The elections are over. Now we can breathe, but please do not take too deep a breath. The gusty political whirlwind is about to start anew. Fourteen months from now, New Hampshire will be the political hub for the 2004 presidential elections. We thought it a good idea to look at who might be in the 2004 political whirlwind right now. So we pored over the Democratic contenders: Daschle, Dean, Edwards, Gephardt, Kerry, Gore, Sharpton. One name stands out, or rather, does not stand out: Dean. Who is this fellow?
You might not know his name, but in a few months, he may be the talk of the town. His name is Howard Dean, and he is running for president. While other Democratic hopefuls mull over possible White House bids -- from Al Gore to Al Sharpton -- Gov. Dean is determined to win. A Yale alum and medical doctor, Gov. Dean is relatively unknown throughout the nation, but that is not stopping him. Political pundits liken Gov. Dean to Sen. John McCain and President Jimmy Carter; Carter won New Hampshire's 1976 primary.
We noticed the political puttering and wanted to find out who Gov. Dean is. We met with Gov. Dean in a handsome Manchester residence before the midterm elections. Gov. Dean sat atop a blue child's bed while we asked questions from our position on the floor. It felt like story time all over again, but Gov. Dean's words were no stories -- they were charming words of wisdom, words of a political physician.
After 11 years as governor, why does Gov. Dean want his title changed? According to Dean, "I believe the country is fundamentally going in the wrong direction. The President's economic policies have given enormous tax breaks to people who don't need them and prevented us from doing anything about education or healthcare in the country because of these deficits as far as the eye can see. I am a fiscal conservative, and I think we have returned to the old borrow-and-spend Republican politics, and that is very bad for the country. I also want healthcare for every American. Every other industrialized country in the world has health insurance for everybody, and we should too."
But what makes the Governor different from other presidential hopefuls other than his shiny medical degree? Dean opined, "Everyone else is from Washington. They can tell you how we can have health insurance. I've done it and I can tell you how we are going to do it in the country. They can tell you about education. I didn't vote for the education bill; I can tell you what is really good education policy. They can talk about economic development, but they supported the tax cut that was a terrible mistake and made the economy worse. They can talk about civil rights. I have done it. So, the advantage every governor has -- I have a record I can point to on fiscal conservatism and making sure everyone has health care and improving education."
We then hit the issues -- stuff you might hear on CNN or MSNBC. Gov. Dean articulated his feelings on Iraq: "I think it is going to be a very interesting primary because of that. It seems as if I am the only one with the possible exception of Al Gore who opposed the Iraqi resolution. I think the president has to stop this notion of unilateral foreign policy. It may be that we do have to go to Iraq and remove weapons from Saddam Hussein. But to do it unilaterally without any discussion in the U.N. with other allies is a big mistake." When we asked whether being anti-war would make him vulnerable in the presidential sweepstakes, he answered, "It depends on a situation we cannot foresee a year and a half from now. It's not so much that I'm anti-war, I believe in the strongest defense and defending the security of the American people; I just don't think the president is doing it in the right way."
Gov. Dean has a first-rate record on fiscal policy. Contrary to his party line, he argued that a reduction in Vermont's income tax would help pull the state out of recession. It did. Dean persisted in balancing Vermont's budget and is credited for teaching Vermont liberals to be fiscal conservatives. Perhaps he could teach this to Washington liberals. Until now, President Bush's economic plan has limped along. Gov. Dean offered us his fresh views for restoring America's economy, saying he would "start supporting small businesses." If we made sure everyone had health insurance in America it would be an enormous help to every small business that is struggling to pay for health insurance. Secondly, I'd change the tax code so it would be skewed for small businesses in the wake of large corporations."
Perhaps Gov. Dean's honesty and strong performance could be attributed to his previous profession of medical doctor. He has gained much from being a doctor. Dean said he has learned "the ability to make decisions and to not get defensive about bad news, to explain it and then to go do something about it." As far as stem-cell research, Dean told us, "I think we should have stem-cell research. I don't think we should research for cloning human beings. Opening stem-cell research to embryos that already exist is sound scientific advice, and there are many people with diabetes and chronic problems that we can help if we do stem-cell research properly."
We listened to Gov. Dean's thoughts on national matters, yet we wanted something more; we wanted to get to know his personal side. He kindly obliged us in playing a game of free association with the following words: Dartmouth: Beautiful green campus. Yale: [laughter] An urban campus with great diversity. Harvard: [laughter] Big classes that never seem important to professors. Al Gore: A principled, decent guy. Trent Lott: Somebody who I prefer not to associate with. New York Yankees: I'm a Red Sox fan. Jimmy Carter: Person who got me into politics.
A mixed bag of questions and answers ensued. What was Gov. Dean's hardest course at Yale? "Hmmm I can tell you the one I enjoyed the most. American foreign policy, freshman year," Dean said. What books does the Governor read? "I mostly read political books. I just finished a book on the rise of Teddy Roosevelt. Before that, I read 'Theodore Rex.' I also read a lot about defense policy." Gov. Dean gratefully answered our probing questions as to his favorite Ben and Jerry's flavor: "[raucous laughter] New York Chocolate Fudge."
Gov. Dean can put a genuine smile on your face. His disarming and open demeanor might be the lodestar for Democrats in the upcoming presidential whirlwind. Stay tuned because Gov. Dean is poised to make a splash. And if you cannot wait, Gov. Dean quips, "Sign up for my campaign!"
