Suddenly, Howard Dean is everywhere.
Former Vermont governor, presidential candidate, DNC Chairman … and now a national voice for health care reform, especially a reform that includes the so-called public option or quasi-government plan to compete with the private insurance model.
The governor, as you’ll remember, was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee when President Obama won the presidency. The Obama campaign drew in no small part on the internet strategy that drove Dean’s presidential effort. Some gave Dean huge credit for his “50-state strategy” of devoting financial and on-the-ground resources to all 50 states, even if they were surely to be lost to Republicans. Others gave him not so much credit, mostly ex-Clinton staffers who wanted the money for battleground states or just don’t like the governor from past intra-party squabbles.
Dean does not now have a high-profile job in the administration. From his public remarks, it appears he was offered jobs but not the kind that he wanted. So where is Howard Dean today? Trying turning on your TV. Face the Nation, Hardball, Larry King Live, Countdown. He is also on a national tour to promote his book – Howard Dean’s Real Prescription for Healthcare, published by Vermont publisher Chelsea Green.
Everywhere you turn, there is Howard Dean. Why? At least two reasons.
- Because Howard Dean has always been a very effective communicator. From the very beginning of his career, he has been blessed with a quick mind and a sharp tongue that interviewers, reporters and bloggers love. He is the perfect guest for interview shows that are sick and tired of guests who recite the day’s talking points and do so in disciplined fashion because they are told to by people in my business. “Stay on Message!”One of his top aides once told me that Dean reads the New York Times cover to cover every day and can then engage in a nuanced foreign policy discussion based on that reading. A lot of people say that. I’m not sure they do it.
- Compared to most practicing politicians, Howard Dean is authentic. When you listen to him, you get the sense he is telling you exactly what he thinks. I have always said that is the reason his presidential campaign took off – because he said exactly what he thought and that happened to coincide – briefly – with the desire of millions of Americans.
Sure – Governor Dean has his talking points. But if you listen closely, they are delivered with the glibness and facile mind that make him one of the most authentic personalities on the public stage today.
So like him or not, as long as health care is around, you will be watching, listening to or reading Howard Dean.
Line of the month:
“[Obama] is a chess player in a town with a lot of checkers players.” David Plouffe, former Obama campaign manager.
