Good Doctor: Why the critics still don’t get Howard Dean 2

by Jonathan Cohn, The New Republic, July 28, 2003

Dean's critics are either misrepresenting his positions, underestimating his skill as a campaigner, or both. Dean is no left-wing radical, and, while his competition has made little headway with the public--nearly every other major candidate's support has stagnated or fallen in the last year--Dean has gone from obscurity to the top tier. This is testimony to his considerable potential as a candidate and, when coupled with his governing record, suggestive of his abilities as a potential president. It's far too early to say whether Dean is the best in the Democratic field. But it's also too early to say he isn't.

Bitter Pill: Howard Dean and the tempting of the Democrats.
by Jonathan Chait, the New Republic, July 28, 2003
Critiqued in Demog

While we’re on the subject of Rove, note that he once offered this formula for winning elections: “Have a robust domestic and foreign agenda. Don't trim your sails. Be bold. People want to hear big, significant changes. They don't want to be fed small micro-policy.” Also, after the 2000 elections, Rove commissioned an extensive study of how Gore came from behind to win the popular vote in the last few weeks. According to the New Yorker profile, “The over-all finding was that grassroots efforts work, and that grassroots efforts by local volunteers work especially well.” Do these sounds like ingredients of the campaign of anyone we know?

Question: If you win in 2004, will you repeal or scale back the Patriot Act?

DEAN: I would do two things. First of all, I would remove the parts of the Patriot Act that are clearly unconstitutional. It can't be constitutional to hold an American citizen without access to a lawyer. Secondly, it can't be constitutional for the FBI to be able to go through your files at the library or the local video store, to see what you've taken out in the last week, without a warrant. The other thing I would do is appoint judges that would uphold the constitution. This President is appointing people from the far-right Federalist Society who have a different view of the constitution than most Americans.