BE AFRAID, GEORGE

Many in the media are trying to put Dean and Clark into some sort of historical context. It's either "Dean is McGovern, only now we have someone to save the party from him", or "Dean is Eugene McCarthy while Clark is RFK", and so on.

This is just laziness on the media's part, a desire to piggyback whatever's happening on to an old storyline.

Problem for the media, and Bush for that matter, is that 1968 probably didn't have scenes like this:

Thursday's Democratic debate began in downtown Manhattan, several dozen Howard Dean supporters faced off with a slightly smaller crowd of Wesley Clark fans. Standing with their backs to the Pace University auditorium, where the debate was held, the Dean supporters chanted, "We want Dean! We want Dean!"

Across from them, people holding signs saying "The Wes Wing" and "Wes Is Best," shouted, "We want Clark! We want Clark!" The shouts grew louder, each side trying to drown out the other.

Suddenly, one of the demonstrators yelled, "Down with Bush!" Both groups picked it up, amplifying each other -- "DOWN WITH BUSH! DOWN WITH BUSH!" When the police cleared the area for the candidates' arrivals a few moments later, the Clark and Dean contingents were chatting amicably. As they retired to separate downtown bars to watch the debate, members in both crowds could be overheard telling each other, "I'll work for you guys if you win!"

The rest of the article goes on to describe how Dean and Clark are mostly laying off of eachother, for now at least.