Reprinted in its entirety
Common Dreams: Why I Support Howard Deanby Bill C. Davis
"He’s smart. He’s clear. Neither qualities can be taken for granted when discussing the American presidency. His logic is crisp. He uses deductive reasoning. He speaks like a humane scientist. His positions seem to evolve from assimilating and interpreting facts. He does not seem to mold or withhold facts in order to promote a position in which he has an ego or monetary investment. He seems to take the mission statement of the Constitution to heart and applies an impassioned contemporary reason to it. He can be engaged. You get the feeling that if one frames a sensible argument he would integrate that into his decisions. His authority seems available to collaboration.
He's not a demagogue or religious fanatic. He sees human rights as a criterion for decision-making. He believes in separation of church and state. He seems to approach and treat the citizenry as if they are adults. He also seems to have galvanized a retiring sector of the population – a group that perhaps cynically or exhaustedly said, “what’s the point?” and consequently sat back. They’re now leaning forward to hear and support the observations and assertions of a thinking leader.
Dean's not flashy - he’s bright. His interest seems to be the phenomena of the political, social and international moment and he appears to interpret and diagnose the moment in pursuit of a healthy outcome. He seems holistic. As with the human body, he's not unaware of the interacting systems of domestic and international organisms and how that interaction affects individual human beings.
His present positions do not unanimously agree with mine but I believe Howard Dean actually deals with evidence and reality and then arrives at a solution and a considered policy. In other words, I believe a citizen might be able to change Dean's mind. And I believe he would change his mind not for approval but because evidence and opinions would be presented and he would be able and unafraid to recognize their merits. This belief engenders hope that the American experience would be presided over by an intelligent evolution of thinking and that kind of thinking would be a consolation not only to American citizens but also to heads of state around the world.
One of the first things I heard Howard Dean say in the course of an interview during the pre-Iraqi war period, was that an arrogant super power will find, as history has shown, that other countries, as they feel the sting of its arrogance, will organize to surround it and try to bring it down. The arrogance that engenders the current administration is causing the very thing Dean observed. In the same interview he said that not talking to North Korea makes no sense. He didn’t say that they’re too evil to talk to – he said with quintessential New England and global logic – it makes no sense not to talk to them. Observe – listen - deduce – speak. That’s why I like and support Howard Dean.
He has governed a state that has an Independent congressman - an Independent senator - a sturdy grid system and progressive social policies. The population of his state is the same number by which Gore won the popular vote. That alone points to Dean as an antidote for a toxin we have been breathing for almost three years.
Even if George Bush did not happen to America, Dean would still be a wise choice for president. Given the unfolding catastrophe of the well oiled Bush Machine, human Dean seems to be an essential choice."
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