AP: Dean attacks Kerry as a copycat

By Anonymous -
From the AP account of the Lake Placid rural issues forum:
"I appreciate Sen. Kerry saying we don't need Bush Lite, and we don't," Dean told about 1,000 people attending a forum on rural issues in Lake Placid. "But, Sen. Kerry, we don't want Dean Lite, either."
....
Before his speech, Dean told reporters that he had heard about fellow Democratic hopeful Kerry's speech to the forum and the warning by the senator from Massachusetts that Democrats had to stop acting like Republicans. "I heard he did a great job giving my speech," Dean said.
While Dean directed most of his criticism at Kerry, the former Vermont governor also said his other rivals from Congress too often have supported President Bush on the war with Iraq, tax cuts and other issues.

"They can talk the talk, but they aren't going to be able to walk the walk," Dean told reporters.

To the forum audience, he was as blunt: "What we need in this party is not just people who talk about backbone, but people who have it."
....
Dean, who grew up on Long Island and went to medical school in New York City, stressed his work as governor of a rural state in his speech to the forum.
"People know who I am," Dean said before his speech. "I have a little advantage in the North Country (of New York), comparable to what Senator Kerry has in New Hampshire" where residents often watch Massachusetts television stations.

Dean's speech was interrupted repeatedly by applause and cheers, as was Kerry's to a somewhat lesser extent.
The Reuters story on the forum skips the attack and says only,
"[Hillary Clinton] showed the Republicans they can't take upstate New York for granted," said Dean, a doctor and former governor of neighboring Vermont.

Dean took straight aim at Bush, denouncing the administration's support for tax cuts as a panacea for all ills. Whether the economy is booming or struggling, whether there is war or peace, he said, the Bush response is the same: "Take two tax cuts and call me in the morning.".

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