Nation-Building

IT looks like Dean is making progress in Iowa, where they no longer preface his name in the headlines as VT's Governor: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean fields questions at the IMU on Monday evening about his plans to run for president in 2004. The event was sponsored by the University Democrats. Joanne White/The Daily Iowan Dean, who has announced that he will not seek re-election as governor, has been compared with Carter, a small-state outsider up against a field of big-name Democrats. "I love Iowa," he said. "I often tell people that if you steamroll Vermont, you have Iowa."

Dean is in Iowa, this is from the Iowa Press Citizen, here are some excerpts from his speech: Dean, who spoke Monday night at the Iowa Memorial Union, also said he would endorse a pre-emptive strike against Iraq if it can be proven that Saddam Hussein has access to weapons of mass destruction and the means to discharge them. He said President Bush has never proven that case. "Pre-emption is not off the table, but the moral high ground does matter," Dean told the audience of roughly 60 people. "It's important that others respect our decision, and it's important that we respect our own decision."... Dean described himself Monday night as a political moderate who can balance budgets, reduce the deficit and spend wisely on social programs that reduce child abuse and make health insurance accessible. He also said he was pro-choice and in favor of rights for all people, including those who are gay. "I'm tired of being bullied by the ri...

From Boston's NPR affiliate, WBUR (website: wbur.org) comes this interview with Dean. It's an audio link, requires RealAudio. Here is the direct audio file link . The promo text on the website reads: Howard Dean says he's running for President, and on paper he's quite a candidate. He's the longest-serving Democratic governor. He signed the first law in the country to allow gay unions. And, he's got the endorsement of America's favorite president-that-isn't: Martin Sheen. In real life, most Americans would pass Howard Dean on the street without a second glance. Can a candidate with just about zero national name-recognition actually make a viable run for the nation's highest office? Tonight, Howard Dean, the invisible candidate.

Heavily quoted, good info on how it's going in Burlington: MONTPELIER -- Howard Dean's first task as a presidential candidate was being noticed and taken seriously among the large cast considering a 2004 race. He believes he's been successful, and now Vermont's soon-to-retire governor is turning his attention toward raising the money that also will be a test of his viability on the national stage. "We're in the mix," Dean said at a news conference devoted primarily to state issues this week. "Now we've got to raise some money." Recent national news media coverage supports Dean's contention.... "If you read a story now on the national level about who's running for president, it's not John Kerry, John Edwards and Al Gore," said Kate O'Connor, who is coordinating Dean's presidential campaign. "It's John Kerry, John Edwards, Al Gore and Howard Dean. So that's a huge accomplishment for...

New poll results indicate that Vermonters have ambiguous feelings for Governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign. George Bush would get 44% of the Vermont vote and Dean would receive 36%. Others were undecided or favored neither candidate. (Davis) " If at this stage of the campaign, Dean cannot even show potential supporters that he's beating the president in his home state, those supporters are going to wonder what the staying power of the Dean campaign is ." (Dillon) Davis suggests that there are several factors working against Dean in his home state. First, Vermonters are used to Dean as governor and may have a hard time picturing him as president. Second, with the nation facing a dangerous international situation, the public may want to support the president. Still, Davis says it's hard to imagine a candidate winning a presidential race without being able to carry his home state.

"The president has to do two things to get the country's long-term support for the invasion of Iraq," Dean said in a telephone interview. "He has done neither yet."

Shelia's list is the subject of the article, a carefully culled and cross-checked computer list of the 105,000 adult Iowa Democrats who have attended presidential caucuses-- The cost — complete with phone numbers, post office boxes, cell phone numbers (the works) is $65,000. So far, Dean and Edwards have been the only ones to buy the list (which is a sure sign of running. Kerry is apparently about to buy the list. Here's Freidman's presentation of Dean: THE STOCKBROKER’S SON Dean — son of a stockbroker, Yale grad, physician who moved to rural Vermont to practice medicine — has a “narrative,” too: the Good Doctor who wants to heal society’s wounds, especially its medical programs. Small and compact, with a low-to-the-ground wrestler’s build, Dean has a no-nonsense sense about him, and a combative streak. Though he is a fiscal conservative (and a proud opponent of gun control) he is an unabashed liberal in other ways: for civil unions, for Hillary-style ...

