Dan Conley on Dean

Dan Conley has some interesting thoughts on the occasion of shutting down deanblog.com. I agree on nearly all of these points.

The big reason why I am walking away from deanblog is that I simply do not want a Howard Dean vs. George Bush race and do not want Howard Dean to be elected President. Here's why:

1) Dean does not have the temperament to be President. A Dean Presidency would be just as divisive and partisan as the Bush administration. Bill Clinton governed from the center and still had a difficult time moving the ball ... he only did so very slowly and deliberately and by rallying his huge reservoir of public goodwill. Dean will follow the Bush blueprint, which might work fine for a President holding a majority in both houses, but it would be an absolute disaster for a partisan Democrat working with Tom DeLay and Bill Frist.

2) Dean is clueless on foreign policy. There, I said it. Quite honestly, I have no idea what Dean really believes about foreign policy because all he seems to do is react to whatever Bush does. Give him the Oval Office, a stack of intelligence briefings and cabinet ministers with opposing points of view and I have no idea how it could work out. Given his rather confrontational manner, it would not surprise me one bit to see more wars in a Dean administration than we'd get in a second Bush term.

3) Dean will not wear well with the American people. There are some politicians who you slowly grow to appreciate over time. Bob Dole is a guy like that -- he can seem mean at first glance, but his big heart has a way of showing itself at odd times. Dick Gephardt is another. I think the American people from across the political spectrum would really end up liking that guy if he ever made it to the White House. Howard Dean is not. Dean is brusque and short tempered. You want a President who won't say stupid things like "wanted dead or alive?" Well, then Dean is NOT your man. He's just as likely to make an off-hand gaffe as our current White House occupant.