In the last few months, there has been much negative press surrounding the once Democratic primary front-runner Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont. His third place finish in Iowa Jan. 19 blew the race wide open, from what was once assumed a certain victory for Dean. Though his public image has suffered, Dean's supporters are still going strong. In the week after Iowa, he managed to raise more than $1 million, more than Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., the two who beat him in the Iowa caucuses.
Dean's campaign success is largely driven by hundreds of thousands of grassroots volunteers, not a skillful media image. There are a number of myths surrounding Dean, and I would like to take the opportunity to address each of them and explain why they are no't true.
That is to say, if he were to win the nomination, he would lose in a landslide to George Bush. Many have taken to labeling him a modern day George McGovern who lost the 1972 election to Richard Nixon in a 49-state landslide. This is quite simply not true. As expressed by long-time Democratic party insider Bill Press.
\I walked precincts for George McGovern in 1972. George McGovern is a friend of mine. Howard Dean is no George McGovern ... McGovern lost so badly mainly because he ran a lousy, inept campaign.""
Press continued, ""Howard Dean has run the most effective and impressive campaign in modern politics. He was the first to challenge President Bush on both the war in Iraq and the economy. He has raised more money than any other Democrat, mainly on the Internet, and he is the only Democrat who can match Bush's expected $200 million budget. He has recruited more volunteers.""
Dean is, in fact, the candidate the Republicans fear most. This is why they are trying to create an image that he would be a push-over, so the Democrats don't nominate him. The Republicans know that as long as we are battling over a shrinking pool of voters, they will continue to win. Dean is the only candidate with the ability to expand the base of the Democratic party, and this is precisely why the Republicans are trying to stop him early on.
One only need look at his record as governor of Vermont to get a sense of Dean's centrist philosophy. He is an avowed fiscal conservative, having balanced the budget of his state for all 11 years he served, despite Vermont being the only state that does not require a balanced budget. His most bruising political battles as governor were with the state's Democratic legislature over spending.
Strangely enough, his early opposition to Bush's Iraq war has since been imitated by the all other Democratic candidates except Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn. In fact, Dean has supported every single American war since the end of Vietnam. His opposition to this war stems from the fact that we were clearly misled into it. He realized this early on and had the backbone to stand up and say so when the other Democrats lacked the courage to speak out.
Despite being under constant fire during every debate leading up to Iowa, Dean was able to hold his ground without ever getting angry or losing his temper. I have seen Dean speak three times and met him personally twice. His now infamous ""howl"" in Iowa has been taken out of context and played endlessly by the media. The speech was a rally for his supporters. If you had been at the speech, you would have realized that he was shouting so he could be heard over the roar of the crowd. The microphone did not pick up on this since it was only on Dean. Everyone at the rally said that they could not even hear the ""howl"" because the crowd was so excited. On top of that, he was smiling when he made it.
Dean is an intelligent and rational politician. He is also a straight-talker. Though Dean does not always say everything in the most politically correct manner, most people are sick of politico-speak and would much rather have someone who speaks like a normal person.
This is the most ridiculous claim yet, but I have heard it from many people. Dean is about the most non-flip-flopping that politicians get. He is a straight talker so you always know what he thinks. It is easy to listen to a speech he gave 10 years ago, take a small quote from it out of context and make it look like he has flip-flopped since. Dean has changed his mind on about three issues since the '90s, but who did not?
It is one thing to take an intelligent look at the facts and re-evaluate your view. It is another to suddenly change your official position in order to pander to a particular political group. Many of the politicians in Washington do the latter, but they never have the courage to explain why their views changed. Dean always takes the time to explain why he has a belief, and if necessary, why he changed his mind. This is much better than his opponents can say. For example, Dennis Kucinich was staunchly pro-life until about a year ago, and Wes Clark gave praise to the members of the Bush administration while speaking at a Republican fund-raiser in 2001. Lieberman is the only candidate besides Dean who has remained consistent with his message, but unfortunately Lieberman is barely a Democrat.
In conclusion, Dean is perhaps the only candidate who can beat Bush. He has the most far-reaching campaign, the most fundraising abilities and the most consistent message. He stands by his beliefs and is the only candidate with the courage, leadership, and support to take on George Bush.
