Byting News: Is Dean the Blackest White Candidate We Can Find?

By Tanu T. Henry, Africana.com, September 15, 2003



The past several months of Democratic campaigning were a frustrating spectacle, as most of the putative frontrunners attempted to sound "presidential" while steering clear of any direct criticism of President George W. Bush's increasingly disastrous international and domestic policies. Reticence on the parts of Kerry, Lieberman, Gephardt et al. backfired though, having the unintended consequence of clearing the way for a vocal outsider candidate to move to the front of the pack; the last few weeks have seen the insiders chasing a new frontrunner: Vermont Governor Howard Dean.

At last week's Congressional Black Caucus-hosted debate all nine democratic candidates finally unleashed their inner outsider, speaking in a nearly united voice of criticism against Bush's bumbling of the economy and Iraq. Enlivened, perhaps, by the outsider-ish setting (Morgan State's never been googled this much in its history), the candidates expressed varying points of views on issues from universal healthcare to improved education and, finally, provided what the democratic party needs most: a blast of humor.

Through it all, Dean played it pitch-perfect, ranging from plainspoken sincerity to taunting schoolboy wit. He parried Ed Gordon's question about his ability to connect with black voters with a nice barb (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec03/debate_9-10.html) -- "Well, if the percentage of minorities that's in your state has anything to do with how you can connect with African American voters, then Trent Lott would be Martin Luther King."

He even, as Slate's William Saletan pointed out (http://slate.msn.com/id/2088124/), turned Joe Lieberman's patented moral disapproval bit against him ("I'm disappointed, Joe," he said, pulling a long face when Lieberman questioned his commitment to Israel).

Thursday, Dean asked former NATO commander and, Wesley Clark, the guy Democrats all over strongly believe could be Bush's toughest challenge, to be his running mate. With Dean's irreverence and Clark's military credentials, the two would form a formidable tag team, maybe even one capable of winning election come November 2004. (http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=123EF57E-EFAD-4C18-A0FE19D4A3011F76)

It's quite easy to predict the political vector of a Dean political argument during any debate. But the backlash has begun. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles) First, his overstated claim in the last debate that he is the only white candidate who can talk frankly about race in front of white audiences made his fellow (white) democrats yelp in protest.

"Governor Dean is trying to use positioning on race as a means of defining himself against his Democratic colleagues," said Jennifer Palmieri, John Edwards's spokeswoman. (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/09/11/rivals_dispute_dean_on_race_issue_claim/) "[Race] shouldn't be used as a political football."

And then House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi criticized Dean in a public letter for advocating that the United States take a neutral position in negotiations between Israel and Palestine. (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20030911-0146-dean-israel.html) "On the contrary, in these difficult times we must reaffirm our unyielding commitment to Israel's survival and raise our voices against all forms of terrorism and incitement," wrote Pelosi. While Pelosi's concerns about the state of Israel are understandable, Dean's insistence that only impartiality can make the United States a "credible" go-between in the Middle East conflict follows a smarter line of reasoning.

And what of the Democratic field's actual black candidates? Al Sharpton -- the Democrat's necessary extreme left bandleader -- fired stinging witticisms that made the wisecracks of Bob Graham ("Osama Been Forgotten") and the rhyming two-liners of Dick Gephardt ("Like father, like son, one term and he's gone") seem like political horseplay.

Don't come to our debate and disrupt it, Sharpton demanded of supporters of Libertarian presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche, who heckled candidates while they tried to answer questions. Sharpton even threatened to have members of his National Action Network tame the protesters, a comment that drew criticisms from conservative commentators, including Rush Limbaugh, the next day for its "thuggery" and lack of presidential tact. (http://rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_091003/content/stop_the_tape_2.guest.html)

Dennis Kucinich and Carol Mosely Braun win applause for their charm and convincing sincerity. Kucinich votes his conscience in congress as in his opposition to the war in Iraq. And he's bound to be popular among poor and minority voters for surviving and overcoming enough financial and familial setbacks to rival any poor inner city black or Hispanic kid while he was growing up. Braun, for her part, wins with moving and inspiring rhetoric about her dad's devoted military service overseas even when segregation was legal at home. But both candidates should save us some time, themselves some money, and the DNC some platform space and drop out. It's clear that their honesty and intelligence won't win them the race.

