Profile of Governor Dean in the Sunday Times
Sunday Times: Dr. No and the Yes Men
I really wanted to like this profile, but in the end I didn’t. The article lurches forward on a few assumptions: that the primary fuel for the Dean campaign is liberal rage, that Dean is a protest candidate and little else, that the Democratic establishment doesn’t get Dean or his appeal, and that Dean – despite his aura of McCain-like “straight talk” – is actually a calculated politician who is campaigning without a platform.
Here’s the thing – nearly none of that article summarizes why I’m supporting Governor Dean, what I see in his campaign that has converted me from an armchair Democrat into a political activist, or what I believe is wrong with the Democratic party right now. None of it.
Here’s what I see in Governor Dean:
- He’s passionate. He understands that a candidate should not earn your vote, he should inspire you. With inspiration comes hope, with hope comes action. This is why 27,000 (and counting) people have signed up at Meetup.com – he has inspired these people (myself included) to act. (Note: from the time I started writing this to the time I finished, 48 more people have joined the Dean Meetup. Amazing.)
- He’s articulate. When my wife and I hosted a fundraiser for Governor Dean last month, he fielded questions for more than 45 minutes. He hit every issue – from immigrant labor to voting rights for DC – square on the head. He didn’t waffle, and he took sometimes unpopular stands. But he addressed the questions asked, and communicated a coherent vision for what values should drive American policy at home and abroad. When Matt Bai (author of the Times profile) finds one supporter who can’t articulate Governor Dean’s position on gun control, he goes on to conclude that everyone must have blindly adopted the “he talks straight” without really understanding it. Bai is wrong – I’ve heard Governor Dean speak, I’ve watched the reaction of those hearing him for the first time, and I’ve listened to people articulate their disagreements with his policy in one breath and declare their support for his candidacy in the next.
- He’s smart. I don’t know how the country decided it was a good thing to have a President who’s no smarter than your neighbor. Scratch that – I do. Many voters – understandably, in some cases – equated President Clinton’s intelligence with his belief that he could think himself out of any crisis, thereby minimizing the long-term risk of those crises. As a result, we’ve got the “noo-clee-ur” President who disdains intellectual debate. You know what? I want a smart President in the White House. I want to know that they’ll think through a situation and come at it from angles I haven’t thought of. I never want an ounce of doubt that we as a country made a decision because my President lacked the intellectual curiosity to avoid the easy answer and find the right answer. Governor Dean has demonstrated he not only has the skill, he has the desire to ask hard questions and understand the nuances that permeate many of the hardest political issues today.
- He’s strong. When Andrew Sullivan reveals that Governor Dean has a “mean streak“, I am glad. Principled individuals who are willing to infuse their actions with tenacity are individuals I want on my side. This is one part of the Times profile I appreciate – Rob Reiner’s quote about Governor Dean: “This mother is tough.”
I’m not a liberal by a long shot. I’m a Democrat, one who believes that a balanced budget and an inclusive foreign policy that treats allies as equals are two critical elements of a successful Presidency. Beyond that, a responsible tax policy coupled with a coherent fiscal policy would be nice. And as long as I’m asking, why not ask for an administration that sees the Constitution as our founding document and not just a set of suggestions?
I want my country back. Howard Dean is the man who will get it back.
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Comments
Dear Presidential Candidate Dean
(by way of Mr. Rick Klau),
I am a fellow American (and
possibly a cousin ),
and one who is ‘mad as hell’
about George Bush and almost
everything he has done in the
name of the American People
since fraudulently making his
way into the People’s White
House.
Friday I learned of the new
White House email system, and
I used it to send Bush a note.
I share it with you (below) just
so you’ll know how I feel.
And how many other people feel,
but not enough yet. Their number
MUST grow so we can rid ourselves
of the FASCISTS who now control
the executive branch of our federal
government. (Yes, I don’t think that
‘fascists’ is unjustified or too strong
a word to describe these rascals.)
Here’s my note to Bush (sent July
18, 2003), as formatted by the
new White House email system:
To: President George W. Bush
From: Mr. William M. Dean
Subject: Write a Supporting
Comment on Education (Education)
Dear President Bush:
The subject is misleading. I chose
the ‘Education’ category because
none of the categories provided fits
my concern. Also, I don’t know what
‘a supporting comment on education’
is supposed to mean. Of course, I
support ‘education.’ Do I support
your policies? That’s another
question altogether.
Actually, what I support is the U.S.
Constitution’s provision for an
executive branch of government.
However, I do not approve of your
being the head of that branch.
One of the many, many reasons
that I disapprove of your holding
the office of President of the United
States is that you don’t really care
what my views, suggestions, and
concerns might be, whatever
assurance might be given by the
second sentence on your new
‘user-friendly’ website.
Another way of saying this is that
you are not a democratic president
(whether Democrat or Republican).
Your way (and the way of the
modern Republican Party) is the
way of the juggernaut rather than the
way of free and open debate.
I do not accept that you are
legitimately the President of the United
States. Your major opponent got more
votes, and Florida’s electoral votes
should have been thrown out, whatever
the ruling of the narrow majority on the
United States Supreme Court.
I do not approve of your huge tax cuts.
It amazes me that so many people
(many of whom even vote) seem to
believe your repeated (and repeated,
‘on message’) assurances that such cuts
are necessary to jump-start or stimulate
the economy.
I did not approve of your ignoring the
United Nations and concocting a highly
misleading set of allegations to take us
to war in Iraq.
I did not approve of your editing the
EPA’s recent environmental report to
remove the parts that disagreed with
your own contentions about global
warming and related matters.
I do not approve of having a Texas
National Guard lieutenant who went
AWOL for over a year as the c
ommander-in-chief of the Armed Forces
of the United States.
I do not approve of your employing the
dirty trickster Karl Rove (however much
of a ‘genius’ your ‘Turd Blossom’ may
be) to manipulate political discourse
and smear opponents to get you into
office. But I understand why you do it.
Someone like you couldn’t have gotten
into office any other way. You probably
couldn’t have gotten into Yale either if
your father and his father hadn’t been
Yalies. You give legacy admissions
policies a bad name.
I do not approve of what I label your
‘Soviet style’ of lying, where you simply
say that you believe the exact opposite
of what you really seem to believe.
There are literally dozens (if not
hundreds) of examples of this that I might
cite if I had bothered to record them. But
I have already cited one perfect example,
the statement in the first paragraph of the
introduction: ‘President Bush welcomes
your views, suggestions, and concerns.’
But you don’t care what I think.
Sincerely,
William Dean
Governor Dean, I trust that YOU do
care what I think and will seriously
consider turning up the heat on Bush.
Will you, for example, join Senator Bob
Graham, who, I understand, recently
asserted that under the Republicans’
guidelines for impeaching Bill Clinton,
they ought now to impeach Bush?
God bless you as go forth to try to
rid this land of ours of the scourge
of right wingers, oligarchs, and
despoilers who have finagled their
way into power.
Morris Dean
Dear Governor Dean,
We cannot afford you as president because you will make all illegal aliens legal. It is a sin and Governor Davis has broken a law by aiding and abetting criminals. He needs to go to jail for doing what he did. I am going to ask the Attorney General of California to file charges against Davis. You and Davis have slapped all legal aliens in the face who have gone through the legal process. I know that you are doing this to pander to get the Mexican vote. You know they will vote illegally, but you don’t care.
Rick,
Could you drop me a line at my email address? I’d like to ask you something re hosing an event for Gov. Dean