Dean knows he is being used as a wedge issue.....handled it well.

[madfloridian]

On all 3 shows tonight...he handled it well.

He may have kept them from continuing to use him as a wedge issue anymore. He explained so clearly the reason for the vote against for the 87 billion...made it clear they were all in unity about it.

I think this may have defused his being used this way again. He took the chance to say that Bush was acting like a 2 year old, repeating the same things, making up different ones.

He accomplished several things.....perhaps keeping himself for being used that way again, praising Kerry and Edwards wholeheartedly, and bashing Bush as only he can.

Anderson Cooper did a segment of all the talking heads repeating what Cheney said about Dean in the debate.....it was hilarious. It was almost Jon Stewartesque in nature. Dean grinned about it, and then thoroughly and carefully explained why Kerry and Edwards voted the way they did.

It was well done.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Dean took every attack

and hit right back with facts and clear information about the 87 billion. From the way Cooper reacted, I think he was too shocked to think of anything else to say.

[madfloridian]

3. Cooper is good about letting guests talk, I think.

He usually is pretty good when Howard Dean is on there.

[WilliamPitt]

2. No surprise

Howard Unbound. Feel the power.

I'm happy as hell he's on our side.

[madfloridian]

4. At his best when not restricted.

And he enjoys it.

[janx]

9. "Howard Unbound"--

Good one! ;-)

[Andromeda]

5. Dean handled himself splendidly!

But I knew he would. Using Dean as a wedge issue backfired bigtime on the GOP.

His explanation about the 87 billion was succinct and crystal clear. After he hammered the point home to Cooper he did a fantastic job of using that opportunity to applaud Kerry/Edwards.

[madfloridian]

6. I heard they were planning on using it more....bet they won't now.

That played well. Besides, tonight he is at a Kerry/Edwards Meet-up in Pittsburgh, which is also a good thing.

[mzmolly]

10. "succinct and crystal clear"

That's our Howard :loveya:

[emulatorloo]

7. Dean was superb as always - and he ain't gonna be used by Dick Cheney

I imagine he was pissed when Cheney came out with that bs the other night.

[janx]

8. It would not surprise me at all had this been a standard right wing

"talking point." Hell, we had freeps coming in here trying to do that.

But the Dem message is now completely unified, so it doesn't work. So glad to see you post, MF. I'm very tired now--book festival out of town last weekend and headlong into the teaching overload this week.

Later!

[madfloridian]

13. Janx, give a link to your book.

It is really weird. I thought I ordered it somewhere several months ago, then forgot about it. The other day I remembered, realized it never showed up on my card. I guess wherever I ordered it did not go through. :shrug:

I could swear I ordered it, but now I am wondering if I was just imagining things? :shrug:

Let me know.

[KoKo]

11. Sorry...I missed him tonight. What do you mean "Wedge Issue" with Dean?

Do you mean Cheney's statement? Sorry, I didn't understand from your post...???

[madfloridian]

12. Yes, Cheney's statement, and the other talking heads.

I believe from Anderson Cooper video clips, and so did he, that it was a talking point. He showed Mary Matalin, Lynn Cheney and about 7 others saying the same thing.

It was really nice to see Dean come out and take the issue and own it.

He explained the vote perfectly, praised Kerry and Edwards, and called Bush a 2 year old.

They were trying to get the Deaniacs upset, thinking we were stupid folks who would fall for it.

[NYCGirl]

14. Here 'ya go, MadFlor. Here's part of the transcript of the Cooper CNN show

I posted at another thread about it:

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.

[NoPasaran]

15. That's our Howard!

Have I ever mentioned I think he's great?

[madfloridian]

16. Thanks for the partial. That is great.

This was really great tonight. I doubt they will try it again.