yesthattom | Howard Dean

Dan: “Would Howard Dean’s proposed ‘Honesty and openness in government, real security changes, a healthcare system that works for everybody’ be similar to those implemented during the Clinton Administration? Weren’t they Democrats?”

Andrew Replies: Yes. You will recall that in that period we had a well-regarded, competent government, fiscal sanity, peace, and prosperity. Not everything was perfect, to be sure. But on the issue of security, three things stand out: FEMA was professionalized and functioned outstandingly well; the military was brought to an outstanding level (look how well it performed for the Administration that inherited it); and, third, the CIA was hard at work trying to kill Bin Laden, whom they urgently described to Bush, Cheney and Rice on January 7, 2001, at Blair House, as a “tremendous” and “immediate” threat to the United States (a warning the new Administration simply ignored).

On health care, your team defeated the attempt to extend coverage to all, but at least a very serious attempt was made. And at least health care was extended to more children through the CHIP program. And at least a little relief to ailing loved ones was given via the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Yes, the President had an affair and lied about it – and your team made sure every child in America knew every detail of it. But is that really on a par with destroying the nation’s financial strength and misleading the country into a disastrously mismanaged war?

Stolen from Andrew Tobias' blog