, and shaped a resonant message. Dean and his operation prepared the ground in key areas, and his supporters created excitement and enthusiasm, including for some candidates Emanuel overlooked.