Staff Blog
FIVE MINUTES WITH: Howard Dean
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Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee Chairman and former presidential candidate, is tearing through Pennsylvania today to talk about health care with SEIU workers. He'll also make an appearance on Temple's campus. We got a chance for a five-minute phone interview (we forgot to ask about the scream!). Here are some excerpts. [Ed: the Sarah Palin questions are out-of-order.]
City Paper: How did the SEIU workers respond to your pitch of Obama’s health care plan?
Howard Dean: Well, we did rally for health care workers. There was a lot of interest, and people want change in the country. The important thing is that Obama has a health care plan and McCain wants to tax benefits. That’s not going to work. Obama wants universal health care, paid for by letting the tax break for the people who make over $250,000 a year expire.
CP: That brings up an interesting question. It seems like Obama is promising a lot with the money that will come from that tax cut expiring — universal health care, money for cities, to say the least. Is there enough for all that? What are the priorities for spreading it around? It seems like a catch-all answer.
HD: That question has to be asked to Senator Obama. [Ed: We’re right here, Barack! Your people have our numbers.]
CP: The news about Sarah Palin today is that her husband won’t testify in Troopergate. Reading some of the news stories, it seems like there is little criticism of this coming from the top of the ticket. What’s the strategy there? Are you guys just hoping she’ll implode upon herself?
HD: Our view is that we’re running against McCain. McCain is the candidate George Bush wants to win. It’s not about Sarah Palin.
CP: But is that a good idea? She’s pretty much the reason the McCain campaign spiked in the polls.
HD: We've already seen some corrections in those numbers.
CP: We posed a similar question to Sen. Biden recently: You’re touring through the state, and surely you are seeing some of the people who are scared of change, or might be scared of a person whose name sounds different or looks different than many of the people they know. Is that going to affect the outcome?
HD: I think this is not the country of 1950s. I think things have changed a lot. Some people are afraid of Obama in this race ... but this is about having a roof over your head and if your kids will get the right opportunities, and that's why Barack is going to drive the election. ... I think it’s a close race. It’s like the 1960s, when we have John F. Kennedy, the candidate for real change, versus Richard Nixon, the candidate of the past. People want change, but people are afraid of change. The Republican tactic is to make people as afraid of change as possible.
CP: In general, when you look through Obama’s urban policy papers, there are many good ideas in there — like support public school teachers — but it sometimes lacks in how this will all get paid for.
HD: Barack has been specific about what he wants to do. Instead of putting a commission to study everything, like John McCain wants to do, he wants to make sure mortgage holders can have their finances rearranged by mortgage courts. He wants to make sure every American has health insurance. He wants to make sure college students help pay for tuition without huge debts, and part of that may involve some kind of national service. He does not want to privatize social security. I haven’t heard any of that talk from McCain.
CP: What are you trying to accomplish at Temple University today?
HD: Getting young people to go out and vote and getting them registered. … Change is always scary, and as I said the Republicans like to make it more scary. This election is the opportunity for Americans under 35 to begin running this country, and it’s still a great country. … The youth vote is as key for Barack as it was for Kennedy.
CP: You’re really pushing the Kennedy comparison. Not for anything, but the youth vote has no memory of him. Is that a good idea on a young campus?
HD: Sure. I’ve been though this before. … Jack Kennedy was the candidate of the future. Nixon was the candidate of the past, and McCain is also the candidate of the past. The younger you get, the more people see that. They see that America can’t continue to go in the direction it’s going in. You’ve got one more question.
CP: Will Obama win Pennsylvania?
HD: It’s very close, and I think we’re going to win because people vote with their pocketbook in mind. And you can’t vote Republican if you’re going to vote from your pocketbook.
What an excellent article. Tom really asked wonderful questions. This article was quite comprehensive. The interview was great.