Nation-Building >> Howard Dean for Health and Human Services | return to front page

This is a ridiculous argument:

Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean is not a serious contender to be secretary of health and human services in the new Obama administration, sources said.

Dean’s name has appeared on short lists for the Cabinet post circulating throughout Washington, based largely on his party chairmanship and career as a doctor. Dean also passed health care reforms while governor of Vermont. And his allies said the Obama transition team has had some informal discussions with him about the job.

But the chief attributes President-elect Barack Obama is seeking in his HHS secretary will be an ability to work with members of Congress and shepherd reform legislation through the House and Senate.

That job description has turned out to be a particularly ill-suited one for Dean, given his partisan background and lack of congressional experience, sources inside and outside the transition offices say.

Dean never served in Congress and spent his Washington career trying to thin the ranks of congressional Republicans that the Obama White House will need to court during the expected debate on health care reform.

As others have pointed out, the argument is nonsense - after all, Rahm Emmanuel is Obama's Chief of Staff and spent his entire career not just opposing, but utterly reaming the very Republicans he will need to work with to advance Obama's agenda. I think it's likely that Rahm himself is behind this, give his intense animus against Dean for the 50-state strategy. The idea that Dean couldn't be an effective HHS Seretary for partisan reasons is simply ridiculous and transparent.

Labels: Howard Dean, President Obama