Dean is not hiding the fact he is a centrist

[VermontDem2004]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. My name is Anthony Deangelo (ph), and I'm from Florida. I'm a student at American University. My question for you, Dr. Dean, is, with so much of the country and your party leaning towards the centrist point of view, how do you plan on appealing to the center while still adhering to your left-leaning views?

DEAN: Well, I am a centrist. I balance budgets. Nobody else in this race other than Bob Graham has ever balanced a budget.

My position on guns is that—we have no gun control in Vermont. My position on guns is we ought to enforce the federal laws and then let states decide how much or little gun control they want. I also believe in health insurance for every single American and I believe in jobs again in this country.

I think that makes me a centrist, and I think that's how we're going to beat George Bush. George Bush is not in the mainstream of where American politics are. And I think most Americans believe in fiscal conservatism. I've exhibited that.

Most Americans believe in social progressivism. I've exhibited that. And that's how we're going to beat George Bush.

http://www.vote-smart.org/speech_detail.php?speech_id=M000018678&keyword=Centrist&phrase=&contain=

HOWARD DEAN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's mostly put out by people who are afraid I'm going to win because they're not. The fact is, I balance budgets. I believe in health insurance for every single American. I'm not a big gun control person because I come from a very rural state. I would say I'm a centrist. I believe in gay rights because I believe every American ought to have the same rights as everybody else. So you will have to decide whether I'm a conservative or liberal or a moderate. I think I'm a centrist.

http://www.vote-smart.org/speech_detail.php?speech_id=M000018680&keyword=Centrist&phrase=&contain=

DEAN: I am a mainstream candidate. I am a centrist, I always have been. I think what you're seeing is the clutching at straws, both with Joe's remarks and with the DLC staff's remarks, which I think do not represent the majority of DLC members, many of whom I know personally.

DEAN: I balanced budgets; Tom DeLay has never done that.

I made sure every child in my state had health insurance. In Tom DeLay's state, they just cut 230,000 children off health care because they couldn't balance their budget.

I delivered jobs. The Republicans haven't delivered any jobs for a long time. And the Republicans haven't balanced the budget for 34 years in this country.

Let's let the American people decide who's the centrist, who's the mainstream political force here. I think Congressman DeLay and the president are way out there on the extremes.

And I just might add one more thing: We're not going to let them take our flag anymore. That flag belongs to everybody in the country; it doesn't belong to Tom DeLay.

http://www.vote-smart.org/speech_detail.php?speech_id=M000018334&keyword=Centrist&phrase=&contain=

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