Understanding Dean and why the attacks on Dean mean zippo Just go back to Watergate and Nixon. There was a time in the process where it became obvious that Republican "operatives" broke into Democratic HQ and tried to steal their campaign plans; in other words Nixon's guys were hired to change the election results. There was not a shadow of a doubt. Yes, the hate toward Nixon was motivated by revenge over his exposure of Alger Hiss, a darling of the Democratic Left. Hiss's guilt was denied by everyone on the Left til the book by Tannenhaus exposed the fact that Hiss was not just a Communist, but a Russian spy too. In fact that at least six "Left" warriors were in the Roosevelt administration and sending secrets to Moscow. Yet Nixon was guilty of Watergate. Around 30% of the country refused to believe it. They were die hard somethings firmly convinced that Nixon was good and everyone else was either wrong or evil. This 30% on Right or Left is unyielding. No "proof" can sway them. Their guy or cause can never ever be wrong. The other guy is a criminal, a traitor, and whatever other bad things you can think of. That is the way it is. 30% of our population supported the British in the Revolutionary War; I don't know the number of draft dodgers in the North during the Civil War but it was huge. Same in WWI. Only during WWII did the country rally toward one goal, and that is due in large part to the Communist Party endorsing the war against Hitler and the exposure of the German-American "Bund" as a foreign agent. Even during WWII the Communists regarded the war as a "warm up" for the real thing, the Communist Revolution that would take place after the war. Dean's support is 30% of the Democratic party which means that only 20% of the electorate are buying into his campaign. This is normal. What isn't normal is that if Dean is denied the nomination he may run as an independent and pull his entire support with him. That support is far larger than Ross Perot enjoyed when he wrecked Bush I in 1992. Dean running against a single Democrat might mean he'd lose, running against seven means he wins. This design is the work of Clinton lap dog Terry McCaulliff who will be ousted the second Dean gets the nomination. Dean is "hit proof" to his followers. Period.