You can tell what's really going on by inverting the RWCM's message

I really wish that Kos diarists had real names. It's embarrassing to refer you to a diary by "DemDachsund". But that's what I have to do. This diary gives some very good evidence that the corporate Bush Administration shills who control the media have put forth exactly the OPPOSITE of what Democrats should be doing -- and the Dems have historically fallen right into the trap. A few examples:

RWCM: "Al Gore has a crappy, unlikable personality and must reinvent himself if he expects to be elected."
Response: Gore re-invents himself
RWCM: "Al Gore has re-invented himself in order to get elected President. What a fake, two-faced, dishonest guy he obviously is. People should vote for Bush instead because he is so real. Whether you like his policies or not, you should vote for him because at least you know what you are getting."

RWCM: "The Democrats should support Bush and his policies after 9/11 because we need to be united and they need to prove to those real, non-elitist, patriotic Americans that they are willing to put party politics aside and be patriotic in a time of crisis."
Response: Dem congressional compliance and lack of alternate vision, followed by losses to Repubs in 2002 election.
RWCM: "Those Democrats lost because never articulated an alternative to what Bush had to offer. What a weak, namby-pamby, confused, pandering party!"

RWCM: "Dean is out-of-touch and unelectable. The Democrats should never nominate him. Anybody is better than Dean. Kerry, for example, is electable."
Response: Primary voters pick Kerry over Dean, allowing the media to (they thought!) permanently destroy Dean by making him out to be SUCH a pathetic loser because he went from front-runner to far behind so quickly and gave a speech that could be easily misportrayed on TV. The media beats up enough on Kerry that he becomes beatable (at least when you include GOP cheating), which would have arguably been harder to do against Dean because he would have fought back harder and would have (if he hadn't been demonized during the primary season) been able to continue his record of inspiring people to convert to our side. The RWCM knew they had to get rid of Dean, because (whether he was easier or harder to defeat than Kerry) he was the one who would further the reframing that needed to take place and would be the lightning rod for a strong, long term progressive movement.

RWCM: "The Dems better have a positive, upbeat convention because mainstream America just sees them as too negative and fanatically anti-Bush."
Response: Party holds what PR Week snidely termed the "Shiny Happy" Dem National Convention, with not much Bush bashing and lots of optimism and hamster stories.
RWCM: "Those Dems got up there and had this vapidly positive convention despite the fact that they are an angry opposition party who disagree with so much of the status quo. How insincere, lame, and strategically disastrous!"

Go read the rest. Then note the consistent "Dean is a disaster" meme going on in the corporate media, and YOU do the math.