Dean tells Kerry, don't make me beg
Dean Hints He Would Accept Vice Presidential Slot
By JODI WILGOREN
nytimes.com
Acknowledging that his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination is "a longer shot than it was," Howard Dean suggested today that he would accept the No. 2 spot on a national ticket if it were offered.
"I would, to the extent, do anything I could to get rid of President Bush," Dr. Dean said on a morning radio program in Milwaukee. `I'll do whatever is best for the party. Obviously, I'm running for president, but whatever's best is what I'll do. Anything. We've just got to change presidents. We're really hurting right now.`
Asked whether he would endorse any of his opponents, Dr. Dean said: "Probably not at this point. We are planning on winning, so we're not thinking about endorsing anybody else."
The line of questioning in Milwaukee — in a sharp shift from the months when Dr. Dean, considered the front-runner, was peppered with inquiries about how he would select a running mate — came during a lackluster day of campaigning in Wisconsin, whose Feb. 17 primary Dr. Dean has told supporters he must win in order to continue his two-year campaign.
A snowstorm disrupted plans for a rally at a local college in Sheboygan, Wis., so Dr. Dean was stuck in Milwaukee, where he spent about 25 minutes chatting with a dozen voters at a coffeehouse, before attending a hastily assembled session on health care that drew about 100 people. In between, a scrambling staff sent Dr. Dean to sign autographs at a reading teachers' convention adjacent to his hotel.
"Please stay in the race," Christian Bartley, 33, a management consultant, urged Dr. Dean at the coffeehouse, saying he had been good for the debate, if not at earning votes.
"If you want me to stay in the race," Dr. Dean responded, "you have to vote for me."
Dr. Dean also today received the endorsement of Rocky Anderson, the mayor of Salt Lake City, who praised Dr. Dean's wisdom and courage, saying he wanted a candidate who "won't sell out to the establishment just to increase his chances of success, and who won't base his decisions on what is popular at the moment."
But Utah's primary is Feb. 24, a week after Dr. Dean said he would be out of the race if he fails to win Wisconsin.
"We do want to be active in Utah," Dr. Dean said on a conference call accepting the endorsement. "We do plan to win in Washington and Maine and also in Wisconsin, and then we plan to go to Utah and Idaho; I don't know if we'll get to Hawaii or not, it's a long way out there. I'd sure like to spend a day out there." |
