Rethinking Howard Dean

Yesterday, CNN reported that Howard Dean, in usual Howard Dean fashion, made some remarks that upset several Republicans.

"I don't hate Republicans," he said, in an interview Friday with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "But I sure hate what this Republican Party is doing to America."

In a speech Thursday before a Washington conference sponsored by the "Campaign for America's Future," Dean told the audience that many Republicans "had never made an honest living in their lives."

I'm not too distraught over the comments, in the sense that I'm sure that the same kind of anti-Republican and anti-Democrat commentary was made under the recent leadership of Terry McAuliffe and Ed Gillespie respectively. What bothers me, however, is that when Dean says these type of things, he becomes a lighting rod of media attention. And a lot of that is negative attention. Having met the man myself, I am certainly convinced that he has the ability to be a strong leader of the national party. But can he be a liability as well? I don't know. It certainly does not help that John Edwards is now criticizing Dean for his comments.

"The chairman of the DNC is not the spokesman for the party. He's a voice. I don't agree with it."

I disagree with that analysis in a way; that's like saying President Bush isn't the spokesman for the United States. It's a technically true statement, but it doesn't really matter for those on the outside looking in; it's all the same. And that's who really matters in all of this. Namely, those people who don't necessarily consider themselves part of the Democratic movement and may perceive Chairman Dean's comments a sign weakness within the party. Oh well, time will tell. If Democrats make significant gains in the 2006 mid-terms, a lot of doubters will be singing Dean's praises.