Frankly, I hope they leave it alone.
The kid was stupid but so's his ol' man.
If we start bitchin' about the media burying this because he's a Dem we'll just stir up the pot and give the Libs ammo.
Posted on 06/21/2003 3:10:28 AM PDT by foreverfree
Howard Dean Says Son Allegedly Involved In Burglary
Teens Break Into Burlington Country Club
UPDATED: 11:14 p.m. EDT June 20, 2003
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Presidential candidate and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean says his son has been cited in court on charges of trying to burglarize the Burlington Country Club to get liquor.
Dean said his son Paul (pictured left), 17, and four other teenagers were involved in the incident.
WPTZ NewsChannel 5 reporter Lauren Cook said Paul Dean was questioned about the burglary at Burlington Police headquarters. Police told Cook that Paul Dean was with at least three other teenagers accused of breaking into the walk-in cooler at the club.
According to Cook, the restaurant manager said nearly $500 worth of beer and champagne were stolen after the burglars clipped the padlock on the cooler to get in about 4:30 a.m. Friday. The manager also said police told her that Paul Dean was driving the getaway car, and was actually caught when University of Vermont police noticed a suspicious car in the area. The manager told Cook that when police approached the vehicle, Paul Dean apparently confessed to the burglary, and gave police the names of the other three involved.
Howard Dean cancelled the rest of his campaign schedule for Friday and Saturday to return to Burlington to deal with the issue. In a statement released by his campaign office, Dean said:
"When a child gets in trouble like this, it constitutes a family crisis, and I believe it's important that I be home. I have canceled my scheduled campaign appearances tomorrow in Iowa so that I can return to Vermont and deal personally with what my family and I consider a very serious matter. I understand that this matter is being handled by the state's attorney and I hope the press and the public will respect the privacy of my family -- particularly of my son -- during this difficult time."
Dean said his formal campaign announcement scheduled for Monday is still going forward.
Related Stories:
June 20, 2003: Political Analyst: Son's Arrest Won't Impact Dean Campaign
June 20, 2003: Dean: Respect Privacy Of My Family Have a comment about this story? E-mail our newsroom.
Copyright 2003 by TheChamplainChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
Not that Dean would have my vote anyway (he won't), but this could happen to anyone. Keep that in mind.
foreverfree
Is that how you felt about the Bush twins??
I've always said that politician's children should have their privacy...Chelsea, the Bush twins, Gore's. I still feel that way. But, gosh. Lots of people in the US have raised, and are raising, children who know what "grounded for life" means, and what would cause that situation.
Maybe some good will come out of this situation. Maybe the politicians will sit their children down and explain how while they are in the public eye, obey the law, or it's Bob Jone University for them!
Will this affect the Dean run? You know, I think it will. The others were already in power when their kids acted like idiots.
Frankly, I hope they leave it alone.
The kid was stupid but so's his ol' man.
If we start bitchin' about the media burying this because he's a Dem we'll just stir up the pot and give the Libs ammo.
Agreed, as long as the parents don't use the children as a political tool which the Clintons did. In the case of Clinton's "in your face" use of Chelsea as a prop was not only disgusting but made even more so by Chelsea's display of self assumed relevance.
With all due respect... dogsqueeze.
It sounds like you're condoning it whether you are or not.
Indeed. As a state rep, he authored a law blocking the return of land taken under "railroad right of way" to the current holders of the deed.
The real crime is that it took 20 years+ to overturn the law. Dean must have been in cohoots with then-mayor Bernie Sanders.
Looks like he was already taking your advice...
I have canceled my scheduled campaign appearances tomorrow in Iowa so that I can return to Vermont and deal personally with what my family and I consider a very serious matter.
I'm a registered independent here in NH which allows me to vote in either primary. I will vote in the dem primary since that is where the action is. I had planned to vote for Rev. Al. He is clearly the most amusing of the lot.
I don't like Dean.....his politics, of course, but also he seems like a really arrogant fellow. Having said that, I sympathize with his plight here. Kids sometimes do stupid, or worse things, regardless of how good a parent, how involved one is. If Dean is getting the blame for his kid's failings, I'm tempted to give him my 'sympathy' vote.
Burglars broke into a windowless outdoor cooler that is locked behind a fence near the clubhouse, said Pat Middlebrook, restaurant manager at the Burlington Country Club. The cooler is locked with two "massive" padlocks, she said.
Breaking into the cooler would likely require knowing where it is, its contents and having the equipment to get through the locks, Middlebrook said.
The suspects removed the contents in hockey bags, she said. Middlebrook on Friday retrieved 18 cases of beer -- Miller Lite, Heineken and Labatt's among them -- from the police department, she said.
"They didn't discriminate, they even took some non-alcoholic," she said.
I'm condemning it.
foreverfree
Really, having a son who knocks over a liquor store? I would think that would be a rarity even among black welfare mothers, who can point to adverse socioeconomic conditions and a lack of positive male parental authority in the upbringing of their children.
I would say the key words in the life of Dean's son are, ". . . lack of positive male parental authority." Dean says he's for the children. Somehow he missed being around for his son.
NOTE: Don't say, "Well, Bush's daughters are wild, too." Bush's wild daughters only prove my point, that we have got to stop imagining that politicians can take better care of our children than we can, when it is quite evident that politicians have trouble taking care of even their own children.
Why do the least and worst among us choose to lead us, and why do we let them do so?
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