16 Questions for Howard Dean

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A|catura

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16 Questions for Dean
- Rich Lowry


December 29, 2003


The other Democratic candidates for president are beginning to challenge front-runner Howard Dean daily, asking questions about his positions and fitness for office. Here are the questions that they're not asking Dean, but should:


-- The U.N. Security Council in November 2002 unanimously passed Resolution 1441, giving Saddam Hussein "a final opportunity to comply." How do you interpret the phrase "final opportunity"?

-- You routinely say that the Berlin Wall came down without a shot. You mean without a shot excluding Korea, Vietnam and small wars throughout Latin America and Africa during four decades, right?

-- You say Osama bin Laden should be presumed innocent until a jury gets to decide his fate. Who do you think would best represent bin Laden at his trial, Johnnie Cochran or Mark Geragos?

-- You say the United States shouldn't have fought the Iraq War because Saddam did not present "an imminent threat" to the United States. Yet you supported wars in the 1990s in Bosnia and Kosovo. How exactly did Slobodan Milosevic pose an imminent threat to the United States?

-- You say that it was a mistake for the United States to go to war without the "permission" of the United Nations. For what other sovereign acts of the United States would you require U.N. "permission"?

-- You have said at various times that it would be irresponsible not to support President Bush's $87 billion funding request for the troops and reconstruction in Iraq, and that you opposed the $87 billion. What is your position right at this moment on the $87 billion? How about now? And ... now?

-- You quit the Episcopal Church because you thought its position on a Burlington, Vt., bike path was "not very Godlike." What is God's position on bike paths? Scriptural references would be helpful.

-- You say that the invocation before congressional sessions makes you uncomfortable. What phrase or sentiment makes you most uncomfortable from this passage from a recent invocation: "Help each of us to depend upon Your strength as we navigate life's challenging seas. May we trust the wonderful laws of sowing and reaping, knowing You will bring us an abundant harvest"?

-- You say that Republicans want to end public education. Education spending under Bush has increased 65 percent. How is that consistent with the alleged goal of ending public education?

-- Did you have any favorite ski spots during the Vietnam War?

-- In the North Korean crisis, the Bush administration is engaging in intense multilateral diplomacy to make North Korea's neighbors part of any settlement. You advocate that the United States instead cut out other countries to engage in direct talks with Pyongyang. What explains your burst of unilateralism?

-- Do you prefer your would-be Southern voters to fly the tasteful "stars and bars" that was the official flag of the Confederacy from March 1861 to May 1863, or the more familiar and popular Confederate battle flag?

-- You have at various times said you supported NAFTA, and said you opposed any agreement like NAFTA. You have both said, "NAFTA is here to stay," and advocated negotiating a "New Deal" with Mexico. What the hell?

-- You said recently that the Saudis might have tipped off the Bush administration prior to Sept. 11. Are there any other bizarre theories that you have picked up from the Internet that you would like to share at this time?

-- You say that Bush doesn't understand the needs of middle-class families. Yet your proposed full repeal of the Bush tax cut could, as some of your opponents point out, result in a $2,000 tax increase for a middle-class family of four. What do you understand about middle-class families' hunger for higher taxes that the rest of us don't?

-- If you had to choose your percentage of the popular vote in a general election right now, would you pick George McGovern's 37.5 percent, Walter Mondale's 40.5 percent or Michael Dukakis' 44.8 percent. Please round to the nearest single digit.
 
They are also forgetting the quotes from 1998 in which Dean supported unilateral action against Saddam!!!!!!

I cannot wait until the debates....LOL

"Mr. Dean, can you explain why you said on Canadian television that President Clinton should act unilaterally to remove Saddam Hussein from Power in 1998, and even went so far as to make comments about the French always being opposed to US interests around the world, yet you feel now after September 11 President Bush acted ireesponsibly in Iraq, even calling him "dangerous"?"

:wink:
 
verte76 said:
The last time I checked Dean hadn't won the nomination. Not a single primary vote has been cast.

Tell that to Dean....

I cannot believe he is asking the head of the Party to ask the other candidates to be gentle with him.

