Dr. Dean and the Pickup Truck

A year out from the presidential election, former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont has advanced from the political backwoods to the front of the Democratic pack. Dr. Dean's unequivocal opposition to the Iraq war and masterly use of the Internet for grass-roots fund-raising have made him the early, and unexpected, leader in the run for the nomination. Over the next few months, Democratic voters will be watching to see whether he has the political skills and staying power to win a presidential election.

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Early on, the question was whether the phenomenon of Dr. Dean would turn into a latter-day Eugene McCarthy with a one-note antiwar campaign, ultimately lacking the political chops for the multiple issues of the long haul. That does not seem to be the case. Dr. Dean has not hesitated to stake out a politically risky position in calling for the rollback of all of President Bush's budget-busting tax cuts. He is eager to talk about issues like Medicare, the environment and agricultural policy. No one doubts that he has the energy, and the stomach, for the exhausting chase ahead.

Primary politics is a gantlet of rapid-fire challenges. All manner of ponderous issues and explosive tangents will pop up in the 10 weeks remaining until the Iowa caucuses. After his run-in with the pickup truck, Dr. Dean now has the chance to show that, like Bill Clinton, he can turn on a dime, recover from his mistakes and make the voters want to move on to the next question.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/06/opinion/06THU1.html

The Times also ran a story about this, and I feel it shows Dean's thought process well.

Some excerpts:

He said that his main mistake had been not immediately condemning the flag during the debate, and that he had decided to change course as he came to understand that his comments had been personally offensive to two of his rivals, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who is black, and Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

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Even an hour before his Cooper Union appearance, Dr. Dean said he was unsure how or when he would address the flag issue. In addition to President Carter, Dr. Dean consulted yesterday with the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, as well as several African-American labor leaders and elected officials.

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"You can blame the media or blame my opponents, but the fact is, I've got to own my own words," Dr. Dean explained yesterday evening in Manchester. "And that's what I decided at about 3 o'clock this morning."

From "In a Jam, Dean Apologizes"
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/06/politics/campaigns/06DEAN.html?pagewanted=1&th