Nation-Building

IT looks like Dean is making progress in Iowa, where they no longer preface his name in the headlines as VT's Governor: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean fields questions at the IMU on Monday evening about his plans to run for president in 2004. The event was sponsored by the University Democrats. Joanne White/The Daily Iowan Dean, who has announced that he will not seek re-election as governor, has been compared with Carter, a small-state outsider up against a field of big-name Democrats. "I love Iowa," he said. "I often tell people that if you steamroll Vermont, you have Iowa."

Dean is in Iowa, this is from the Iowa Press Citizen, here are some excerpts from his speech: Dean, who spoke Monday night at the Iowa Memorial Union, also said he would endorse a pre-emptive strike against Iraq if it can be proven that Saddam Hussein has access to weapons of mass destruction and the means to discharge them. He said President Bush has never proven that case. "Pre-emption is not off the table, but the moral high ground does matter," Dean told the audience of roughly 60 people. "It's important that others respect our decision, and it's important that we respect our own decision."... Dean described himself Monday night as a political moderate who can balance budgets, reduce the deficit and spend wisely on social programs that reduce child abuse and make health insurance accessible. He also said he was pro-choice and in favor of rights for all people, including those who are gay. "I'm tired of being bullied by the ri...

From Boston's NPR affiliate, WBUR (website: wbur.org) comes this interview with Dean. It's an audio link, requires RealAudio. Here is the direct audio file link . The promo text on the website reads: Howard Dean says he's running for President, and on paper he's quite a candidate. He's the longest-serving Democratic governor. He signed the first law in the country to allow gay unions. And, he's got the endorsement of America's favorite president-that-isn't: Martin Sheen. In real life, most Americans would pass Howard Dean on the street without a second glance. Can a candidate with just about zero national name-recognition actually make a viable run for the nation's highest office? Tonight, Howard Dean, the invisible candidate.

Heavily quoted, good info on how it's going in Burlington: MONTPELIER -- Howard Dean's first task as a presidential candidate was being noticed and taken seriously among the large cast considering a 2004 race. He believes he's been successful, and now Vermont's soon-to-retire governor is turning his attention toward raising the money that also will be a test of his viability on the national stage. "We're in the mix," Dean said at a news conference devoted primarily to state issues this week. "Now we've got to raise some money." Recent national news media coverage supports Dean's contention.... "If you read a story now on the national level about who's running for president, it's not John Kerry, John Edwards and Al Gore," said Kate O'Connor, who is coordinating Dean's presidential campaign. "It's John Kerry, John Edwards, Al Gore and Howard Dean. So that's a huge accomplishment for...

New poll results indicate that Vermonters have ambiguous feelings for Governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign. George Bush would get 44% of the Vermont vote and Dean would receive 36%. Others were undecided or favored neither candidate. (Davis) " If at this stage of the campaign, Dean cannot even show potential supporters that he's beating the president in his home state, those supporters are going to wonder what the staying power of the Dean campaign is ." (Dillon) Davis suggests that there are several factors working against Dean in his home state. First, Vermonters are used to Dean as governor and may have a hard time picturing him as president. Second, with the nation facing a dangerous international situation, the public may want to support the president. Still, Davis says it's hard to imagine a candidate winning a presidential race without being able to carry his home state.

"The president has to do two things to get the country's long-term support for the invasion of Iraq," Dean said in a telephone interview. "He has done neither yet."

Shelia's list is the subject of the article, a carefully culled and cross-checked computer list of the 105,000 adult Iowa Democrats who have attended presidential caucuses-- The cost — complete with phone numbers, post office boxes, cell phone numbers (the works) is $65,000. So far, Dean and Edwards have been the only ones to buy the list (which is a sure sign of running. Kerry is apparently about to buy the list. Here's Freidman's presentation of Dean: THE STOCKBROKER’S SON Dean — son of a stockbroker, Yale grad, physician who moved to rural Vermont to practice medicine — has a “narrative,” too: the Good Doctor who wants to heal society’s wounds, especially its medical programs. Small and compact, with a low-to-the-ground wrestler’s build, Dean has a no-nonsense sense about him, and a combative streak. Though he is a fiscal conservative (and a proud opponent of gun control) he is an unabashed liberal in other ways: for civil unions, for Hillary-style ...