I was watching Dean's much awaited (and feared by Democratic leaders) first appearance on Meet The Press as DNC chairman. He had some interesting things to say (quotes courtesy of NBC News):
On the subject of Bush "lying" about Iraq having WMDs:
MR. RUSSERT: Well, you said there were weapons of mass destruction.
DR. DEAN: I said I wasn't sure, but I said I thought there probably were. But the thing that really bothered me the most, which the 9-11 Commission said also wasn't true, is the insinuation that the president continues to make to this day that Osama bin Laden had something to do with supporting terrorists that attacked the United States. That is false. The 9-11 Commission, chaired by a Republican, said it was false. Is it wrong to send people to war without telling them the truth. And the truth was Osama bin Laden was a very bad person who was doing terrible things, but that Iraq was never a threat to the United States. That was the truth.
So... Dean apparently thinks that Osama Bin Ladin was President of Iraq and had nothing to do with 9/11? Or maybe he got Osama mixed up with Hussein... something he would rip into Bush for saying.
On the subject of Bush saying that Hussein was involved in 9/11:
MR. RUSSERT: When did the president ever suggest that Saddam Hussein was responsible for September 11?
DR. DEAN: He didn't. His nuance--his people suggested that. He suggested that in a nuanced way in many of his speeches. He was asked once directly about it and said, "No, I don't have that evidence." But the truth is in every speech, including the ones during the campaign where he deliberately muddled the anti-terrorism war that we're engaged in with the war in Iraq. They are two separate efforts.
So... the truth is what Dean "reads into" anybody else's comments?
And the Ted Kennedy What-Did-He-Say? Award goes to:
MR. RUSSERT: But is it appropriate for a physician to mock somebody who has gone into therapy and the abuse for drug addiction?
DR. DEAN: Here's the point I was trying--as most of these things are taken by the Republicans, spun around Washington saying this in a one sentence, which I generally had said. But then they're sort of manipulated around, saying this is the kind of thing he said.
On his strong religious beliefs:
I don't go to church all that much. I consider myself a deeply religious person. I consider myself a Christian. And I don't--you know, some of the other Christians would dare to say that I'm not a Christian. Frankly, it's what gets my ire up.
I guess he attends the First Baptist Church of Dean's Basement.
And his philosophy of "I will use whatever position I have in order to root out hypocrisy":
The truth is we're reaching out all over the place. We are talking to people. I have spoken with evangelicals. I have visited with some of the Catholic hierarchy in this country. We are going to do some more of that. I've been to 18 states. It was 17 when you got your numbers, but recently I went to Oklahoma and Arizona. Of those, eight of them have been red states. We're trying to get our message out everywhere. We are going to go after the Republican--what they think is the Republican base. We're going to go after red states. There are some of those states that we can win. My philosophy is actually there's no such thing as a red state and a blue state. There are purple states. Some are more purple than others. We need to be everywhere, and we will be.
I guess it's his staff who thinks in terms of Red and Blue states???
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