2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean castigated fellow Democrats for "mimicking" the Bush administration's domestic and foreign policies in front of more than 250 supporters at the Hopkins Center Friday evening.
At the fundraising event, priced at $50 per person, longtime Dean supporters, prominent local Democrats and self-described independent voters crowded around the former Vermont governor as he alternated between outlining his aspirations for 2004 and posing for photographs with attendees.
Dean for America, which organized the event, admitted a small group of students affiliated with the College's Young Democrats for free.
Dean has gained political steam in recent weeks for his anti-war views and fiery on-stage demeanor, both of which he displayed Friday. Although a national poll conducted by Time still places him at 3 percent -- Dean's name recognition wanes the further one goes from the left-leaning Northeast -- he ranks second in New Hampshire in a poll of likely primary voters, at 16 percent compared with Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry's 23 percent, according to the American Research Group.
At the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee on Feb. 21, veteran political analysts overwhelmingly named Dean the unofficial winner, as he referred to himself as the candidate of change and reached out to young Democrats, many of whom are against war in Iraq.
"I believe that this party, nationally, desperately wants somebody to stand up and say they're proud to be a Democrat and will stick to Democratic principles," Dean said yesterday.
"I don't think that you can tell people ... that you don't think it's a good idea to declare unilateral war on Iraq and then go ahead and vote for war."
Dean is one of the few declared Democratic candidates to oppose war against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and the only one who political pundits consider a contender for the nomination.
The list of declared candidates in favor of war includes Sens. John F. Kerry (Mass.), John Edwards (N.C.) and Joseph Lieberman (Conn.) and Rep. Richard Gephardt (Mo.).
According to Dean, President George W. Bush and his advisors have misplaced their priorities, as North Korea and Al Qaida pose much graver threats to national security.
The United States must work for internal change in Saudi Arabia and Iran as well, Dean said. "They're teaching the next generation of Islamic terrorists."
Dean added that effective leaders must also be able to push legislation that the public may not always agree with at the time, citing a bill passed during his tenure as governor that legalized civil unions for gays and lesbians.
"We cannot as a party win any more elections, especially against this president, if we appear to be willing to say anything to get elected," he said. "That is a guarantee that we will not win."
Dean, a physician who received his undergraduate degree from Yale University in 1972, also stressed the need for universal health care. Every industrialized nation but the United States has long since met this demand, he noted.
"What people desperately want in this country is someone who will say what they believe on our side of the aisle and go out and talk to people about it," Dean said. "We're not going to [beat Bush] by mimicking his policies."
But in an interview with The Dartmouth, Dean's New Hampshire campaign manager Karen Hicks noted that the governor's agenda goes beyond what are traditionally considered to be liberal values.
Hicks called Dean is a "fiscal conservative" and also pointed to his "A" rating from the NRA, a classification usually given to Republican legislators.
Throughout the state, Hicks said, the Dean campaign intends to run strong grassroots efforts.
Several Dartmouth students also plan to form a support group for Dean that could be one part of a national network of student backing, Dean told The Dartmouth.
