OK, so you're finally beginning to separate yourself from the rabble. It's beginning to look as if you might just be the presumptive heir to Al Gore and Bill Clinton. You've never been on the fringe Left, but you want to make certain that President Bush's minions can't paint you as some sort of Liberal lunatic. So what's a Presidential contender like Howard Dean to do?
Winning the Democratic nomination requires at least paying lip service to the party's Liberal left wing. In the general election, though, the "L" word could well be a liability- if Democrats allow Republicans to frame the tenor of debate in that manner. Apparently, the move to the Right has already begun.
Dean, who has risen to the top of the Democratic field in part because of his early and vehement opposition to the war in Iraq, also said he favors immediate elections in Iraq to replace the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, which he said is viewed by the average Iraqi as "simply a council of American-chosen puppets." Dean further said he would end funding for the deployment of a missile defense system, a centerpiece of President Bush's presidential campaign four years ago.
But in a wide-ranging 50-minute interview on foreign policy, given as he flew from Burlington, Vt., to Omaha on Friday, Dean also indicated he agreed with a number of Bush's foreign policy stances. In a speech Monday, Dean will seek to counter his image as a darling of the left by positioning himself as a centrist Democrat on foreign policy. Dean portrayed himself as a realist, willing to use military force if necessary, and to maintain relationships and alliances, even if freedom and democracy in countries such as Russia and Pakistan are eroded.
Indeed, Dean suggested that on some issues, the difference between Bush and himself was more of tone and temperament. He said, for instance, he would not have warned Taiwan not to hold a referendum on Chinese missiles if the Chinese premier was at his side, as Bush did last week. "The president's policy is right, but the president's public slap [at Taiwan] wasn't necessary," Dean said.
"Nuance matters in foreign policy," Dean said. "Not only does this administration have a tin ear and want to push through whatever they want to do without regard to people's feelings or thoughts, I think nuance escapes this administration."
The interview, the first time Dean has been questioned in detail about his foreign policy views, appeared to be part of an effort to transform Dean from a candidate known largely for a single, defining issue -- opposition to the war in Iraq -- to someone with the gravitas to be president and deal with the complex foreign policy challenges of the age.
In March 2000, Dean told a Canadian public affairs program that 98 percent of the public does not vote based on a candidate's foreign policy views, "unless they are really a wacko." Now, he says, because of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Iraq war, national security is the most important issue in this election after the economy. "This president has forfeited our moral leadership in the world because people dislike us so much," he said.
On one hand, it is good that Dean is beginning to prepare seriously for the rigors of a Presidential campaign. IF Howard Dean can dictate the terms of the public debate over then next 11 months, he has a legitimate shot of defeating Bush. If he allows the Republican campaign machine to take it to him, Dean will be reduced to defending himself, when in reality he should be the one asking the questions.
Dean has demonstrated the ability to raise money. Now we may get to see if he has the ability and the wherewithal to engage in the political hardball that will be part and parcel of the general election campaign. It won't be pretty, and it sure as hell won't be easy- but it IS doable, if Howard Dean has the stomach for the battle.