Since Bush's speech last week to the United Nations, Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John Edwards (D-N.C.) have made clear they would back the use of force against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, while House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) has suggested he would, as well. Sources close to former Vice President Al Gore, the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee, say he will shortly endorse the prospect of military action. Even Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who has consistently raised questions about a potential strike against Iraq, appears to be moving toward supporting force, sources close to him say. This hawkish consensus could leave an opening for a so-called peace candidate in the developing Democratic race. At the moment, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who's openly exploring a presidential candidacy, appears the most likely to audition for that part. The little-known Dean has been more critical of possible military action than any other potential ca...

The Scrum -- who says it's too early to start thinking about the 2004 Presidential campaign? This little outpost will keep track of all the early developments -- is a good reference for 2004 activity. The editor has affiliation with ABC's Political Unit, and gives more press to Edwards than anyone else-- Dean's sort of just below the radar usually. However, this isn't meant to be a criticism of the text. The Scrum serves up each political nuance, each 2004 press item, each campaign move from a nation press insider position. Check out The Scrum to glean insights from the 2004 presidential campaign process. In mentioning "anti-gun control" alongside Edwards (and Dean's) semi-advocacy of the position, The Scrum points out that the first three primaries will all be in states where rural friendliness may be a political asset: New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina . The early focus seems to be on the first three primaries. It's likely that we...

This is a report from The Orlando Sentinel about the remarks that Dean delivered to an audience assembled by Out & Equal, a local advocacy group. Dean has embarked in recent months on a whirlwind schedule of speaking engagements as he builds support for his bid for the Democratic nomination for president in 2004. Governor Dean will be in Portland on the 24th of October. There is a medical conference where is is speaking, as well as some campaigning in Portland, and SW Washington-- possibly with WA 3rd CD Representative Baird. Washington is an important early primary state, and will resonate strongly with Dean's message.

It's a sensible position, as the cultural divide continues, there's no reason why VT, NY and OR should not be able to transcend the bigotry of other states. It's a fine needle to thread though, if Dean wants to win any states in the rockies or south. “As president of the United States, I will recognize civil unions, which will then allow full equality under the law as far as the federal government is concerned,” Dean said in a speech to the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association convention in Philadelphia. Dean said it was not the federal government’s role to become involved in marriage statutes. He pledged that if elected he would do all he could to undo the Defense of Marriage Act, passed during the Clinton administration, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing marriages between any couples except one man and one woman. He made a point of emphasizing he was not advocating full marriage rights. Nor was he pressing other states to e...

Courtesy of Lawrence, here's Dean's campaign schedule for the rest of this month: Sunday, September 15, 2002 1:00pm Speak at North Dakota Democratic Party lunch, Holiday Inn, Grand Forks, North Dakota Friday, September 20, 2002 6:00pm Speak at AFL-CIO COPE dinner, Southfield Weston Hotel, Southfield, Michigan Saturday, September 21, 2002 6:00pm Speak at Keene County Democrats spaghetti dinner, Keene, New Hampshire Sunday, September 22, 2002 5:00pm Speak at National Education Association's State Presidents' meeting, Radisson Hotel, Burlington, Vermont Monday, September 23, 2002 5:00pm Attend reception for Julie Thomas, candidate for Congress, Iowa City, Iowa   6:00pm Attend reception for University of Iowa Young Democrats, Iowa City, Iowa   7:00pm Address students at University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa Tuesday, September 24, 2002 12:00pm Attend lunch for Julie Thomas, candidate for Congress, Iowa City, Iowa Thursday, September 26, 2002 6:00pm Reception for New Hamp...

"People in Iowa are similar to those in Vermont," said Gov. Dean this past week as he relaxed on a park bench along the banks of the Mississippi River in Guttenberg.

It's an online poll (though not one where you can cast multiple votes) but still, Dean's ahead with those who are ahead of the curve. Also on MyDD, an entry " The Republican Cultural Wars are Turning Inward-- Speed It Up With Dean " was made about a week ago, with many interesting comments that follow.

