DISSING THE DWARVES

Dean's Hubris (Valley News, 6/20/03)

In his bid for the presidency, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has gotten far by casting himself as a politician of compassion (Dr. Dean, who fought to provide health insurance to most every Vermont family) and candor (Candidate Dean, who opposed President Bush's war on Iraq and accused fellow party members of forsaking "the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party").

To those who have followed Dean's career in Vermont, those selling points ring true. But those who have watched Dean closely at home have also seen a darker side of his candor, as Dean uttered off-the-cuff remarks that disparaged fellow politicians and made clear that he considered himself the intellectual superior of many people he met.

As Dean has entered the national stage, his tendency to place foot in mouth has gotten him into scrapes -- unusually severe ones, at least this early in the campaign -- with fellow Democratic contenders. He had to apologize to U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina after wrongly accusing him of waffling on the war in Iraq. He sought a private meeting with Rep. Richard A. Gephardt after attacking the Missouri Democrat's health care proposal. An aide to U.S. Sen. John Kerry accused Dean of displaying "a pathological recklessness with the facts."

It wasn't until this week, however, that Dean put his hubris plainly on display. At a business luncheon, Dean claimed to be the only major Democratic candidate with experience appointing judges. When someone pointed out that another candidate, U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, had appointed judges while serving as governor of Florida, Dean dismissed him as a bit player.

We have no more essential, and absurd, political myth than that what we really want is a candidate who will be honest with us. Nothing brings the lynch mob faster than even accidental candor. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 21, 2003 6:40 AM