'Misunderestimating' Howard Dean
By Doug Patton
February 22, 2005

"I like being misunderestimated." - George W. Bush

"Yee-ah!" - Howard Dean

Pundits, cartoonists, comedians and radio talk show hosts are having a field day with the election of Howard Dean as the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee. And why not? Last year's wild-eyed meltdown by the colorful former Vermont governor after his third place finish in the Iowa presidential caucuses has provided us all with laughs whenever the footage is replayed. And it may be the most widely played tape since Richard Nixon said, "I am not a crook!"

However, in classic "Bushese," there are advantages to being "misunderestimated."

In 2003, Howard Dean rocketed from obscurity to superstardom in the contest for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. Some claim he peaked too soon. Some have speculated that Dean's anti-war message simply wore thin with Democrat voters, especially in pragmatic Iowa, thus leaving the former governor holding a bag of goods he couldn't sell to the electorate at large. Still others have said that Dean's arrogant, angry temperament did him in. Whatever the reason, his campaign died a very public death that fateful night in Des Moines.

That said, Republicans take this man lightly at their peril.

Howard Dean did not become a physician, the governor of Vermont and, briefly, the Democratic presidential frontrunner, by being an idiot. Is he arrogant? Yes. Is he personally pompous? So it seems. Is he wrong on all the issues? Definitely. Is he stupid? Absolutely not, as demonstrated by his willingness to try new campaign techniques during his meteoric rise to prominence prior to the presidential primaries.

Dean's campaign manager during the early months of the campaign, Joe Trippi, has been credited with some of the most innovative grassroots ideas of the technological age. And who had the vision to hire Trippi in the first place? None other than Howard Dean. Granted, the good doctor fired the boy genius when the campaign began to implode under the weight of Dean's own radical politics, but that doesn't diminish the fact that the new DNC Chair is able to see the value of technology as it relates to the grassroots.

Just as Pat Robertson turned his failed bid for the 1988 GOP nomination into the Christian Coalition, a force that helped Republicans take over Congress in 1994 and was vital to helping Bush capture the White House in 2000, Dean plans to rebuild on the Left.

Dean's so-called "50-state strategy" could work. Look at what he plans to do in the reddest red state of them all, Nebraska. Last year - an election year - the DNC poured a paltry $12,000 into the state. Dean plans to pump $250,000 per year into Nebraska, starting this year. These funds will be used to promote city, county, state and federal candidates for office. His plan is to grow the farm team, and the GOP had better beware.

This is a state that has not supported a Democrat for president since Johnson swamped Goldwater in 1964. The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, 33 of the 49 state senators in its Unicameral Legislature, all three of its congressional representatives and one of its two U.S. Senators are Republicans.

However, Democrats do get elected. They do it by pretending to be something they are not. Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey was a perfect example. As his 1994 GOP opponent was fond of saying, "Bob Kerrey comes home to Nebraska and talks like Rush Limbaugh, then goes back to Washington and votes like Ted Kennedy."

Howard Dean plans to help elect thousands of candidates to office at every level. He will do it by changing the Democrat's message, not the substance, and Republicans had better pay close attention.

Yee-ah! It's great to be misunderestimated.

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Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a speechwriter, policy advisor and communications director for federal, state and local candidates, elected officials and public policy organizations. His weekly columns are published in newspapers across the country and on selected Internet websites. Readers can e-mail him at dpatton@neonramp.com.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.