Dean wants to be a new breed: a physician president.

An interesting perspective.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1106752,00.html

"Dean is no soft-hearted country quack. He has a ruthless streak. It was Dean aides who put out a press release attacking workers on a rival's campaign for roughing up a Dean staffer in Iowa and calling him 'a faggot'. Yet it was far from clear if the incident was true. Dean has also used his anti-war message to savage fellow Democrats as much as George Bush. His plan for winning the election is simple: forget the middle ground. He aims instead to attract support from the 50 per cent of Americans who don't vote.

But Dean's radicalness masks a good deal of conservatism. Republicans (masterminded by the genius that is White House adviser Karl Rove) seek to paint Dean as an ultra-Leftist, an interventionist and soft on terrorism. He is a throwback to the radicalism of the 1960s. But the image is simply not true. Much is made of Vermont's Civil Unions (which gave gay couples the same legal rights as marriage). But Dean signed the law only after it had been promoted by a state court. He did not initiate it. Vermont state Democrats saw (and still see) Dean as a fiscal conservative who fought hard to defeat their spending plans. He used his Governor's veto more times than any predecessor, scuppering their ambitions. He left the state with a balanced budget (when its constitution does not even require one). He is also pro-guns, for the death penalty and in favour of using tax breaks to attract business. He is, however, pro-environment, pro-healthcare and anti-big corporations. And, above all, he was against the Iraq war.

His policies seem to reflect his doctor's nature: a blend of practical liberalism mixed with sensible conservatism. Doctors rarely favour truly radical surgery, except as a last resort. Indeed, Dean cannot leave his doctor's surgery behind. He once heard a rumour that campaign manager Joe Trippi had a pain in his left side. He called Trippi and asked about his bowel movements and whether he had blood in his urine. Dean then collared him the next day and gave him a physical. Trippi finally went to a clinic and found he had a cracked rib.

It is no surprise that Dean the Doctor crosses over so much with Dean the Politician. His Jewish wife, Judith Steinberg, is also a doctor. So are both her parents. They met in medical school in New York, after Dean had finished his studies at Yale, and are a close couple. They used to spend hours, at the back of class, helping each other do crosswords. They are also intensely private. "

more at the link

:kick:

and sensible conservatism I find most refreshing and attractive about Dean.

The A rating from the NRA helps, too.

"Liberal does not mean wastrel." :thumbsup:

is going to make holding-onto the midwestern states a good deal less complicated in 2004.

That issue alone would have made the difference in 2000.

"To those who saw Dean in one-dimensional terms as cold, or, worse still, just plain angry, the discovery showed the opposite. Aides had long wondered why Dean always wore an uncomfortable-looking black belt. In fact, it was revealed, the belt was a gift from his dead brother."

This is a man with a long memory.

I wish they wouldn't say that. He does know that no one is going to pry the guns out of the hands of the rural people, who feel owning guns are a basic human right. It's too bad they don't feel the same about health care. He doesn't want the gun issue to obfuscate his other positions, so he has promoted the idea that guns should be regulated by states not the federal government because frankly the gun regulation issue loses votes.

Now I know that people who live in cities would like to see guns banned and they probably should ban them in their municipalities, just don't make it nationwide. Rural people are not going to give up their guns and that's a fact. This doesn't make Dr. Dean pro-gun. It makes him not stupid.

Though he's since tempered his stance a bit.

I've been following him for a long time and pro-gun is different than ratcheting the hostility down a few pegs. I think his stance is sensible in this day and age. I personally would like to see licensing of gun owners like we license car drivers, but for some reason or the other the NRA gets it's panties all in a wad about this, so I guess it won't happen in my lifetime. I can't see losing the 2004 election to Bush though because of this issue.

...brought upon this nation by the Bush Criminal Empire :grr:

I'd like to see an editorial cartoon with Dr. Dean writing a prescription for his sick patient (the USA).