For now, Dean comfortably leads the in the polls. Kerry is the clear second choice followed closely by Edwards, Gephardt and Graham. The process of elimination over the next few months will be exciting to watch -- reality TV at its realest. But it will also interesting to see how the lively and embracive discussion of race and civil rights tones down once the democratic choice begins to debate George Bush.

About the Author: Tanu T. Henry is staff writer at Africana

to answer your question.... NO. Nor is he the most trustworthy, the most honest, the most intelligent, etc.

From the photo above he does appear to be the gayest (not that there's anything wrong with that ) although his stance on that issue is as lacking as everything else in his platform.

Look past the words and say... "What has he done for me lately?"

Wesley Clark, the retired general and erstwhile CNN commentator, is running for president, the Washington Post reports. He'll make the announcement tomorrow at a press conference in Little Rock, Ark. This seems like bad news for, above all, John Kerry. The haughty, French-looking Massachusetts Democrat, who by the way served in Vietnam, has made his military service his campaign's centerpiece--indeed, its only rationale. Kerry can't be happy that he'll have to compete with another empty uniform.

The Post notes that Clark has the backing of lots of former Clinton and Gore people. It wouldn't surprise me if Clark becomes the consensus campaign of the Democratic establishment, sweeping aside not only Kerry but Joe Lieberman, Dick Gephardt and what's-his-name from North Carolina as well. But can he beat Howard Dean, or will 2004 be the year of the Angry Left?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18507-2003Sep16.html

dean is a moderate republican in democrate clothing, he's also a waffle on just about every issue, and

clark is a war criminal what a great ticket that would be

try smug, pompous, dolphin lipped

"Bush's best chance for re-election probably has

less to do with big-tent Republicanism than it

does with the dwarf toss under way in the

Democratic Party. Dean's ahead in the key states

of Iowa and New Hampshire, which means

someone will be dispatched to take him down

ASAP. As in 1988, when Gore was dispatched to

New York to waste Jesse Jackson (pictured then,

as Dean is today, as a demagogic populist), the

job falls to the tired nags in the stables of the

Democratic Leadership Council.

"The idea is pretty simple: Joe Lieberman takes

down Dean, thereby opening space for John

Edwards to march in. Edwards is and has always

been the DLC's sleeper candidate, the man who

can save the nation from the mad lefty freaks in

the Northeast.

Remember that Clinton was 'the first black president' and look what a disappointment he was to women, gays and people of color.

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE - September 10, 2003

Last night's debate, held on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, was the first of two to be sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus, and featured many questions on issues of particular interest to African American voters. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean is from a state with only a tiny black population...

KWAME HOLMAN: Governor Dean and Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman were the only candidates last night who confronted each other. At issue was U.S. support for Israel.

QUESTIONER: Governor Dean, you recently said the United States should not "take sides in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict." Do you really mean that after all of these years of alliance and friendship between the United States and Israel, that the U.S. should maintain some sort of neutral stance?

HOWARD DEAN: What I do mean is we need to be a credible negotiator, a facilitator for peace in the Middle East, and that means we have to be trusted by both sides.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN: All of us here on the stage have quite correctly criticized George W. Bush for not standing by our values in our foreign policy, and for breaking our most critical alliances. That, with all respect, is exactly what Howard Dean's comments over the last week about the Middle East have done. He has said he wouldn't take sides, but then he has said Israel ought to get out of the West Bank and an enormous number of their settlements ought to be broken down. That's up to the parties in their negotiations, not for us to tell them.

QUESTIONER: Governor Dean, you were pretty specifically mentioned there. You have 30 seconds to respond to that.

HOWARD DEAN: I am disappointed in Joe. My position on Israel is exactly the same as bill Clinton's. I want to be an honest.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN: Not right.

HOWARD DEAN: Excuse me, Joe. I didn't interrupt you, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't interrupt me.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN: Not right.

HOWARD DEAN: I think America needs to be an honest broker. We desperately need peace in the Middle East. It doesn't help, Joe, to demagogue this issue. We're all democrats. We need to beat George Bush so we can have peace in the Middle East. ( Applause )