I have to be upfront about this, I love Howard Dean. He's been one of my political heroes since I saw him come on the national stage in 2003. I went to his meetups and was inspired by him, through the primaries in 2004 and throughout his chairmanship of the DNC. The 50 state strategy was genius even though it seems like common sense to all of us now. Howard recently spoke out on John McCain's scandal...and he nailed it. He figuratively hit the issue out of the park.
From The National Journal On-Air:
Q: So there is big news about John McCain -- the story that is in the New York Times, raising questions about his relationship with a lobbyist. This is a story the McCain people are saying is unfair and untrue. What do you think?Dean: I have no idea whether the affair story is true or not, and I don't care. What I do care about is John McCain -- and this has been well-documented -- is talking all the time about being a reformer and a maverick, and in fact, he has taken thousands of dollars from corporations, ridden on their corporate jets, and then turned around and tried to do favors for them and get projects approved. He has tons of lobbyists on his staff. This is a guy who is very close to the lobbyist community, a guy who has been documented again and again by taking contributions and then doing favors for it. This is not a guy who is a reformer. This is a guy who has been in Washington for 25 years and wants to give us four more years of the same, and I don't think we need that.
Thank you Howard! I am sick of hearing how McCain is this goodie goodie maverick who sponsored some campaign finance legislation, so that he is some sort of angel. McCain needs to be painted as the scoundrel that he is and Dean does it perfectly. Of course that answer above wasn't all. He tied it into the election and spelled out an issue that we can beat him and the GOP on.
Q: Do you think that running against John McCain -- the Democratic Party -- that ethics is going to be an issue for him in this campaign?Dean: Yes, because ethics is a huge issue anyway. People are tired of the incredible lack of ethics in the Bush Administration -- what we call the culture of corruption. I think they want somebody who is not going to do that any more, who is not going to mislead the American people -- whether it is on Iraq, or on lobbying or on taking public financing of campaigns, and who is not going to say one thing and do another.Q: This whole matter, actually though, seems in a funny way to be helping Senator McCain, because the conservatives who were so skeptical about him now are rallying around him and saying he is a victim of the liberal New York Times. Isn't this a development that could actually wind up helping John McCain?Dean: The conservatives are part of this culture of corruption that the Republicans have brought to Washington. Think of the Scooter Libby problem, the Alberto Gonzales problem, the Doug Feith problem. Think of all of the people in the Bush Administration that have had to leave office under a cloud -- Randy Cunningham, the Republican congressman.Well, now it looks like John McCain is part of the corruption problem in Washington. He has done things that are legally questionable -- the Keating Five business back in the '90s -- but he doesn't seem to really have an ethical compass. He doesn't seem to have an instinct about what is the right thing to do and what isn't the right thing to do. He talks a good game, but he's just like all those Republicans in Washington have been for all these years, and I don't think the American people want a president like that.
The American people do want a change, and that change will come in November. McCain is an agent of the status quo and our nominee represents what most voters want. You can already see it in this primary season. Like Giuliani, American will find out about the real McCain and treat him appropriately.
And now it seems that the media is starting to realize it as well. It isn't about the possibility of some sex on the side, it is the lack of ethics and moral corruption that exists in our government.
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