DEAN'S ADVANTAGE
Peter Beinart's analysis of how the Clinton presidency left the Democrats with no strong governors as presidential candidates is astute as far as it goes. But like most pundits, Beinart misses the core of Howard Dean's appeal: He treats the voters as intelligent people looking for substance, rather than rubes looking for vague slogans and big hair. He has a wonkish charisma. I've been hearing about Dean's potential for the past couple of years, ever since Professor Postrel caught him on C-SPAN and pegged him as the Democrats' rising star for 2004. That was before Iraq, before 9/11, before the Bush tax cuts, before all the issues that supposedly animate Dean's supporters. And Steve generally votes Republican.