| The Outsider |
24 February 2003
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Harold Dean Wows Democratic Bigshots
Of the eight Democrats who have formally entered the race for their party's presidential nomination, former Vermont Governor Harold Dean is one of the less likely choices. The previous sentence may well be the first one reads of his existence. Name recognition aside, Mr. Dean has impressed the leaders of the Democratic Party at a recent Washington Meeting, and it could snowball.
Naturally, the nomination this time around won't be worth having. President Bush will lead the nation to military victory and he'll be easily re-elected. That was the belief in 1992, when Bill Clinton took a nomination no Washington insider wanted. Having learned from that, candidates like Messrs. Gephardt and Kerrey are already running hard. Yet Mr. Dean was the one who got the attenion of many in Washington because he isn't one of the insiders.
Mr. Dean opposes the coming war quite vociferously, and that has set him apart from the Washington Democrats who are mumbling their support of Mr. Bush's fight. He approves of universal healthcare, but since he has no seat in Congress, doesn't have to vote for any one plan. Vermont is a farm state, like Iowa, and is next to New Hampshire. The Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary are tailor made for Mr. Dean it might appear.
Yet, it all comes down to money. Who will be able to raise the most? The American plutocracy demands cash for a candidate to be viable, and Mr. Dean may well prove to have too little until it's too late. One only hopes that his presence in the campaign sparks something in the "Me-Too" crowd that is the Democractic Party of 2003. At least, before his money problems force him to quit.