Free Republic

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee leaped to the defense of the party's 2004 presidential nominee Wednesday against charges that he was insulting American troops serving in Iraq. Howard Dean, in comments to reporters in his home state, said Sen. John Kerry had committed "a blooper," but the reaction had given Democrats an opportunity to highlight what they describe as the Republicans' weaknesses on the Iraq war. "Kerry made a blooper. Bloopers happen," Dean said at the state party's campaign headquarters. "I think we want to focus on the president's intemperate rhetoric in saying to vote for a Democrat...