Posted on 01/13/2004 6:58:18 PM PST by Pikamax
Democrat Dean Says Bush Obsessed with Re-Election Tue January 13, 2004 03:41 PM ET
By Mark Egan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Presidential hopeful Howard Dean admires former President George Bush but thinks the current president is "in some complicated psychological situation" with his father and is obsessed with re-election, according to a Rolling Stone interview released on Tuesday.
"I admire George Bush's father," Dean told the music and current affairs magazine.
"There were some things I strongly disagreed with him on, but he tried to be a good president," said Dean, one of nine prominent Democrats vying for the party's nomination for the November election.
"This president is not interested in being a good president," the former Vermont governor said. "He's interested in some complicated psychological situation that he has with his father. He is obsessed with being re-elected, and his obsession with re-election is hurting the country."
Some opponents have accused Bush of fighting a war in Iraq and ousting President Saddam Hussein to finish the business his father, who lost his bid for a second term in 1992, began with the first Gulf War.
This week, Bush's former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said removing Saddam Hussein was a top priority at Bush's first National Security Council meeting, just days after his inauguration.
Asked what he felt the current president's philosophy was, Dean said, "George Bush's philosophy is, 'If you're rich, you deserve it, and if you're poor, you deserve it.' That's not my philosophy."
In a lengthy interview ranging from foreign policy to gay marriage, Dean reserved his most critical comments for Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft.
"These guys are ... driven by an ideological view of the country, which they believe, literally, it's their God-given right to inflict on everybody else," Dean said.
An interview with Rolling Stone has become something of a rite of passage for candidates hoping to win votes among America's youth and has been known as an arena where candidates loosen up and say unusual things.
Dean bashed Bush over Iraq. "I don't think we should have been there in the first place. It didn't surprise me that the president made a mess of the place, because he didn't know what he was doing getting in."
Dems have leveled similar accusations at GWB about his father and Iraq for some time now. Howie's hoping against hope that the Prez's election campaign isn't as successful as his Iraqi one.
Dean and Clark, more that any of the nine seem to be trying to bait GW into some sort of response. He ain't biting so every attempt gets just a little farther "out there".
Well, it's my philosophy. In fact, I just stole it and am now useing it as my tag line. And I expect, when you get right down to it, it's the philosophy of a majority of the voters.
We shall see. Thanks to Howard for casting the election in such sharp relief.
Hey Howie! For the past year you have been trashing this President because of your obsession with wanting his job, yet to date, there has not been one response by President Bush to your absurd accusations.
The other 8 Jackals you're competing against for the nomination of the Democrat Party, have been doing much of the same for the past year, and there has been no response by President Bush to them as well. So I think your claim of obsession might be your way of coming clean with your own fixations.
Howie, you need to prepare for the inevitable and judging from your inability to handle people who disagree with you, suggest you consult a professional concerning your impending catastrophic and humiliating defeat to the man you claim is obsessed.
Hmmmm...methinks we've learned a little too much about Howard Dean's personal motivation.
Dean makes some of the weirdest most outlandish statements I've ever heard from a politician.
What on earth does his kooky junior shrink analysis of Bush address of ANY importance to this country?
I think Dean is meanspirited, petty and totally off the wall.
Maybe Jack Nicholson is available.
Howie is an interinst who interned at a Planned Parenthood clinic.
I agree. Bush is good at ignoring the petty attacks from the Dems.
Like they say. When you wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty.
But the pig likes it.
Bush is playing it very smart.
As in:
"Mr. Bush, forgive me, but I will teach you a little bit about foreign policy."
Or: "George Bush is not my neighbor."
Anyone know the current readership for this magazine. I've never read it and I've never known anyone else who reads it. (and I am not far from being considered "youth")
Anyone know the current readership for this magazine. I've never read it and I've never known anyone else who reads it. (and I am not far from being considered "youth")
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