As fall political season looms, Dean leads Democratic pack vs. vulnerable

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/08/30/national1255EDT0534.DTL

In a summer of political surprises, Howard Dean catapulted to the head of the Democratic presidential field while President Bush lost his aura of invincibility in Iraq. The fall campaign presents critical tests for both men.

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At Bush re-election headquarters, where Dean once was dismissed as a perfect foil, the former Vermont governor is getting a closer look. He still can be cast as a tax-raising, ill-tempered, undisciplined candidate, Republicans argue, but what if he should win the nomination while swelling the Democratic base?

"They better be worried," said Donna Brazile, manager of Al Gore's 2000 campaign. "Dean's cooking with grease."

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Months after the centrist Democratic Leadership Council called him too liberal, Dean is winning converts within the DLC for supporting gun rights and balanced budgets in Vermont.

"For many of our issues, he's not just talking about them, he's actually put them into action," said Ken Cheuvront, a state senator in Arizona and member of the DLC.

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Senior Republicans see an outside chance that Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who gave Bush a scare in the 2000 GOP primaries, might consider mounting a third-party bid or even bolt to the Democratic ticket. McCain dismisses such speculation.

His voting record clearly reveals him to be a conservative hawk. The only thing that differentiates him from true Neocons is that on a few selected issues he seems to have a conscience.

I think it's really just that they can't forgive him for the blasphemy of daring to challenge their golden boy* in the 2000 primaries.