Dean Brings Campaign to Howard
Candidate Emphasizes Reaching Out to Democrats' Base
By Brian Faler
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, October 4, 2003; Page A04
Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean brought his campaign to Howard University yesterday for a town hall-style meeting with students and faculty -- and a chance to prove that he can win over some of his party's most loyal constituents.
The event was touted as the kickoff to his Generation Dean tour, a new push to get more young people involved in his campaign. But the former Vermont governor chose the historically black university over more than a half-dozen other colleges in the area.
Dean comes from a state with a predominantly white population and has relied on the Internet -- which is used disproportionately by white and relatively well-off individuals -- to attract support, leading some of his rivals to question whether he can connect with minority voters. His speech came just hours after eight of his Democratic rivals penned a letter, criticizing Dean for supporting a plan to hold Michigan's presidential primary online. That, they said, would effectively disenfranchise many minorities there. The letter was signed by every candidate except retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark.
Dean told the crowd, as he has often said, that minorities do not need white politicians lecturing them on race -- and for much of his speech, he did not. Instead, Dean spoke mostly on issues affecting a large swath of the population: the soft economy, the loss of jobs, the situation in Iraq and the Middle East, the need for more and better health care.
Only near the end of his talk did Dean focus on minority issues. He reminded the students, many of whom participated in a vigil earlier this year in support of affirmative action -- when the Supreme Court was considering the University of Michigan cases -- that President Bush has repeatedly used the word "quota" to describe such programs.
"It is deliberately designed to appeal to people's fears that they're going to lose their place in a university or their job to a member of the minority community," Dean said of the term. "The president played the race card -- and for that reason alone, he is entitled to a one-way bus ticket back to Crawford, Texas."
Later, after the applause had subsided, one student asked if Dean would be willing to choose a black running mate. The governor demurred, saying it is too early for him to name possible vice presidential candidates. Another student wondered what Dean might do to lessen the number of African Americans in prison. Dean warned that "we can't get all weepy and liberal about this," but promised to treat substance abuse as a medical issue, rather than a "criminal problem," and to fight racism in sentencing.
Dean was also asked about the occupation of Iraq, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the quality of schools in the District. Dean praised Ballou High School, which he had recently visited, but said a key to improving public schools is focusing on early childhood care.
Then Dean was off, having promised to keep minority concerns central to his campaign. "This campaign is going to be won because we are going to speak to our base -- we are going to dance with the folks who brought us to the dance," he said, echoing a remark that candidate Al Sharpton had made at a recent Democratic debate. |
