Reply #145: I never ran for political office, but

[Larkspur]

If you are referring to Howard Dean, well he worked his way up the ladder. He started with working as a volunteer in Vermont on Jimmy Carter's campaign in 1980. Esther Sorrell, the Democratic patroness of Vermont, saw that Dean was a good peacemaker. He could get the Kennedy and Carter Dems to talk to each other, so she asked him to be his town's Democratic Committee chair. From that position he launched his bid to the Vermont State Legislature. From there, he ran and won the Lt Gov office, which is largely cermonial until the Gov dies in office, and on August 14, 1991 after Gov Richard Snelling suffered a fatal heart attack, Lt. Gov Howard Dean became Governor of Vermont.

Upon entering the Governor's office, Dean was greeted by a $60 million deficit, the worse bond rating in New England, and a recession that was as bad as one suffered during the Great Depression. By the end of his last term, Vermont enjoyed a general fund surplus, a quarter of the state's debt had been paid off, Vermont had the highest rating in New England, most children had healthcare, child abuse had decreased in half, gays and lesbians had civil union rights, etc.. Oh, and Howard Dean was re-elected 5 times as Governor, and was Vermont's longest serving governor in the state's history.

What I like about Howard Dean is that he has a knack for taking a bad situation and making it better, and we are going to need that knack cleaning up Bush's mess. Dean's a fighter when he needs to be. He showed a lot of courage taking a stand against the Iraq War when 70% of the American populace supported it. Many of Dean's crticis said he was committing political suicide when he publicly opposed Bush's War. Didn't hear Gen. Clark's view of the Iraq war then, so can't judge him on that? And Dean is a straight talker. He reminds me a lot of Harry Truman. Dean treats voters like adults, not sheep to be sheared. He informs you what your choices are -- tax cut or healthercare, tax cut or public education, tax cut or infrastructure services, etc.. And as a woman and feminist, there is not a single drop of machismo in Howard Dean. I've met him twice and it's obvious that his wife is his partner in life, not his servant. Dean is also an excellant organizer and relentless campaigner. Clark should take lessons from him.

There is no doubt that Dean is a Democrat. He is not a "tax and spend" liberal Democrat, but he has a record running, winning, and holding office as a Democrat. Clark does not.