Nation-Building

Not exactly good news. Then-Governor Dean had championed the Champlain Flyer, a commuter train running between Burlington and Charlotte. However, the train never met ridership expectations and has been losing money, and Dean's successor Gov. James Douglas plans to cancel it. To add salt to the wound, the train will be featured again on NBC Nightly News a part of the "Fleecing of America" segment, which is dedicated to wasteful government spending: MONTPELIER — The Champlain Flyer, a money-losing commuter train recently canceled by Gov. James Douglas, will make its third — and likely final — appearance on a national news program dedicated to government boondoggles. Crews from NBC Nightly News were in Montpelier Tuesday to film a story on the Flyer for the program’s “Fleecing of America” segment, which is devoted to exposing wasteful government spending programs. The commuter train between Burlington and Charlotte — championed by then-Gov. Howard Dean — made it...

The single best way to support Howard Dean is to contribute money to the campaign . As I have mentioned before , if you are on a fixed budget and have to choose between buying a bumper sticker or sending three bucks to Dean's campaign, donate the money. That said, Dean merchandise does play an important role in promoting the candidate, by increasing name recognition and ultimately helping to attract more supporters (and hence the pool of people who donate !). Dean bumper stickers are especially effective, because they are the most highly visible, and several Meetup organizers have been buying them to hand out at meetings. There are a number of other products in the Dean Store including postcards, t-shirts, and other gear. We are working to get mini-posters also made that can be displayed in public areas and mounted as signs. Imagine how cool it would be if Dean were to attend an event and see all the attendees wearing Dean hats and waving Dean signs :) Given that the campaign...

via The Daily Kos , comes this news story about the rising tide of anti-war sentiment among Iowans . Given that Dean is the only candidate who has not kissed Bush's rubber stamp, this gives him a marked advantage in that critical state for the primary run: Harkin was the warm-up act for the Democratic presidential candidate who is best positioned to ride the groundswell of dovish sentiment into next January's Iowa caucuses. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean earned the most enthusiastic standing ovation of the evening when he said: ''We ought not to resort to unilateral action unless there is an imminent threat to the United States. And the secretary of State and the president have not made a case that such an imminent threat exists.'' It wasn't too long ago that Dean was the Rodney Dangerfield of the Democratic race, the long-shot candidate from a minuscule state who didn't get much respect. But all that is changing fast, largely because of Dem...

Via the Bitter Shack comes a link regarding the wealth of the current presidential contenders. Visit the link above to take a look at Dean's numbers. Here's his sources of wealth in a nutshell: Salomon, Smith Barney Cash and Money Account ($910,000 - $910,000 ) US Treasury Bonds ($441,000 - $441,000 ) T. Rowe Price Cash Reserves ($316,000 - $316,000 ) 560 Acres of undeveloped land in Lowell, VT ($300,000 - $300,000 ) Vermont GO and Agency ($250,000 - $250,000 ) Asset breakdown: Cash, Savings $1,441,000 - $1,441,000 Stocks or Bonds $1,045,000 - $1,045,000 Real Estate $550,000 - $550,000 Other $390,000 - $390,000 General Investment $366,500 - $366,500 Feel free to peruse the site and check out the other contenders.

By RON FOURNIER and LAURAN NEERGAARD ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry will have his prostate removed Wednesday after being diagnosed with "a very early, curable" form of cancer, his doctor said. Dr. Patrick Walsh, a urologist at The Johns Hopkins Hospital who pioneered the safest form of prostate removal, said the Massachusetts senator should be back at work in a couple of weeks following the surgery. Kerry, 59, who is otherwise fit, has a 95 percent rate of being cured, Walsh said, citing his own newly published study of 2,000 patients who have undergone surgery. Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who was elected to the Senate in 1984, scheduled a 5 p.m. EST news conference at a Senate committee room to announce his diagnosis. Aides said the surgery will not effect his presidential campaign. Kerry, whose father died of prostate cancer while he was in his 80s, was diagnosed at a fairly young age. Walsh said that he...

In the NYT's, An Antiwar Democrat Leaves Room to Wiggle , By ADAM NAGOURNEY, Dr. Dean is used. In Iowa's DM Register, Candidate Dean rips rivals' stances on war with Iraq , By THOMAS BEAUMONT, Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is used. So, which one? Given the choice, the Dr. title is probably more of a maverick asset for Dean than being a former Governor. There's something about having the 'former' there that is relates Dean to the past, instead of the future. The 'Dr. Dean' title also gives emphasis upon his signature issue, health-care. UPDATE (by Aziz, via Lawrence ): It seems that Dean has let his medical license expire : BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) Former Gov. Howard Dean has let his license to practice medicine in Vermont expire. But Dean, who is a physician and a candidate for president, said it was an oversight caused by his busy schedule. He plans to pay the $25 penalty for a late renewal. Dean's license lapsed Nov. 30. The regu...

Courtesy of Democracy in Action, here is a link to the transcript of Dean's remarks to the Conference of Mayors. Lots of emphasis on economic issues, of course, and unfunded mandates. Much is a repeat of the content from the NPR speech, but still, Dean stays on message. Excerpt: I'm a fiscal conservative, a real fiscal conservative--I'm not a borrow and spend, borrow and spend, borrow and spend Republican who gives tax cuts by raiding Social Security and gives all the money to people who make more than a million dollars a year. No, what we did was--I've also been governor long enough so I had the pleasure of serving through two recessions, not one [laughter]. And after we got through the first one in 1990, we began to set aside money to pay off nearly a quarter of all our debt in the last decade. I never let the legislature spend too much more than the rate of growth and we invested in infrastructure, we invested in cities; we put all our state buildings in d...