More news from Iowa, where they are still headlining Dean's name in conjunction with Vermont. Dean is going to be practically living in the early primary states during 2003. Here are some excerpts: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said Thursday that only by "cleaning house in Washington" can Iowans hope to receive more from Medicare, the health care program for the elderly. "To be boldly partisan about it, as long as you have Republican congressmen in the majority, this is never going to change," Dean said while traveling in northeast Iowa. "The Bush tax cut plan is what's causing this." Dean said it is unreasonable to expect lawmakers from states such as Louisiana and Tennessee, where medical providers are reimbursed at twice the rate of those in Iowa, to support Medicare changes that would take money away from those states to help reduce the disparity. "You're going to have to add money to the Medicare system," he said. "Bu...

Politicians are usually very reactive with their public positions. Dean is stepping out once again ahead of the pack. There are so many good nuggets of 2004 politics in the Wall Street Journal 's sidebar-ish take under the header "Key Democrats Voice Doubts on Iraq Plan," that mostly what we will tell you here is that it is a must-read. The Big Six (Daschle, Gephardt, Gore, Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman) all get mentioned in the piece, with good analysis and quotes, but let the record show that Gov. Howard Dean owns the third paragraph (mentioned after only Daschle) all by himself: "And one 2004 Democratic presidential prospect, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, declared that 'there's substantial doubt that [Saddam Hussein] is as much of a threat as the Bush administration claims.' Though Americans might initially rally to military action, 'that support will be very short-lived once American kids start coming home in boxes,' Mr. Dean warned Wed...

(September 4, 2002, By MIKE GLOVER The Associated Press) The Associated Press reports (in the Rutland Herald) that Dean has restated some of his opinions regarding Iraq. It's a good overview of his position on the issue (though it does rehash some of the tidbits from earlier articles). Dean warned the president is badly mistaken if he thinks voters will blindly support an attack. “He needs to first make the case and he has not done that,” Dean said. “He has never come out and said Saddam (Hussein) has the atomic bomb and we need to deal with him.” Dean said he wasn’t sure why Bush wasn’t making his case more forcefully. “It is in the minds of a lot of people and they are worried,” said Dean. “They want to support him, but he hasn’t given them a reason.” Once Bush has verified that Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, Dean said Bush needs to make his evidence public and then be clear about the consequences of an attack. “He needs to be forthright w...

Personally, I was very much in opposition of the Yucca Mountain waste repository, but it seems Governor Dean was not. Along with the other New England governors, he signed a statement in favor of Yucca Mountain: "The Governors of all the New England states with operating or decommissioning nuclear power plants urge your staff to move promptly on the issue of disposition of spent nuclear fuel. Once the review process for Yucca Mountain has been completed, you should expedite the recommendation to the President for siting the permanent federal facility." Dean's own statement reads, "I would also stress that last week's terrorist action makes it imperative that the federal government live up to its commitment to store spent fuel at a national facility." I'd be interested to know if his view has shifted since last September.

The ABC Political Unit always comes up with interesting information about the 2004 contenders, here's what they say about Dean today: In case you missed last Saturday's Capitol Gang, Service Employees International Union chief Andy Stern told Al Hunt that Howard Dean is "making the most waves" for union people, "and basically because he's talking about universal health care … This is going to be a campaign about issues, and I think Howard Dean's taken a good start on it." Take heed, as Stern's union is the biggest in the country. Speaking of labor, Dean gets a "by the way" nod from the Manchester Union-Leader's reporter at the New Hampshire AFL-CIO Labor Day breakfast. "Dean, who is considering a run for the Presidency, told attendees that President Bush's tax cut had sent the economy into a tailspin because it wasn't directed at the right people." Here's the quote from the NH Paper: Democ...

