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It was a great gathering for Howard Dean today at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, even with the short notice to most people that he would be here! Standing room only and an enthusiastic crowd. It was an honor that he took the time to stop in Alabama (not very friendly ground to Democrats, especially from way up North) while on the way to Atlanta.
It was fun for me to shake the hand of the man who will be the next president of the United States, and it was nice to be able to see him up close in a smaller setting. I am sure his days in these smaller gatherings will be numbered as he rises to the party's nomination.
After a moment's silence to remember the four young girls killed in the Birmingham church bombings on this day in 1963, a day in his young life that he said was fundamental to his development into a Democrat, Dean gave a rousing speech in which he took ownership of the word "liberal" ... something I was glad to hear, since the word has been distorted ever since Ronald Reagan began to use it as a smear.
"If it takes a liberal to balance the budget of this country," Dean said, "then I guess I am that man."
He was frequently drowned out in applause. At one point, Dean rhetorically asked the crowd why President Bush wouldn't do anything about the deficit, and before he could go on, someone shouted out, "Because he's dumb!" A bit of comic relief for the crowd and the candidate.
As a strong supporter of President Clinton from his primary days onward, I urge Democrats to closely look at Dean's record and what he says, not what others try to spin about him. His positions and his speeches are very Clintonesque. He is a fiscal conservative and a social moderate, with a gubernatorial record that backs him up. He espouses the core of what it is to be a Democrat and yet holds a wide enough and moderate enough view to appeal to a general electorate tired of layoffs, troop deaths and spiralling deficits.
Best of all, what I like about Howard Dean is he will tell anyone what he thinks, whether he believes they will agree with him or not. No schmoosing. This robust and refreshing honesty is a breath of fresh air.
And that's what I said to him as I shook his hand: "Good luck, governor. Thank you for your honesty."
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