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Showing Original Post only (View all)On the left, Howard Dean open to presidential bid [View all]
Source: CNN
San Jose, California (CNN) - Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who electrified anti-war liberals during the 2004 presidential race, said Thursday he would consider another run for the White House a statement that will surely be met with mixed reaction in the Democratic Party.
Dean, whose underdog presidential campaign officially launched 10 years ago this weekend, said he has "mixed feelings" about running for office again but added he would consider another bid for the Democratic presidential nomination if he doesn't think the other candidates are adequately addressing progressive issues that are dear to his heart.
"I am not driven by my own ambition," Dean told CNN in an interview at the Netroots Nation conference, an annual gathering of left-leaning political activists. "What I am driven by is pushing the country in a direction that it desperately needs to be pushed; pushing other politicians who aren't quite as frank as I am who need to be more candid with the American people about what needs to happen. I am not trying to hedge, it's a hard job running. It's really tough. I am doing a lot of things I really enjoy. But you should never say never in this business."
Dean, the founder of Democracy for America, a progressive organization that lobbies for causes such as same-sex marriage and expanded access to health care, maintained that the prospect is unlikely. He is well liked and respected by liberals hence his appearance at this week's conference, but is still viewed with a wary eye by many in the Democratic establishment because of his outspoken nature and frequent refusal to march in lockstep with national party leaders.
Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/20/on-the-left-howard-dean-open-to-presidential-bid/