I found an interview with Dean on medscape.com in which he discusses managed care. Registration is required, but I've created a catch-all account for our readers to use if they'd like to view the article in it's entirety. Login name is hd2004 and the password is abc123. If Dean is going to stick his neck out in support of universal health care, then it is imperative that the electorate be privy to his thoughts on the issue of managed care. He seems to support HMOs, but also suggests ways to improve the quality of care and streamline the system. Here's a quick excerpt from the article, which appeared in Healthplan Magazine, vol 43, number 3 sometime in 2000 (the site doesn't specify a publication date, sorry), and was conducted by Christopher J. Gearon. A Fan of HMOs - An Interview with Vermont Governor Howard Dean, MD When it comes to health care, Howard Dean, MD, governor of Vermont, has heard the beat of a different drummer. An internist, the Democ...

This seems to be a pretty balanced article. It includes commentary from both Democrats and Republicans who've worked with Dean since he took public office. There are both positives and negatives included in the article, which leads me to believe this is the fairest assessment I've read so far. A sample of the negative, from Joe Acinapura, chair of the Vermont Republican Party: "He didn't do anything to reduce the regulatory burden." A sample of the positive, from Con Hogan (a Republican, I might add - Anna), Dean's former Secretary of Human Services: "We had some beautiful arguments, and that's one of the neat things about this guy; he could push you to the wall behind closed doors, absolutely, and I had the privilege of being able to do the same. But the neat thing was that once that was over you never look back; neither party ever looked back. It was always looking forward." Hmmm, looking forward - what a concept. =)

This USA Today article presents Dean as the most active Presidential candidate as of yet. With his retirement in January as Governor of VT, he'll be campaigning even more, here are some excerpts, including early financial numbers: "Just by the traveling you can see how serious I am," he says in an interview. He already has a full-fledged presidential fundraising committee. The others have yet to take an intermediate step — forming an "exploratory" committee. "Exploratory committees are silly," he says. Dean, who returns to Iowa this week, readily admits that "money is my Achilles' heel." He has raised less than $200,000 since Jan. 1, 2001, according to the latest report to the Federal Election Commission on June 30.... Compare that to the brisk fundraising that the other prospects are doing through political action committees. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., the party's vice presidential candidate in 2000, reported raising ...

This MeFi discussion is interesting, and may be worth adding your own two cents to (especially since Haloscan seems to have crashed and I've been forced to disable the comments. BTW, I'm working on getting a forum added to the page). The most intriguing idea raised by this MeFi thread is the possibility of a Dean/McCain ticket. I think McCain would make a fantastic vice president, and the two would go extremely well together (esp since some of McCain's staff from 2000 have already joined Dean). And think of the advantage and huge publicity, especially in declaring the joint ticket so far in advance! Remember the "veepstakes" nonsense last time after the conventions? By deciding the veep this far in advance, I think they can really make a solid entrance and steal a LOT of the others' thunder. They could even call themselves the Supermen :)

This is a link to the issues page on Dean's campaign website (which still is extremely lame.) It's probably the most important thing to read if you are considering supporting him. There's a lot of info there, though also some notable omissions (such as no mention of the Israel-Palestinian conflict). Hopefully this page will expand as the campaign continues.

Why Few Senators Become Presidents (By David S. Broder, Sunday, June 23, 2002; Page B07 ) Here's another Broder article in the WaPo that is presciently devoted to Howard Dean as a topic, but doesn't once mention his name! It dates from June, which was actually before the landmark artcles in TAP/TNR. Note that it also precedes Broder's essay drawing heavy comparisons to Carter and Dean by about two weeks (see here ) In all of American history, only two men -- Warren Harding and John Kennedy -- have gone straight from the Senate to the White House. Bob Dole in 1996 was the last sitting senator to win a party nomination (though he resigned his Senate seat a few months before the convention) and, like most of his predecessors, he was whomped in the election. In 2000, two men who had spent most or all of their public careers as senators, Al Gore and Bill Bradley, and a sitting senator, John McCain, were in the race -- and all three lost. The statistics show tha...

