[Dr. Frank fan]

In all fairness, I'm with Dean on this one. If you look at his original quote, it's clear that he wasn't saying "the ends of getting the Husseins do not justify the means of the use of American military intelligence". He was saying ""the ends of getting the Husseins do not justify the means of invading Iraq." That's what he's supposed to say, he's the (D) favorite anti-war candidate, all his quotes are about that. I don't think he could give a quote about the baseball playoffs or Britney Spears's latest album without saying "this doesn't justify the Iraq invasion" for crying out loud.

McCain's original reaction to him, by contrast, was way off base. He implicitly put words in Dean's mouth which Dean did not say or intend, intentionally or uninintentionally misinterpreting what Dean's actual point was.

Now what Dean is saying is that he's been mischaracterized. Fine, quibble with the way he's saying it, but let's at least have the common courtesy to admit that he is correct.

[Pukin Dog]

In fairness, you are wrong.

Wrong, because if you place "in general" back into the quote, it makes the quote even worse for Dean. That is why he argues that "he never said it" instead of saying he was misquoted. Whether specific or intended, Dean stuck his foot in his mouth.

[Nonstatist]

the ends of getting the Husseins do not justify the means of invading Iraq

Was McCain implying that he was referring to something else? I didnt think so. . After all, Dean the demagogue blithely dismisses eradicating these two tyrants by saying we shouldnt be there. Why not just say its a good thing and leave it at that? He could expand later, for the 3893902th time on why he would never go to War over anything as mundane as our national interest.

If he feels "misunderstood", he really shouldnt. Most of us "get" it.