This blogger logs my interest in and support for Dr. Howard Dean's run for the Presidency in 2004.

Links

Dean For America (Official Campaign Site)
My picture at a recent Meetup (see http://dean2004.meetup.com). I'm on the left.
Howard Dean 2004 Portal

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Well, I got up early because I wanted to watch Dean’s performance “live” on Meet the Press. He did very well. Tim Russert’s team had done their homework, and brought out many difficult issues and questions. Dean handled them all well. I think the show is very instructive as it shows the lines the Republicans will be using come next year. For example, when Dean said he wanted to “rollback” the tax cut, Russert said that meant Dean was willing to raise taxes 4000%. Just so people understand the math, if you cut something by 50%, you have to raise it by 100% to get it to its pre-cut level. So the numbers themselves tell a horrible story. It’s important we help educate people on the tradeoffs. Dean did this very well on the show. He wanted to give the public the alternative – raise taxes back to the levels during the Clinton administration and get healthcare, or take your rebate check but lose all these other social services. (He said it better than I’m paraphrasing here.) In fact, I think that was one of his strongest moments. The way Russert phrased the question, it sounded like he had Dean in a terribly tight box. But Dean managed to turn the box upside down and get out of it with a fiery response.

Dean’s weakest moment was defending his change regarding the death penalty. I love the guy, but I think he should have been fighting for genuine life imprisonment rather than the death penalty in selective cases. His argument was that some repeat offenders get out because there is no true life imprisonment, and that more deaths result. This after he said the Death penalty wasn’t a deterrent. So that’s a tough one for him. But all the candidates have their problematic issues, and Dean had so much else to say this was just a drop in the bucket.

Also – the issue with his son was dealt with swiftly at the opening of the show and clearly not an issue for the interviewer. Russert DID, however, really harp on Dean for not knowing the number of troops deployed in Iraq. I thought Russert was being silly on this. Dean gave a good answer that, this far from the election date, he did not have the military advisors around him to help him with these issues. Dean also dealt well with the criticism that he is perceived as weak on National Security because he has never served in a war. Dean pointed out that neither had Reagan, Clinton, or the current President . Russert brought up questions about Dean’s draft deferment, citing a report that he had spent 80 days skiing after being let out for a fused vertebra. Dean responded that the military made the assessment, not himself, and that he would have served if called.

Some Dean defenders will be incensed with Russert’s treatment of Dean. But I thank goodness someone’s being tough on Dean EARLY in the campaign. This can only help him understand what the core challenges will be so he can be even better prepared for them the next time. So realize that, while probably not meaning to, Russert has provided genuine assistance to our campaign. And the Governor came off looking very tough, very ready, very smart. Nothing wrong with that!

posted by Real History Lisa Pease at 8:23 AM