THE 50 STATE STRATEGY. I'm very committed to the James-Carville-is-a-wanker interpretation of his current assault on Howard Dean. But I think folks need a bit more precision in discussing what's at issue here. The 2006 election, as Matt likes to point out, wasn't a test of the 50 State Strategy. It was nearer to Chris Bower's 435 race concept, where every seat is challenged. The 50 State Strategy relies on funding state parties to put down infrastructure and staff to create long-term change. It simply couldn't have worked yet, not in any meaningful way. That's a feature, not a bug. It's an actual long-term vision, not a next-election gambit. Insofar as Carville is attacking Dean, it's a question of resources: Dean both didn't raise as much as some Democrats thought possible and didn't devote as much to 2006 as some -- like Rahm -- thought necessary. There's an argument to be had there. But it's a different one. The conversation going on now obscures this. David Sirota, for instance, mocks Carville for thinking "Howard Dean�s 50-state strategy had nothing to do with Democrats winning in places like Kansas and New Hampshire, where groups like the DCCC all but abandoned its own candidates." Carville's right, it didn't. And Dean would agree. Credit for the Kansas win should largely go to Kathleen Sebelius, whose skillful exploitation of a moderate vs. conservative crack-up in the state was the greatest, and most underappreciated, political performance this cycle. As for New Hampshire, the Northeastern conversion was largely a structural occurrence -- as Tom Schaller has repeatedly pointed out, it was a realignment. The three or four staffers Dean may (or may not) have put on the ground there likely had little do with it. None of this is an attack on Dean nor, for that matter, Rahm. Defend Dean's resource allocation if you want. But this election was not a referendum on the 50 State Strategy. It wouldn't have been had Democrats lost, it isn't now that they've won. The 50 State Strategy is an actual long-term strategy, the success of which won't be measurable for many cycles yet. I think it's an important gambit, and given how ready Carville was with the knife, it's a real blessing Democrats did far too well for Dean to be deposed, as this buys him time to pursue his vision. --Ezra Klein
