Dean news roundup

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean has exploded onto the pages of America's major newspapers today, partly because of his NPC speech and partly because of a new poll showing him in second place in New Hampshire. Here are some of the more important articles:

Vermont's Dean finds pace quickening on presidential run

From The Boston Globe:

At this point, Dean appears to have modeled his campaigning on Jimmy Carter's early start that led to the relatively unknown governor of Georgia winning the 1976 election, a strategy that has not worked as well for any presidential candidate since then.


''He'd like to play Jimmy Carter in the movie,'' said Democratic consultant Peter Fenn. ''But I'm not sure the movie script is the same as it was in 1976.''


Garrison Nelson, a political scientist at the University of Vermont, said that Dean has ''got three problems: demographics, strategy, and temperament.'' Dean has little experience reaching out to African-Americans, lacks a fund-raising or strong regional advantage, and has an abrupt manner that can be offputting, Nelson said.

Democrats Claim Niche Roles To Survive National Selection

From The Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required):

Best to claim is the "governor" slot, since Americans in both parties demonstrably prefer executive to legislative experience in their potential presidents. Moreover, governors -- see Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush -- get the double benefit of being Washington outsiders.

In a field stacked with Washington legislators, former Gov. Howard Dean has grabbed both the "governor" and "outsider" slots. As a liberal physician calling for universal health coverage, he has a valuable added calling card with the sort of upscale suburban voters who backed candidates such as Gary Hart and Bill Bradley in past campaigns. But he is weakened by his small base in Vermont, which is far from ideal as a Democratic launch pad.

Democratic candidates called short on stature

From The Washington Times (who else?):

A rising dark horse is Mr. Dean, who appeals to his party's liberal wing. "Howard Dean has been here a lot, dozens of times, and I think he has had an impact among voters here," said New Hampshire Democratic state Chairman Kathleen Sullivan.

Hopeful Relishes His Outsider Role

From the Associated Press via the Los Angeles Times (login required, use laexaminer/laexaminer):

The 54-year-old physician told a packed room at the National Press Club on Tuesday that he's willing to challenge President Bush on his policies ranging from Iraq, to the administration's education plan, to its tax cuts. He argues that he is the outsider Democratic candidate free of any congressional entanglements and willing to take on the president on a variety of issues. Most others currently in the race are in Congress. The debate in Washington over whether to pass a $670-billion tax cut or a smaller version is missing the point, Dean said.


"I call this the Argentine fiscal policy," he said at the event sponsored by Atlantic Monthly and the New America Foundation. "We are headed down a path in this country of borrow and spend, borrow and spend....


"George Bush 41 had it right," Dean said, referring to the president's father. "It is voodoo economics, and Democrats ought to stand up to the president and say, 'The right thing to do is repeal your tax cut because it did nothing to stimulate the economy and not talk any more about tax cuts until we've found, Mr. President, how we're going to pay our bills.' " Dean said people in his party are "so afraid to talk about that because they see the president's popularity and think, 'Boy, people want tax cuts.' "


Dean criticized Bush's education plan, the No Child Left Behind Act, by calling it the "no school board left standing" act.