Dean Plugs Gaps in Experience

Ex-Governor Consults Experts on National, International Issues

As governor of Vermont for nearly 12 years, Howard Dean grappled with a number of issues he would probably have to face as president: health care reform, welfare policy, educational performance, environmental concerns, taxation and budget management.

But as the chief executive of a state with 616,000 residents and annual public expenditures of just $3.4 billion, there were plenty of issues he never had to confront -- immigration, defense, foreign affairs, monetary policy.

To close the experience gap, Dean has begun consulting with a short list of policy experts, primarily from academia and Washington think tanks. The effort is coordinated by the campaign's policy director, Jeremy Ben-Ami, who served as an aide in the Clinton White House.

In foreign policy and defense, Dean has "talked with" several Democratic Party stalwarts -- such as former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, former defense secretary William Perry and former national security adviser Anthony Lake -- over the past six months, according to his campaign. All three, however, have consulted with other Democratic candidates as well, and none has endorsed Dean. Indeed, Perry, an engineering professor at Stanford University, has endorsed Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.).

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26720-2003Dec1.html

I recall that Perry was a goop congressman but became Clinton's defense secretary because the (disloyal) officer corps hates Democrats (and especially Gov. Clinton).

He was a Republican Senator form Maine. Clinton picked him to give his cabinet some bi-partisanship.