17 Things You Don't Know About Howard Dean

People.com ^ | January 14, 2004 | JD HEYMAN and JANE SIMS PODESTA

[billorites]

He's a hardheaded penny-pincher, she's a publicity-shy doctor. PEOPLE magazine sat down with Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean, 55, and his wife, Judy, 50, for their first joint interview. Read 17 things we learned about him, then peruse the exclusive transcript.

1. He calls his wife "sweetie"; she calls him "Howie."

2. He wore his prom tuxedo to one of President Clinton's White House state dinners to save money, but coughed and split his pants and had to be escorted home by state troopers covering his posterior.

3. His staff forced him to buy a new suit at Paul Stuart in New York for the campaign (it cost $800). "It nearly killed me."

4. He always turns off the lights when he walks out of a room. He used to get into fights with his wife about turning up the heat in the winter, so now she pays the bill so he doesn't have to see it.

5. The last sitcom he watched was All in the Family in its original run.

6. He is compulsive about recycling. Once he picked up every newspaper off an airplane at the end of a flight and hauled them to a recycling center. He also does recycling inspections of his staffer's bins.

7. He insists that paper in his office be printed on both sides.

8. He likes Outkast and Wyclef Jean (his son's music) as well as Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead.

9. He fixes the toilet at home; plumbing is his "therapy."

10. He never takes taxis or limos. In New York City he takes the subway.

11. Asked his favorite food indulgence, he responds: fish. (He later amends this to chocolate chip cookies.)

12. He drinks generic ginger ale and snacks to save money.

13. He plays the guitar and harmonica. He sings '60s folk tunes (see: Peter, Paul and Mary above.)

14. Despite his reservations about cost, he was finally persuaded to take his shirts to the dry cleaner last year. He used to just throw them in the wash.

15. As the governor of Vermont, he drove himself and pumped his own gas.

16. He has been known to tape his shoes together.

17. He wears '70s-style gold-rimmed glasses that he won't update; his wife carries a purse covered in pen marks. They are both devoted discount shoppers ...

[sweetliberty]

"I wish that I knew how to use Photshop. I'd love to see a pic of howie in a 60's era prom tux with a duct taped shoe"

LOL!

[massadvj]

BOTTOM LINE:

Anal retentive, narcissistic, cheapskate nutcake.

[Quix]

scrubbing while the Saudi's buy nukes . . .


over our dead bodies!

WHAT! AM i Saying!

Sigh.

[TASMANIANRED]

He uses both sides of the TP.

He makes his own copper wire with pennies.

He launders paper towels.

He patches his flannel shirts with discarded boxers.

He recycles dental floss.

He makes wax sculptures out of spent candles.

He collects rain water for toilet flushing.

He washed his pits on even days and showers in a teacup of water on odd days.

He filters and recycles listerine.

He collects the slivers of soap and keeps them in a mason jar to make his own liquid soap.

He only shops where he can double coupon.

He uses old toothbrushes to groom his wild ass eyebrows.

He stuffs pillows with collected dryer lint.

He makes his own soap out of saved tallow, fireplace ash and lye. ( sorry that one is for real, even if dated)

[Endeavor]

Dean's cheap with his own money but has no qualms about spending mine.

[Arpege92]

He's cheap! This sort of thing drives me nuts....I bet he still has the first dollar he ever made.

[longtermmemmory]

Nooooooooo its Dukakis Part II


(when did boring and personal cheepness become democrat virtues?)

[martin_fierro]

17 Things You Don't Know About Howard Dean
People.com -- JD HEYMAN and JANE SIMS PODESTA

Yes, I turn to PEOPLE magaazine for their hard-hitting political questioning. Especially by journalists named "Podesta".

[luckystarmom]

Okay, the money matters sound just like my husband. I finally persuaded him to get new shoes when he was interviewing for a new job. His old shoes had a flap in the front. Drove me crazy.

I've finally convinced him to take his shirts to the cleaners. Actually, he finally decided they look better when the cleaners cleans and irons them. He wants to look good for his new job.

He's not quite as obsessive about recycling as Dean, but I don't recycle much.

None of these things would make me not vote for Dean. I just don't agree with his politics.

[PRND21]

He also does recycling inspections of his staffer's bins.

Go Anal Weirdo Go!

[MattAMiller]

You don't think anybody's trying to make Dean appear to be fiscally responsible do you?

[Budge]

bump for later

[oldironsides]

That abortion issue was clarified in the interview. Both husband and wife worked at Planned Parenthood while doing their residency in internal medicine. They did exams. They were not qualified to perform abortions or surgical work.
I appreciated their candor on this issue. Internists do not perform surgery.

[ladylib]

Yeah, he's cheap alright.

Mired in the 70's.

[faithincowboys]

Looks like we won't be facing Dean. It looks like Clark or Kerry, outside shot of Edwards.

[BartMan1]

Good to see that People magazine is still carrying water for the liberals. I don't normally read them, not that I'd suspected otherwise

I differ; I think this is a not so subtle hit piece on Dean -- they've got his number, and all these little behaviors do nothing good for him at this point in time....

[Hand em their arse]

Ok, so for #5 his idol had to be "meathead", right?

[Cautor]

His favorite film character is Scrooge.

[Hand em their arse]

I'm so used to all of these guys being such dumb-asses that I thought he was known to have actually taped his "two shoes together"?

I think that's more his speed, no??

[honeygrl]

He sounds obsessive compulsive.