It’s good to see that Howard Dean has some powerful allies in Congress:
Two prominent Democrats are urging President Obama to nominate former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over HHS and sits on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Thursday that tapping Dean – the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and a presidential contender in 2004 – would be “a very good move.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), an emerging ally of the president, penned a letter to the White House Wednesday urging the same pick.
I think Obama would do a lot to pump up progressives with this pick, and I also think Dr. Dean is qualified and deserving of the job. Someone else could be Health Czar with primary responsibility for passing the Health Care bill. And Dean could do the traditional job of a HHS Secretary.