The campaign is in the process of moving out of Montpelier and into Burlington. This is a good strategic move, placing the campaign headquarters just across the lake from New York, and a quick drive down I-87 to Albany-- a powerhouse of regional politics. Dean's a Yankee himself, born in NYC, and already has commitment from some former top McCain staffers in NY to join the Dean campaign. Here are some excerpts from the article: Kate O’Connor, who described herself as the “governor’s political director” in last month’s New Republic magazine profile of Dean, said the campaign was doing better than originally projected and a larger staff was needed to handle the growing work. “We’re ahead of where we thought we’d be,”.... O’Connor said the “Dean for America” headquarters was being moved from Montpelier to Burlington, and four other staffers were either hired or were being hired. The change is effective Sept. 1. O’Connor said fund raising was a big priority now. “We’re working...

Stephanie Dziczek, a student at Holmes High School in Covington, Kentucky won some kind of "Profiles in Courage" essay prize contest from the JFK library with this piece lauding Dean's decision to sign the nation's first law permitting gay civil unions. I'm interested in this because it seems to me that Dean's best hope in defusing the criticism he'll inevitably take for such a controversial action will probably be to try and do a bit of political jujitsu and say that his willingness to make tough, unpopular calls shows he's the sort of decisive, courageous leader the American people need in the White House.

Besides lacking name recognition (which, I flatter myself, this site my help resolve) a major obstacle that seems to face Dean is his related lack of money. This description of the Dean machine seems to bare out the thesis that he's hurting for cash: Dean accomplished all this with a miniscule organization.  Kate O'Connor, who serves as Dean's secretary of civil and military affairs and has run past Dean campaigns, oversaw the presidential effort on a part-time volunteer basis.  A junior from Seton Hall University started as a full-time volunteer in mid-May 2002.  Veteran Democratic consultant Joe Trippi, whose experience includes work on the presidential campaigns of Edward Kennedy, Walter Mondale, Gary Hart and Richard Gephardt, and his partner Steve McMahon have been the Governor's media consultants for the past five elections; they continue to advise Dean and would likely continue working with him in the event he decides to make a run. Normally, I take it,...

A Q&A session with the NYT's, here's a few (Howard Dean photo by Mackenzie Stroh): You are arguably the least-known candidate running for the Democratic presidential nomination, even though you've served longer than any standing Democratic governor -- 11 years -- and according to a longtime observer of Vermont politics, you've been ''running for president since you were 15. '' That's abject nonsense. I realized that I could do this after my last election campaign for governor. I actually toyed with running before the 2000 campaign, but I realized at that time there was no way I was going to beat an incumbent vice president. You know Bill Clinton well. Has he given you any advice on running for president ? He was very helpful in framing an issue that's become the most important one in the campaign -- economic security. People are not angry at business, but they don't trust it. What he helped me do is frame the issue withou...

Moe Robinson at PoliticsVT.com has a Dean page up that he updates regularly. It includes links to all the recent stories, and some of the events that Dean will attend. Dean will be traveling all over the country in 2004, and I encourage others to go out and hear him while the crowds are still small, get a chance to meet and speak with him perhaps. I did earlier this year in Seattle, and wrote On meeting Governor Howard Dean in his questful candidacy for President afterwards. Here are some of his upcoming events, from PoliticsVT.com: Upcoming trips for Governor Dean August 29- Dean will deliver the Pi Sigma Alpha lecture at the 2002 meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, Massachusetts September 4- Dean hosts fundraising reception for Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, Des Moines, Iowa September 5- Dean hosts fundraiser reception for Ann Hutchinson, Democratic candidate for Congress, Waterloo, Iowa September 6- Dean ...

This appeared in The Brown Daily Herald on Friday, February 22, 2002, and has some interesting comments that follow the article. Here are some excerpts: Dean said his main theme on budget issues was one of fiscal conservatism. “Social justice comes from a balanced budget,” he said. Dean cited his own terms as Vermont’s governor as an example of this conservatism. “People knew I wasn’t going to waste their money. We can’t start programs we can’t afford,” he said.... Prison reform, healthcare and education are some of the governor’s pervasive concerns, Dean said. Starting early on in the first weeks of a child’s life and providing services through such venues as Vermont’s Success At Six intervention program, Dean said, would be more effective for reaching unemployed, discouraged, single or young mothers, cost effective for the taxpayer and ultimately, better the youth immeasurably.... “Governors come off to people as ‘I’ve been there, I’ve had to make the tough decisions,’” Dean s...