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"Dean's Weapon of Self Destruction"
Howard Dean political cartoon.

September 7, 2003

… People Powered Howard starts looking like he should be hanging out on a pro wrestling tag team with Jesse “The Body” Ventura – and now concedes that he’s sometimes Howard “The Mouth” Dean. Headline from yesterday’s The Union Leader:  “Dean says he has to watch his mouth” Excerpt from report – dateline: Phoenix – by AP political ace Ron Fournier: “Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean said Friday he can be a bit too mouthy -- then went out and proved his point The front-running candidate in a field of nine said his blunt-speaking ways may someday get him in trouble. Rivals hope his campaign will implode, and Dean said he knows one way that could happen. ‘I do have a mouth on me,’ the former Vermont governor said aboard a small charter plane taking him here from Albuquerque, N.M., site of the first major debate of the 2004 race. ‘That is, I generally say what I think so I get in trouble,’ Dean said. Could he hurt himself? ‘If I blew up in a debate or something like that, yes,’ Dean said. ‘But I haven't done that in 16 years of debates.’ Dean said he is learning to let irksome questions from reporters roll off his back, adding that it's actually easier to keep his cool with the national media than it was in Vermont, where reporters had greater access to him. ‘I can get snippy,’ he said, ‘no doubt about it.’ Less than an hour later, Dean was visiting his new campaign headquarters where he fielded more than a dozen questions at an impromptu news conference. As aides pulled him inside, Dean was asked whether he was surprised that rival John Kerry did not criticize him in Thursday's debate. ‘I wish he'd say to my face what he says behind my back,’ Dean said before disappearing behind the door, a grimace on his face. Kerry had obviously gotten under his skin. On a busy campaign day, Dean had managed to underscore one of the great dichotomies of his campaign: Blunt, unscripted comments and a brash approach to politics are drawing Democratic voters to Dean, but those traits could also be his undoing. He has already had to apologize for at least two caustic comments leveled at foes. In March, he accused Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina of avoiding talking about his support of the Iraq war before an anti-war audience. In June, Dean described Sen. Bob Graham of Florida as ‘not one of the top-tier candidates,’ a remark he regretted. Watching his mouth is just one of the ways Dean is trying to grow as a candidate now that he is the front-runner, an informal title that comes with greater scrutiny, pressure and risks. He hopes to cement his position atop the field by reaching out to minorities and party leaders who have been wary of his candidacy. With Kerry's stock falling, Democratic leaders who had considered the Massachusetts senator their front-runner must now decide whether to side with Dean or rally behind an alternative…Then there's his mouth. Before leaving Arizona for California, Dean realized he had unintentionally created news with his crack about Kerry. ‘I just wish he had given me a chance to respond to all that stuff - the zero experience on foreign affairs, the NRA stuff, the tax cut stuff,’ Dean said. In a television interview Sunday, Kerry suggested Dean was not ready to be commander in chief, linked him to the National Rifle Association and criticized him for wanting to repeal all of President Bush's tax cuts. ‘I would have liked to have responded to that in person,’ Dean said, relishing the thought of getting mouthy with Kerry.”