When did 'slippery' become a compliment?

Used to be that the inability to pin a politician down on a position made him 'slippery,' and therefore suspect. These days, some folks talk about Teflon candidacies with a certain sense of admiration. The LA Times takes a look at this year's inheritor of the label passed down from Ronald Reagan (I'll let you judge the value of that heritage).

Howard Dean is widely considered to be invulnerable to attack, at least among his most fervent followers. Most attacks, in fact, are quickly turned to his advantage among the faithful, posted with glee on his website and used to drum up yet another round of contributions.

The Times provides an example. ""It's about all of us saying [expletive] to all the pundits," said Michael Cannon, 49, a New Jersey state worker who attended a rally in Trenton with a Dean sweat shirt, T-shirt and button on the back of his cap. "Whenever negative stories surface, that just proves to me that I should be behind him all the more."

Note that it he's not concerned with the accuracy of the stories. That's the underlying principle of a Teflon candidacy - 'I made my choice, the facts be damned.'

The problem is, it's an approach that's been successful with about a third of the Democratic primary electorate, but that's hardly enough to make an election. It's enough, perhaps, to appear to be a commanding favorite in a crowded field, but it goes a long way toward explaining why the apparently popular Dean typically polls lower results in head to head matchups with George Bush than other Democratic contenders.

The danger is pointed out by "...skeptics, fearful that Dean would be a disaster as the Democratic nominee," who "say he may be getting the wrong signal from his fervent followers, in the same way an ill-mannered child is indulged by overly protective parents."

"Whenever he screws up, the campaign is quick to point out that e-mail traffic is up, contributions over the Internet are up," said John Weaver, a former advisor to Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona who now consults for Democratic candidates.

"But those are all coming from tried-and-true supporters. Surveys suggest a limit to his growth potential for a general election campaign, and that's what is worrisome to Democrats."

It sure worries me.