Posted on 03/15/2003 6:17:10 PM PST by prairiebreeze
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Bolstered by waves of anti-war sentiment, former Vermont governor Howard Dean is emerging as a contender in the crowded contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. That means more headlines, more donors and more scrutiny.
Dean is a family doctor, but he often sounds more like the image of a surgeon: blunt, aggressive, with a minimal bedside manner. His biting critiques of President Bush (news - web sites)'s war plans and what he calls Democrats' timidity strike some as angry, but they are just what some frustrated liberals long to hear.
At a state party dinner here last month, Dean blasted Bush on the economy, affirmative action and Iraq (news - web sites). He lashed his own party for supporting Bush too often and straying from its roots. And, borrowing from the late senator Paul Wellstone, he delivered what has become his signature line: ''I'm from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.''
He is in second place, after Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, in polls of New Hampshire, which holds the first primary. He is popular with dovish Democrats in Iowa, site of the first caucuses. And he's picking up a few prominent fundraisers, among them actor-director Rob Reiner.
Marc Landy, a political scientist at Boston College, says Dean was largely ignored while he defined himself as a folksy physician, humanitarian and tough-minded executive. ''He's done a beautiful job of marketing himself and staying below the radar screen while he's gone out and found rich liberals to commit to his campaign,'' Landy said.
Dean, 54, slipped into the White House race last May and has run a shoestring campaign complete with sleepovers at supporters' homes. He styles himself as the John McCain of 2004, a straight-talking rebel.
The death of Gov. Richard Snelling in 1991 catapulted Dean, then lieutenant governor, into the top job. He occupies a liberal niche in the presidential field, but in Vermont, he's been a hybrid: a fiscal conservative and supporter of gun-owner rights who staunchly defends legal abortion and signed a civil union law giving gay couples the rights of married couples.
Governing magazine named Dean one of 11 ''public officials of the year'' in 2002. It called him a ''frugal crusader'' who balanced budgets and cut taxes while expanding health coverage and other social services.
Dean promotes fiscal discipline and universal health coverage, but the focal point of his candidacy is his demand for continued efforts to disarm Iraq without war. If a war is short and deemed successful, he could lose steam. Dean has a Plan B, which is actually Plan A: Showcase his domestic record and ideas. ''I didn't get into this as the anti-war candidate,'' he says.
The former governor acknowledges that his rhetoric can be unpresidential. Some political analysts suggest he needs to be more careful. Until recently, he did not cite Wellstone as the source of his applause line. And at a nationally televised abortion rights benefit in January, Dean told a powerful story but left out a key fact.
A pregnant 12-year-old came to his medical office. ''After I had talked to her for a while, I came to the conclusion that the likely father of her child was her own father,'' he told his riveted audience. ''You explain that to the American people who think that parental notification is a good idea.''
What Dean didn't say was that he knew the father was not responsible; someone else was convicted. He defended his account in an interview with USA TODAY: ''The point of the story was that I suspected it was her father and (notification) clearly would have been a very serious problem.''
Joanne Ciulla, a leadership and ethics professor at the University of Richmond, says Dean gave ''the appearance of lying because he didn't reveal all the information.'' Darrell West, a political science professor at Brown University, says the incident reflects ''inexperience more than anything else.''
The Democratic field totals nine: Dean, Kerry, Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina, Bob Graham of Florida and Joe Lieberman (news - web sites) of Connecticut, Reps. Richard Gephardt of Missouri and Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, former senator Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois and civil rights activist Al Sharpton.
So far, Dean is the hands-down winner of the Mr. Uncongeniality contest. He ceaselessly attacks fellow candidates who voted for last fall's resolution authorizing Bush to use force against Iraq, contending they support ''unilateral war.'' The four who voted yes say they were convinced Bush would try to work through the United Nations (news - web sites). If there is a war, it won't be unilateral because some U.S. allies already are on board.
Dean is the first to routinely assail his rivals, but West says he won't be the last. ''In a big field, everybody is going to be clawing and scratching for each percentage point,'' he says. ''It's going to be like a dozen tarantulas in a jar.''
Another lying Liberal who never lets the truth get in the way of a good story. Maybe he should re-think the focal point of his candidacy in the next....3 or 4 days perhaps?
Prairie
And some frustrated reporters, apparently.
Only liberals employed by newspapers would believe that an anti-war, pro-tax platform is bold, invigorating, and anything other than instant death in a national campaign. Dean is still running for office in the United States, right?
The only brighter point for conservatives was when John Edwards, our own ambulance-chaser from North Carolina, was loudly booed and hissed when he spoke in support of action against Iraq.
This is rich coming from a USSR Today reporter.
Dean is a pro abortion liberal who had no choice but to go along to get along on gun rights in Vermont.
It may sell in Vermont but it's not going anywhere in the south and west.
His stance on gun rights is also overrated. He went along to get along.
"A FOX News poll conducted this week finds 71 percent of Americans support using U.S. forces to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and 20 percent oppose. Support has been at about the same level for the last eight weeks." --FoxNews.com
Well, I guess a "wave" is a "wave," whether you're talking about a one-foot swell, or a tsunami.
Well, it appears he's got the meathead vote sown up.
Yeah, if the "surgery" in question is abortion.
Give me a freaking break. Kudos to med school grads, but let's be real. GPs typically finished at the lower third of the class, not scoring well enough to qualify for a specialty field. This is a shallow attempt to elevate him to the same professional level as Frist. Ain't going to happen.
So, anybody from Vermont care to comment on how universal health coverage is working out there? Oh, he hasn't implemented yet? Hmm. I wonder why?
There hasn't been a President elected from outside the Sunbelt since JFK. If the RATS choose to nominate this guy they will do it knowing it's a suicide mission. They have moved so far Left that they will be seen as marginal at best in two years. This will be especially true after this war. There will be a lot of sheepish grins on these dolts in just a matter of weeks.
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