Almost as if he is the nominee and does not want to be damaged...

hmmmmm
 
That is who my father is voting for. LOL He has also voted for Jessie Jackson twice. This is always an indicator that a republican is getting into office. When my Dad is finding logic in the extremes, it means, the center of the party is not doing its job.
 
Dreadsox said:


Tell that to Dean....

I cannot believe he is asking the head of the Party to ask the other candidates to be gentle with him.

Almost as if he is the nominee and does not want to be damaged...

hmmmmm

Yeah as of this moment, I think the chances of getting Bush out are slim. If Dean is the Dem's best bet, they're screwed.
 
BonoVoxSupastar said:


Yeah as of this moment, I think the chances of getting Bush out are slim. If Dean is the Dem's best bet, they're screwed.

Yes. Very screwed. In this conservative neck of the woods, if I put a Dean sticker on my car and went to the store the place would get picketed.
 
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Barring some sort of major incident, Bush will get re-elected.

Which should then in turn provide 4 solid years of "President Hillary Clinton in 2008" hysteria which will consume the nation. Ann Coulter will have a coronary. People will start frothing at the mouth. I'm gonna grab a bucket of popcorn, it all sounds very exciting, lol.
 
anitram said:
Barring some sort of major incident, Bush will get re-elected.

Which should then in turn provide 4 solid years of "President Hillary Clinton in 2008" hysteria which will consume the nation. Ann Coulter will have a coronary. People will start frothing at the mouth. I'm gonna grab a bucket of popcorn, it all sounds very exciting, lol.

Calling all D.C. cardiologists: don't quit your jobs!
 
According to Michael Moore (if you wish to believe him), the Democratic Party establishment has written off the 2004 election as a loss and is focusing their energies on 2008.

I would severely hate a Bush re-election, but this could be a mirror of 1956. Of course, that could also mean that the next election could be a mirror of 1960, and we all know what happened from there...

Melon
 
But if you ask the Republican Party what they refer to by "middle class," you'll get figures of anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000 a year, which ignores much of the nation. Maybe it is about time we start legally defining these very politically ambiguous terms?

Melon
 
I would love to know what people think middle class is in here!!!!!
 
I think middle class depends on where you're living. If it's in one of those beautiful apartments on the Upper West Side, certainly middle class is different from a suburb of Buffalo.

However, on average, I would think middle class would be around $70-$100K/household/year.
 
Wow, if the left at FYM is already predicting a Bush victory in 2004, its definitely over for the Democrats in 2004.
 
STING2 said:
Wow, if the left at FYM is already predicting a Bush victory in 2004, its definitely over for the Democrats in 2004.

We don't have a crystal ball, and I still think there's some uncertainty over the primary results. But 2004 is thus far not looking good for the Democrats. I may be a liberal but I'm hopefully not a self-deceiver.
 
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Perhaps Democrats have grown cynical. Let's hope that they haven't grown apathetic.

As a cynical voter, I will cast my vote against Bush. At this rate, however, I may try my luck in Toronto in a year or so.

Melon
 
melon said:
As a cynical voter, I will cast my vote against Bush. At this rate, however, I may try my luck in Toronto in a year or so.

3 years and you've got citizenship.

Join us. We're good people. :wink:
 
Well, I would never renounce my U.S. citizenship, because, in spite of the fact that I think this nation is devolving into a nation of fearmongering, cheap labor, and impossibly large personal debt, I still love this nation. I guess I find myself frustrated at what seems to be a nation contented with ripping itself apart, and I don't know if I want to sit back and watch it ruin itself.

Dual citizenship certainly isn't out of the equation. Toronto already feels like a second home, and I know some fantastic people there...

Melon
 
I feel the same--I'd never give up my citizenship, just because I don't like some stuff that's going on. There's no perfect society and every country has its problems. I love my country. I might like dual citizenship. That'd definitely be interesting. But I'll always be an American, no matter who's in the White House.
 
hmm, if Dean indeed is even worse than Bush
then these next elections could turn into the wet dream of every stand-up comedian :hmm:
 
I hold dual citizenship, and if it were possible for me to hold triple citizenship, I would have taken a German passport years ago for purposes of easy EU travel.
 
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