I had a contract with Howard Dean’s organization Democracy for America last year. They obviously valued my advice even though I am not a doctrinaire progressive. They hired me even though I didn’t even support Howard Dean’s presidential run. I am not sure that I would support a second run by Dr. Dean, but I might.
Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who electrified anti-war liberals during the 2004 presidential race, said Thursday he would consider another run for the White House – a statement that will surely be met with mixed reaction in the Democratic Party.
Dean, whose underdog presidential campaign officially launched 10 years ago this weekend, said he has “mixed feelings” about running for office again but added he would consider another bid for the Democratic presidential nomination if he doesn’t think the other candidates are adequately addressing progressive issues that are dear to his heart.
“I am not driven by my own ambition,” Dean told CNN in an interview at the Netroots Nation conference, an annual gathering of left-leaning political activists. “What I am driven by is pushing the country in a direction that it desperately needs to be pushed; pushing other politicians who aren’t quite as frank as I am who need to be more candid with the American people about what needs to happen. I am not trying to hedge, it’s a hard job running. It’s really tough. I am doing a lot of things I really enjoy. But you should never say never in this business.”
I probably will be more sympathetic to Dr. Dean’s campaign than I will be to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. I am not sure, however, whether I am ready to get on board the Dean train. I will have to see what Biden is going to do, I am certain that I will oppose Andrew Cuomo. Other than that, I am open-minded.
How about you?