Corn makes a strong case for David Plouffe as DNC chair here.
As the manager of Obama’s campaign, Plouffe steered the best-run presidential campaign in years. He put together an effective campaign structure. He efficiently matched man, message, money, and machine. Developing his own version of Dean’s 50-state strategy, Plouffe expanded the electoral map for Democrats. In public, he projected an image of calm, confidence, and competence. His public spin was always tethered to reality. He came across a master mechanic who believed in the mission, not an ideologue or a grandstander. And he beat the toughest, most experienced operation in politics: the Clintons.
It all makes perfect sense. Who better to build on Dean’s success than Plouffe? As I wrote yesterday when I first suggested Plouffe, Senator McCaskill is an outstanding senator, but we don’t need a good spokesperson or surrogate for the DNC right now. We have the White House for that, and, you know, a hugely popular president-elect. The Democrats need to parlay their gains in the south and west while continuing to secure Latinos, Ohioans and Virginians.
UPDATE: Never mind. Ambinder is reporting that Plouffe doesn’t want the gig. He might need some time to decompress and anything is possible, so I’m not entirely convinced it won’t happen. Optimism!
