How would/should/did Kerry respond to claims that Howard

[pinkpops]

Dean's candidacy drove him to an anti-war stance?

[msongs]

1. ignore it of course, that is only cheney's opinion.............and

you know what they say about opinions. it needs to die as an issue

Msongs
Riverside CA

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. With references to speeches he gave on the senate floor

at the time of his vote which are consistent with positions he is taking now.

[GeorgeBushytail]

3. Cheney asked Edwards

something like, "How will you and Kerry stand up to terrorists when you couldn't stand up to Dean."

"We beat Dean and we will beat the terrorists." - That's really a horrible response, but it popped into my mind when Cheney asked his smoke-screen question.

[Cha]

5. What a stupid desperate tactic that was...

I didn't hear it ..but saw on DU..that the lech made a reference to Dean but forgot about it in the whole scheme of things on Tuesday night.

What the hell does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

It's a non issue.

[SoCalDemocrat]

4. It's a soundbite with no traction

Let Bush waste his time with it.

[pinkpops]

7. Yeah, I guess you're right - Bush will have to make the pitch

because he knows that one by heart.

[Roland99]

6. It didn't....NOT AT ALL!!

The claim Kerry was anti-war because of Dean was the claim that Kerry voted against the $87 billion funding bill.

Kerry voted FOR the original version of that bill. How is that anti-war?

Bush was going to VETO that bill. Bush was going to strand the troops he'd put in harm's way!!

[NYCGirl]

8. This is how Howard Dean responded...

when asked about it on Anderson Cooper's show on CNN today.

(showed tape of a number of people talking about Cheney's statement)

COOPER: And joining me from Pittsburgh, former Vermont governor and former presidential candidate Howard Dean, also now an author. He has a new book, "You Have the Power: How to Back the Country and Restore Democracy in America."

Dr. Dean, thanks for joining us.

HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, thanks for having me out. I'm so flattered to be on all those guys' names, and I hope they'll keep talking about me when they go back to Texas and Wyoming (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: Well, we'll see if that happens. You know, the, what they're saying, basically, about you is that John Kerry voted against the $87 billion allocation, so did John Edwards, because of the popularity of your antiwar stance. Think that's true?

DEAN: Course, the real reason -- no, I think the reason they did is the same reason I opposed it. You know, we support the troops. The problem is, the president didn't. The president didn't think it was high enough priority to help the troops out in order to pay for it. In other words, he's wanted -- he just put $87 billion on our kids' credit card.

This is the biggest-spending president in our history. We have the largest deficit in the history of the United States of America. I interpreted that courageous vote by John Kerry and John Edwards as a way to say to the president of the United States, You want to fund this war in Iraq, then pay for it. Get rid of those tax cuts you gave to all your millionaire friends. I was very proud of John Kerry and John Edwards for making that statement.

The president didn't care enough about the troops to take the tax cuts from his friends to pay for it.

COOPER: So you're saying if the funding allocation had been different, you would have suggested voting for it, or John Kerry should would have been.

DEAN: I did suggest voting for it. And it's on tape in some of the Iowa debates. And John Kerry said exactly the same thing. This president didn't have the courage and the guts to fund those troops the way they deserved to be funded. And I didn't see why John Kerry and John Edwards should make that vote if the president of the United States wasn't willing to.