Anyone think maybe Obama just doesn't care for Dean?

[HardWorkingDem]

And hey, there's nothing wrong with that. He won the election, but I'm beginning to think maybe he and Dean just don't get along. And I believe it was over at AmericaBlog where it was pointed out that Emanuel is still ticked at Dean and possibly Obama is irked at the way Dean handled Florida and Michigan.

My own feeling is this: Dean did a tremendous thing for the Dem party. He showed the Dem Party it could stand up to a sort of popular president (after 9/11 and before he blew all his political "capital") and that Dems could be competitive nationwide. He also showed us how to find our spine.

And while I think it would be a perfect play for Obama to select Dean for a cabinet position, I also accept that maybe Obama just doesn't like the man and doesn't want him around.

Hell, I think I'd rather see Dean out on the talk show/speech circuit letting it rip than being placated and muzzled in a rewarded position.

[blogslut]

1. no

I do not think that.

[phleshdef]

2. Anyone think maybe Dean just doesn't want to work in government anymore?

He has only been at it for 20-30 years now. All this talk about Dean not getting a position yet very consider the possibility that he might want a very well deserved break and the ability to work at his own pace and take it easy.

[HardWorkingDem]

7. I would agree to add an aspect of that, but...

it seems in the press the showing of Dean love has been kind of tepid by the Obama people. But like I stated in my OP; Obama and his team won the election and should get to appoint who they like.

[Windy]

3. He may also have some tax or other issues that he doesn't want exposed

and doesn't want the media peering into his private life.

[dkf]

8. Howard Dean?

haha. The man has such simple tastes that it kind of makes me laugh to think of it.

[dkf]

4. I don't get it because he makes nice with everybody else.

Maybe he needs to be the smartest guy in the room, and with Dean he knows he has a rival.

All I know is there are only two people I've been awed by, and that is Dean and Obama.

But Dean will always be my first.

[tritsofme]

5. Well it would certainly be a position

that I could sympathize with.

[firedupdem]

6. I think we don't truly know what is going on behind he scenes..

I do think people will make up stuff and decide that it's the reason he doesn't have a position with this administration.

[lamp_shade]

9. I think he cares... certainly. I just don't feel that The President thinks he's qualified.

[bluestateguy]

10. Obama and Dean get along fine. It's Rahm Emanuel and Dean that dislike each other

The one Dean has issues with are the Clintons, and Rahm is a big Clintonite.

[wyldwolf]

11. I don't believe there is any meaningful rift.. but I do have a theory

If I were writing a piece of political fiction based on real events, it would go like this:

Obama went to Rahm Emanuel as one of his first staff members. They have a friendship that goes back a ways.

Emanuel and David Axelrod recruited and ran Tammy Duckworth. Obama backed Tammy Duckworth. I'm not sure if Dean did, but Howard Dean's organization, Democracy For America, did not in the primaries and the rift has caused bad feeling about Duckworth in the netroots ever since. And the conflict between Dean and Emanuel (and by extension Axelrod) was over allocations of money - some of which Emanuel wanted for the Duckworth race. Political hard-feelings have been had for lesser things...

Just a theory with absolutely no evidence to support it (but, then again, when was evidence ever needed at DU for theories like that? :) )

[PassingFair]

12. Obama couldn't have won if Dean hadn't made sure that everybody played fair.

It's really that simple.

If Obama dislikes Dean for upholding the
rules and stopping a rout of our party primary
system, then Obama is wrong.

He NEEDS at least one prominent Progressive
in his cabinet.

Dean is the best choice.

[AtomicKitten]

18. I also don't think it's the way Dean handled Michigan and Florida.

Dean did a great job, held true to the rules as agreed upon by all contenders pre-primary, and withstood the barrage of bullshit from the Clinton camp over Michigan and Florida. That was no small feat and there's no way Obama doesn't acknowledge and appreciate that, victory or not; it's about playing fair and not changing the rules in the middle of the game.

Also Dean's 50-state strategy fit hand-in-glove with Obama's organizational skills in getting out the vote. It was a brilliant victory that both men can be very proud of.

HHS is another thing altogether. I get lost in the maze of who doesn't like who, but I don't think we have even a glimpse of the deliberations. The good news is that Sen. Leahy has come out in his corner and the netroots have been emailing their fingers bloody.

Choosing Dean for HHS would be good for Obama politically because it would be throwing a bone to his base to help digest some of the dicey choices he has made otherwise (in our collective view). Plus Dean wants the job, apparently, and I'm fully behind rewarding a qualified man for a job well done.

[PassingFair]

20. We are in complete agreement!

:hi:

[elocs]

13. The bottom line is that this is Obama's choice.

I think he already knows that many people want him to pick Dean. I, too, had questioned whether Dean really wanted the job, but somebody posted that he did and that he wasn't lobbying for it because that was the surest way not to get it. It that's the case I don't see how others pushing his name improves his chances. In the end I think Obama should simply choose the person he prefers because he will never please everyone.

[JaneQPublic]

14. At one time it appeared Obama didn't care for Hillary; and that Dean didn't care for Kerry...

However, after the 2008 primary, Obama and Hillary patched things up for the good of the country.

Likewise, in the 2004 primaries, after a very contentious battle between the Dean and Kerry forces, Dean went to the Kerry camp to offer his help to the campaign (and by the way was greeted with huge cheers from the Kerry staffers). Dean campaigned for Kerry until the election, for the good of the country.

Both Obama and Dean are men who are able to put aside past rivalries for the good of the country. However, it appears Rahm Emanual tends to be one of those who treats political rivalries as a blood sport and doesn't soon "get over it."

If Obama doesn't choose Dean for HHS, it probably has more to do with (a) Obama simply doesn't believe Dean is right for the job; and/or (b) Rahm has made abundantly clear his animosity for Dean, and Obama sees a Dean appointment as bringing more "Drama" into the White House than "No Drama Obama" would care to contend with on a daily basis.

[DevonRex]

15. I don't care one way or the other. We have lots of really important stuff to worry about

and discuss.

[AllentownJake]

16. Maybe it isn't Barack

Maybe it is Rahm. :shrug:

[Captain Hilts]

17. Emmanuel works for Obama, not the other way around. nt

[camera obscura]

19. It shouldn't be about personal taste. It should be about who's best.

[Jennicut]

21. Do we really know? No. Speculation is just that.

[cooolandrew]

22. Yeah I think we shouldn't be pushy about it and at least accept that they may just not get along>

or Dean doesn't want the position. Certainly we can make our suggestions but making demands is disregarding his right to make the call.

[PassingFair]

23. I think we have a pretty good idea that Dean wants the job.

I couldn't care less whether Rahm likes
him or not.

I didn't vote for RAHM.

[nomaco-10]

24. Obama liked judd gregg well enough to give him a job...

he insisted joe lieberliar keep his HLS chairman seat. Hell, he even threw mccoot a party. Whatever he may have against Dean, it couldn't hold a match to those three. It's all very puzzling and troubling to me.

[liberalsince1968]

25. You took the words right out of my mouth.

[democrattotheend]

26. My understanding is that Obama gets along fine with Dean, but Rahm doesn't

The bad blood between Dean and Rahm Emanuel is well known, stemming from disagreements in 2006 over how to allocate resources.

I think that's part of why Dean is unlikely to be picked for HHS, but the main reason is because Obama really wants someone with legislative experience and muscle to help push his health care plan through Congress. Dean would be great on crafting the policy, given his experience as a doctor and a governor, but he may not be the best person to be the public face of the plan and the one selling it to members of Congress.