Howard Dean on Bush Inauguration.....a powerful column today.

[madfloridian]

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_17176.shtml

"President Bush won the November election rather handily, but unfortunately for the country, early indications are that his second term may be less successful than his first. The president was re-elected largely because he made clear statements about what he believed. However, he does not seem, either after or before the election, to have really believed much of what he said during the campaign."

"Memos coming from the Pentagon show that it’s likely that not only did the president’s legal counsel, and perhaps soon-to-be Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, condoned American torture both in Iraq and in Guantanamo, but so did Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld."

This behavior is partially because the president decided to attack Iraq before thinking through what would happen after our extraordinarily effective military did their job. We also now know that he put our troops unnecessarily in harm's way by ignoring the pre-war advice of the generals and others, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, who told him he needed more troops."

"In the president’s second term, America will have to live with the pain, which most sensible economists predicted, when the president led the way on the enormous tax cuts. These tax cuts principally benefited the world's largest corporations instead of ordinary Americans. So the president looks silly by simultaneously promising to cut the deficit in half by the end of his second term, while at the same time proposing to borrow $2 trillion. Only Enron-type accounting can cover this one up."

Go Howard, keep speaking the truth.

[NoStinkinBadges]

1. Dean should have ran against Bush instead of Kerry.

We'll never know, too bad.

[madfloridian]

5. Doubt if any Democrat would have won...environment too hostile.

The Noise Machine is still too strong, I fear.

[NoStinkinBadges]

6. Maybe not.

I have always felt that we were too quick to pick Kerry and abandon Dean. At that time the general opinion was that everyone liked Dean, liked his message, but he could not beat Bush. The anybody but Dean mentality materialized and along came Kerry.

I just think picking Kerry was a big mistake and we had a better chance with Dean. Kerry had too many negatives, some made up but some very real. That old speech he made in the 70's blasting his fellow Vietnam buddies really hurt him. The charges of him not accomplishing much in his 20 years in the Senate were very difficult to overcome.

Dean did not have such baggage. He had many accomplishments to emphasis during his years as a Governor. Sure he was a little kooky but since when is that a disqualifying characteristic for the Presidency?

[OneTwentyoNine]

8. Rigged elections are rigged elections....

Wouldn't matter if Jesus H. Christ was running. It would have been rigged up in Ohio if Dean was running instead of Kerry.

Democrat leaders need to stop standing around wringing their hands wondering where we went wrong and instigate a full blown investigation into voting fraud. Of course they said they would way back in 2000. Yeah sure....

[bklyncowgirl]

17. We need to do both. It shouldn't have been close enough to steal. nt

[karlrschneider]

10. I don't care about being right or wrong, but I doubt Dean would have done

as well as Kerry. From a strictly political viewpoint, I truly believe Clark would have gotten WAY more support than Sen. Kerry. And I have nothing against JK, not at all but I just don't think he resonated with enough people who may very well have gone for Wesley. But of course, as has been pointed out, we'll never know. (Perhaps some of my opinion is fallout from the Dem primary in my own state, OK which was the only one WC won...and yes, I did vote for him.) But I supported Kerry right up until the bitter end once he got the nomination.

[Is It Fascism Yet]

11. Dean would have done better, he wouldn't have played dead in the 7th round

[msmcghee]

12. I think you're right about Kerry, but. . .

. . I don't think any of the Dems who were running could have beat Bush this time. It would have taken at least another Clinton to beat a second term war president after 9/11 - and that person was not running, may not even exist.

They had four years to consolidate their grip on the throat of this nation and they weren't going to let go for a minute.

[KharmaTrain]

18. Dean Had His Chances In The Primaries...Sheesh

First, Dean would have done WORSE than Kerry as many moderates I know who DID vote for Kerry would have stayed home had it been Dean on the ticket (most "scared" by the media scream crap)...and he would have spent a lot of the campaign fighting against other Democrats (DNC types and "moderates") than Kerry did.

Dean had his shot in the primaries and came up short. While I admire Dr. Dean's stands on many issues, he wasn't my first choice and the bitter primary battles...that are still being played out here on DU...demonstrate how this surely would have carried on into the General Election. The 2004 election was won by the party that had the strongest discipline and got its people energized and out to vote....this the GOOP did...vote stealing or not. While Kerry was a lame candidate, Dean or Clark (with their limited party support) would have done worse.

I'm open to Dr. Dean being the DNC chair and always enjoy hearing Gen. Clark when he talks on military issues, but as far as 2008...I'm too busy working toward 2006 and making sure the GOOP doesn't get veto proof houses to play 2008 games.

[coloradodem2005]

2. Ain't that the truth.

That is what it all amounts too. I couldn't have said it better myself. I hope Dean gets DNC chair.

[Pharaoh]

4. Yes the DLC

was afraid of an outsider populist they could not controll.........

they will be sorry..........

:evilgrin:

[Pam-Moby]

3. I can not hadle this!...shit someone is telling the truth for a change..n/

[Cha]

7. "The Fatal Flaw"!

"The fatal flaw in the Bush presidency is that the president seems to think that we will not notice whether he is consistent or not, as long as he says he is resolute. A bigger problem is that there seems not to be any real long term plan for anything."

[madfloridian]

9. A happy kick....he just got endorsed by the FL delegation unanimously.

:kick:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/politics/18dems.html
Mr. Maddox said in an interview that Florida made its endorsement despite some Democrats' concerns that Dr. Dean might not be the right ideological symbol for the party as it tries to regain power because of his liberal views on some issues and fervent opposition to the Iraq war.

"The only knock against Howard Dean is that he's seen as too liberal," Mr. Maddox said. "I'm a gun-owning pickup-truck driver and I have a bulldog named Lockjaw. I am a Southern chairman of a Southern state, and I am perfectly comfortable with Howard Dean as D.N.C. chair."

"What our party needs right now is energy, enthusiasm and a willingness to do things differently," he said. "I think Howard Dean brings all three of those things to the party."

[AgadorSparticus]

13. dean always says it well.

:kick:

[whirlygigspin]

14. AgadorSparticus, put some shoes on!

n/t

[Red State Rebel]

16. ROFL!!!

Thanks for the early morning laugh!

[JNelson6563]

15. Take it to 'em Howard!

and slap the hell out of them with it! ("It" being the truth)

:yourock:

[Pharaoh]

19. WOO HOO!

Howard ROCKS!

He needs to do the spine transplant again,

:dem: :dem: :dem: