Dean's rhetoric on war creates a campaign stir

From the Boston Globe, a story on how Dean's comments, misinterpretation by the press, and his own admitted gaffe are playing out:

In animated conversation on the floor of the US Senate on Wednesday, Kerry placed a hand on Edwards's shoulder and nodded in agreement as the North Carolinian spoke to him with visible passion. Then, pointing at the podium where the Senate's presiding officer sits, Edwards said to Kerry in a voice loud enough for a reporter in the overhead press gallery to hear, ''He got up there and lied.''

Edwards was referring to the speech Dean delivered to California Democrats last weekend, in which he stood at the podium at the party's annual convention in Sacramento and lambasted Edwards and Kerry by name for supporting the war. Dean, who has won a following with his antiwar pronouncements, sought to distinguish himself further by telling the delegates that both of his rivals had refused to stand by their position during their speeches to the crowd. The remark triggered cheers for Dean - even though he would later acknowledge it was wasn't true.

The part where Dean acknowledged his remarks weren't true is expanded upon near the end of the article, based on an interview he did with the Boston Globe on Friday:

In an interview with the Globe on Friday, Dean argued that his position about the war and his rhetoric surrounding it has been clear and consistent. ''I'm not going to use red-meat criticism and attack the president, but I'm not going to support his war policy, but I'm going to support the troops,'' he said.

While Dean said he was staunchly opposed to the war and planned to continue criticizing it, he also said the United States should keep fighting, putting him at odds with other antiwar activists who have been calling for an immediate cease-fire.

''We're in. We don't have any choice now. But this is the wrong choice,'' Dean said. ''There will be some who think we should get out immediately, but I don't think that's an easy position to take.''

In the interview, Dean acknowledged that he had mispoken in telling the California delegates that Kerry and Edwards had reversed their positions on the war.

''I didn't know what [Edwards] had said because I hadn't been in the hall and nobody told me,'' Dean said. ''Had I known what Senator Edwards had done, I would not have said that.''

This is going to get uglier before it gets better.