It’s amusing that Howard Dean, who furiously denounced the cronyism of the Bush administration, has installed his brother as placeholder chair of Democracy for America now that he’s DNC chair. Jim Dean has no obvious qualifications other than being Howard’s brother. Jim’s only function is to ensure that Howard retains control of the organization while he is running the party (even though he’s supposed to stay out of such matters while he’s chair).

Obviously this isn’t the same as no-bid contracts and the like, but it shows Dean is hedging his bets. And who wouldn’t? He could be out of there in six months. Dean’s already made this ill-advised and stereotypical comment to a meeting of the Democratic black caucus —
“You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room? Only if they had the hotel staff in here.” And there are all the highlights of the oppo files that will be rehashed in the months to come, plus Karl Rove is bragging about tape he has of a second Dean scream.

Just to review public opinion on Dean, who I thought was a terrible choice for DNC chair, the latest polling numbers are from CNN/USA Today/Gallup (2/4-2/6): 31% favorable, 38% unfavorable. The same poll found that the supposedly polarizing Dick Cheney was viewed favorably by 51% of Americans, and unfavorably by 41%. So don’t unpack, Howard. Your tenure could be short.