Howard Dean: A Citizen's Guide

Via Mildly Malevolent, I found this description of this book displayed on the sidebar. A sample from the article:

"SO WHAT KIND of a book is Howard Dean: A Citizen’s Guide? The encounter in St. Albans aside, it is a serious, somewhat dry read. Above all, it focuses on Dean’s record as governor. And it may contain a few surprises for newly minted liberal Dean supporters enamored of his opposition to the war in Iraq.

"For instance, when Lieutenant Governor Dean succeeded Republican governor Richard Snelling, who died of a heart attack in 1991, his approach to closing the state’s deficit was, if anything, even more conservative than that of his budget-cutting predecessor.

"Dean’s record on the environment is decidedly mixed. On the one hand, he was progressive on issues such as acquiring and setting aside open space. On the other, he ran roughshod over the state’s regulatory officials in easing environmental rules in order to court business development. "He was a great conservationist as opposed to an environmentalist," is how Ham Davis describes Dean’s legacy.

"Perhaps the book’s most fascinating section is on Dean’s approach to civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Like many casual Dean-watchers, I had been skeptical of Dean’s sincerity, since — as has been widely reported — he went out of his way to sign the bill out of view of news photographers, as though it were something of which he was ashamed. Yet he comes across in A Citizen’s Guide as masterful in his handling of the issue, knowing exactly how far he could go without provoking a backlash that would have overwhelmed both him and the cause of gay and lesbian rights."


Some of you might find it interesting.

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