NY Times: Dean Formulates a Nuanced Approach to Foreign Policy

On Monday, Dr. Dean will give the first major foreign policy speech of his campaign, at a time when he is strengthening his leading position for the Democratic presidential nomination but also facing intense scrutiny and criticism from his rivals. In a 50-minute interview on Friday aboard a chartered jet, he talked about national security, trade and diplomatic style.

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He shows a fluency in discussing the world that is certainly beyond where Mr. Bush was four years ago, when he talked about foreign policy and international trade with a reporter while tromping through a snowy Iowa town. Dr. Dean likes to remind people that he has visited 51 countries — dabbling as a student backpacker, then filling his passport as a governor with national ambition — arguing that he has a better sense of Africa and Asia than Mr. Bush did when he came into office.

His planned speech on Monday is the product of many hands, including former Vice President Al Gore, whose consultations on the text were a prelude to his recent endorsement of the Dean candidacy. (Dr. Dean will not say which parts Mr. Gore edited.)

He also plans to announce on Monday that a host of advisers — including W. Anthony Lake, former President Bill Clinton's first national security adviser; Adm. Stansfield Turner , the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and Adm. Charles Larson, the former commander of all forces in the Pacific — have signed on to the campaign. Like several of the other Democratic candidates, he also consults Samuel R. Berger, who succeeded Mr. Lake as national security adviser.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/14/politics/campaigns/14DEAN.html?ex=1071982800&en=bb20edebace4f803&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

I'm glad to hear that Dean is finally going to tell us where he's headed on foreign policy, rather than just saying Bu$h got it wrong.
Foreign policy is big this election. If Dean gets the nomination, I want him to be well prepared to offer a good vision on how to move forward. Dean himself, not his advisors. Otherwise he is going to seem like Bu$h four years ago, a governor who depends fully on his staff to deal with other countries. My republican brother seems to be blaming Bu$h's advisors for the foreign policy gaffes (in the only even slightly anti-Bu$h statement I've heard him make). I'd hate to see Dean put in Bu$h's category on this by the national media.

Dean had better start getting praise against Bush as he is now, though, rather than Bush four years ago, if he wants to impress swing voters.