Dean Surges in Democratic Poll

Newsweek Poll Asking Democrats Their Presidential Preference

.....................July 2003.............................Jan 2003
Gephardt......14%............................................13%
Lieberman.....13%...........................................22%
Dean.............12%.............................................4%
Kerry.............10%...........................................13%
Graham...........7%.............................................5%
Edwards.........6%...........................................13%
Sharpton........6%..............................................6%

Poll Results

When registered voters were asked who they would vote for in a general presidential election between Bush and a Democratic opponent, Bush won every race—against Dean (53 percent vs. 38 percent), Edwards (51 percent vs. 39 percent), Gephardt (51 percent vs. 42 percent), Kerry (50 percent vs. 42 percent) and Lieberman (52 percent vs. 39 percent).

Forty-five percent of Americans say the Bush Administration misinterpreted intelligence reports that proved Iraq was hiding banned chemical or biological weapons before the war, says a new Newsweek poll. And while a significantly smaller number—38 percent—believe the administration purposely misled the public, President Bush’s approval ratings have declined significantly in recent months, the poll shows.

Newsweek also has a long story on Dean here. It is a little odd story focusing on Dean's pain over the loss of his brother to the North Vietnamese.


Thanks to Dean, Vermont is also one of the few states in fiscal health now.

Vermont beats trend with $10 million surplus

Vermont Administration Secretary Michael Smith said credit for the budget balancing should be shared by the Legislature, former Gov. Howard Dean and Gov. James Douglas.

“We responded early to the deficit, starting with the previous administration,” Smith said. “We started early to put the brakes on spending.”

Klein agreed that lawmakers and both the Dean and Douglas administrations deserve the credit for the state’s strong fiscal health, but added, “I think Dean gets a large amount of credit.”

“He set the tone,” Klein said. “You had fairly conservative revenue forecasts and fairly conservative spending policies that made it easier to respond when revenues collapsed.”