June 04, 2003
Howard Dean On Charlie Rose
I saw Howard Dean on Charlie Rose tonight. I'm not really sure how that went. Charlie bogged him down a bit in the questions about how he contrasted himself with the Senators, because Dean kept refusing to question their integrity. Best answer would have been to say that it's not so much about integrity as it is about leadership. I feel like the interview ended well, though. He seemed more improvisatory when he said he hoped that the race came down to nerve. I think his charisma is better when he doesn't think so much about staying on message.I also winced he used the civil unions bill as an example of his tough-mindedness because I've recently read articles that describe how he actually signed the bill after being backed into a corner by the Vermont state court (if he hadn't, they could have judged gay *marriage* valid; the article's implication was that he signed the bill as a defense of the term "marriage"). I'm sorry I don't have a source on that; don't know how true it is either. Just an example of how that issue could be turned around on him. Probably better to focus on that bill as a record of an inclusive administration rather than as evidence of him being some sort of proactive activist about it.