I Miss Howard Dean

Wasn’t the debate between Democratic Presidential candidates sad this week? Six candidates showed up on the South Carolina stage, and not a single interesting idea could be found between them. There was a lot of “concern” about the recent decision by the Supreme Court to allow the Partial-Birth abortion ban to stand, talk of Iraq withdrawal timetables, oh yeah, Obama revealed that he bought some energy saving lightbulbs. Yipee.

Nearly five months after Democrats took back the House and Senate in mid-term elections, the self-appointed leaders of the party are floundering in the pond of support for their ideas. It’s too bad that the country came to appreciate Democratic ideals only a year before a presidential primary – a season in which those ideas will simply be used to destroy opponents instead of moving our country forward. While Pelosi and Reid seem to be doing well in their roles, the Democrats running for president can pretty much be discounted from doing anything constructive over the next year. One could suggest that the debate between candidates itself is constructive and will help to bring issues into the households of average Americans on a regular basis, but only when the debate is remotely interesting…

…like it was four years ago. Remember when Howard Dean, the truth-sayer of the Democratic party, was saying all the things that made sense? I remember attending rallies for this guy nearly four years ago with hundreds of people who’d just come out to hear the guy speak. We knew where he stood on abortion, Iraq, gay marriage, and the environment, but he could bring us those ideas in a way that made you want to listen and help him make those ideas a reality. Sure, Kucinich and Richardson are stand-up guys with genuine ideas, but when was the last time you wanted to hear from either of them? Dean cut through all the rhetoric of Vietnam war experience and parental mill-working, and was one of the first people to publicly say that he wanted our troops out of Iraq… in 2003! That’s what I want in a president – someone who has great ideas that turn out to be the right ideas. I hope we hear a little more from Mr. Dean during this campaign because I think he can help us focus the debate constructively.


Being the big flaming Democrat that I am, I’m very disappointed that I don’t have a favorite among the Prez candidates yet. This is the season in which everything is interesting and we have some say in the direction in which the party moves. I miss the old days when a bunch of anonymous misguided Democratic kids would get their marching orders via meetup.com and huddle in the basements of bars to discuss campaign strategy. Sure, it was ineffective, but it was genuine and enjoyable. I'm not very fond of any of our candidates at the moment, but until Al Gore jumps back into the game I'll pick Edwards. I can love a man that appreciates a $400 haircut. Quit apologizing, John.