Howard Dean

He was polarizing, before changing his name from Howard to Bozo. The so-called Dean scream derailed his 04 campaign. He was interviewed by Tim Russert a couple of years back. When Russert asked him for Democrat solutions to the issues, Dean responded, "We are not the party in power. It is not up to us to come up with solutions".  Does anyone even pay this guy any attention these days?

Atleast his speechs while he was on the campaign trail, where entertaining, in a train wreck kind of way.

Once upon a time, Howard Dean had original ideas and was out of the establishment until he got corrupted by the Democratic Party.

This is a no-brainer. Howard Dean is polarizing (just like Mel Martinez of the Republican Party is). It's his job to be a polarizing politician because he is the chairman of his party, as abichara brilliantly indicates, or else he shouldn't have been tapped as chairman. Dean controls everything for the Democratic Party, from fundraising to grassroots networking- and in short, serves the purpose of motivating Democratic (and some Independents) voters to the polls. Essentially, (like Mel Martinez, to an extent, because George W. Bush as President is the leader of his party) Dean is arguably a cheerleader and a coach for his party. And from all indications thus far, Dean has done a good job.

Dean is actually more of a populist than a liberal, but I believe the label certainly fits here. Certainly was a force to be reckoned with in the 2004 Democratic primary, and was thought by many to have secured the nomination early. Of course, peaking too early ultimately gives a candidate no where to go but downhill, and Dean made one mistake after another. In terms of both his "notability" and dedication to the liberal cause, I believe Dean is worthy of four stars. Conservative on some issues, but generally his policies as governor of Vermont and proposals during the campaign where underscored with clear liberal influences.

Dean's a Liberal's Liberal and that's OK. He was hot for a moment and seemed to be ahead of the curve with is campaign. Then the wheels fell off and we got his political rant/cheer for how the Dems were gonna win. You all know they cheer. Dean really had some good stuff to work with ,but now he's more a caracature of himself - a far Left face of the Democrats who could be more harmful than good to the party.

His fundraising, while not at GOP levels, is breaking records for Democrats. We'll see how his "50 state strategy" pays off over the next couple of years. I love the quote about the hotel staff and the gay president. And he was right about the need to appeal to white southerners. I just wish he'd stop apologizing for what he says.

Certainly Dean is polarizing, that's why he was tapped as Chairman of the Democratic Party. He has control of the parties fundraising and grassroots networks and will probably be instrumental in setting the direction of the party for the time being. However, a cursory examination of some of his views places him as a solid centrist, even a bit to the right of the national party on some issues like gun rights and budgetary matters. His views on two issues; gay rights and Iraq made him popular with the left. I don't think Dean was suited for the Presidency, his candidacy was too high octane and simply burned out. However he made an impressive political comeback by gaining the chairmanship. At the end of the day, it was he and not John Kerry who turned out to be the most influential within the party. Dean's challenge now is to try and fill the intellectual vaccum that is now taking root within the Democratic Party. He needs to move Democrats beyond oblique views and offer substantive propo... Read more