Howard Dean: 2010 won't be as bad for Dems as people think

[babylonsister]

Thursday, Mar 4, 2010 07:01 EST
Howard Dean: 2010 won't be as bad for Dems as people think

Former DNC chair tells Salon it'll be anti-incumbent, not anti-Dem, year; praises president's moves on healthcare

By Alex Koppelman


A lot of people see doom on the Democratic Party's horizon this fall. Respected political analyst Charlie Cook has even said he believes Republicans will recapture the House this year. But Howard Dean, the former governor who served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee until last year, believes things might not be as bad as they seem.

"I think what you're going to see in the fall is not so much an anti-Democratic vote, I think you're going to see an anti-incumbent vote, and I think that's going to include Republicans," Dean said in an interview with Salon on Wednesday.

"There are two good signs for the Democrats: One is all this blowup happened 10 months before the election, not 10 weeks before the election. Two, the average American believes that better times are ahead. Those are two important indicators. Now, there are plenty of indicators that aren't so good, but I think a month is a huge lifetime in politics, so I think we're actually going to do a bit better than people are predicting."

One of the reasons Dean sees for hope has to do with the issue he's been most associated with over the past year, healthcare reform. The former DNC chair hasn't been wild about the way Democrats have gone about passing a bill so far, or about the legislation itself, but he's encouraged by what's been happening in recent days.

"Obviously I wish this had been done a while ago, but I really think it's terrific that the president brought the bill back. It's a high-risk strategy and it shows that he can exhibit some strength and leadership, so that's very, very important. And now we'll see what comes out of it."

more...

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/howard_dean/index.html?story=/news/feature/2010/03/04/howard_dean_interview