Dean starts whining.
THE FORMER GOVERNOR
Dean Wants Party Leader to Slow Rivals' Attacks
By JODI WILGOREN New York Times
AMES, Iowa, Dec. 28 — Complaining about the torrent of attacks raining down on him from his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, <font size=4>Howard Dean on Sunday criticized his party's national chairman, Terry McAuliffe, for not intervening to tone down the debate.
"If we had strong leadership in the Democratic Party, they would be calling those other candidates and saying, `Hey look, somebody's going to have to win here,' " Dr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, told reporters trailing him as he campaigned through central Iowa. Referring to one of Mr. McAuliffe's predecessors, he added, "If Ron Brown were the chairman, this wouldn't be happening."
Dr. Dean also implied that many of his supporters, particularly young people, might stay home in November if another Democrat's name ends up on the ballot.
"I don't know where they're going to go, but they're certainly not going to vote for a conventional Washington politician," he said.
Though Dr. Dean has repeatedly said he would back whichever Democrat wins the nomination, he said Sunday that support was "not transferable anymore" and that endorsements, including his own, "don't guarantee anything."
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"Right now those guys think we're the front-runner, so they're saying all this stuff, `He can't win'," Dr. Dean said. "How are they going to win?
"What I'm saying is I think we're the best and most capable candidate of beating George Bush because we're the only one that is exciting the party," he said.
Mr. McAuliffe could not be reached for comment Sunday. Debra DeShong, the party's communications director, said Mr. McAuliffe would be "handing the nominee, whoever that person may be, a very strong" party organization.
"Democratic primaries over the past 20 years have been just as tough and just as vigorous," Ms. DeShong said. "All the Democratic candidates, including Governor Dean, have been vigorous about drawing distinctions among themselves."
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In Ames, Dr. Dean repeated his promise to support whichever Democrat wins. "Any of them are better than what we've got right now," he said. But, he added, "you can't beat George Bush if you behave like the Democrats are behaving."
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