Reply #24: If you were looking to Dean...

[Andromeda]

to be the standard bearer for the liberal cause because he was against the Iraq war you were probably disillusioned because that didn't mean he was against ALL war. He was just against a preemptive war that wasn't fully sanctioned by the U.N. If he had been a member of the Senate or Congress I believe that he wouldn't have voted for the Iraqi resolution. He has made it clear that he was supportive of the war in Afganistan, in principal.

Now that he's been on the scene for a while you've had a chance to hear some of his other views. His ideas on healthcare reform are more incremental than drastic and that may not set well for some people who want immediate and dramatic change. His policies are inclusive and don't just benefit one segment of the population which is disappointing to some of the leftists and Greens like Ted Rall.

There are other issues besides the War, NAFTA and Globalization, three issues that some super-lefties seem to be stuck on to the exclusion of all others.

Dean is not like McGovern or Dukakis. Dean is an individual, strong and not afraid to stand up for his positions. He is a lone entity and a phenomenon---a man who is a liberal, a moderate and a conservative all rolled into one. He appeals to Independents, Republicans, Democrats and Greens.

That's what we want, you know. To pull in undecided voters---and it seems to be working. People who haven't voted in years are beginning to wake up because here is a person who is standing up for everybody who is still angry at the current pResident in the White House, and that person is HOWARD DEAN.

Dean's fundraising on the internet is breaking all records. It has never been done before. People believe in him.

I suppose you think that the other candidates who bashed Bush are opportunists too? But it's not okay for Dean to do it? Just because Dean does it and people really listen when he does, I think it pisses some people off because they can't get anybody to listen to them when they do it.

Dean steals all the attention and Lieberman says "he's pulling the Democratic party to the left." That comment hurt Lieberman more than it did Dean and you can bet that Ted Rall won't turn the tide either with his disapproval.

Dean may not be the true-blue messiah of the socialist left but he is a man for the people---ALL the people.