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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JakeStraw who wrote (5950)	10/29/2003 2:32:33 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

It could be that American Spirit is concerned that Dean has outed himself as a metrosexual. Dean courts wide spectrum denverpost.com By Joey Bunch, Denver Post Staff Writer Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean tried to be all things, except George W. Bush, to all voters on fundraising stops in Boulder and Denver on Tuesday. The pack-leading Democrat hit all the marks, courting fiscal conservatives and social liberals. He bashed the war and pumped up his plans for universal heath care, renewable energy and investments in schools, highways and broadband Internet for everyone. Dean declared himself a "metrosexual," the buzz phrase for straight men in touch with their feminine sides, as he touted his accomplishments in "equal justice" for gay and lesbian couples. But then he waffled. "I'm a square," Dean declared, after professing his metrosexuality to a Boulder breakfast audience with an anecdote about being called handsome by a gay man. "I like (rapper) Wyclef Jean and everybody thinks I'm very hip, but I am really a square, as my kids will tell you. I don't even get to watch television. I've heard the term (metrosexual), but I don't know what it means." At a luncheon in Denver, Dean surged past the issues and got down to more immediate business, spelling out the main reason for his fourth Colorado visit in the past year. "This is all about raising money to beat George W. Bush," he told a full ballroom at the Oxford Hotel. Dean had two breakfast appearances in Boulder, one for $100 a plate that followed a smaller gathering at $500 each. He did the same double bill in Denver. He took away more than $50,000 in Boulder. Denver fundraising totals were not available Tuesday evening. Between fundraising, Dean delivered a fiery oratory at the University of Colorado, drawing a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd in the hundreds. "That dude's right," said junior "Spud" Williamson, wearing camouflage pants and purple spiked hair, about Dean's assertion that the extra $87 billion Bush is seeking to rebuild Iraq could have bought health insurance for every American. Colorado Republican Party chairman Ted Halaby issued a full page of blistering criticism of Dean's remarks at CU. "What I find the most alarming is his unapologetic stand against the war on terrorism and his continuing refusal to support our troops with the financial aid required to keep them safe while in harm's way," Halaby wrote. Dean will have a tall order to beat Bush in Colorado, but a better chance than any other Democrat, said pundits seasoned in the state's conservative taste. "If you appeal to the moderate vote, you can win in Colorado," said eternal Democratic optimist Rollie Heath, Dean's close friend. Heath didn't have such luck. He got trounced in his bid for governor last year against Republican Bill Owens. A lot has changed since then, Heath said. The economy has continued to sour under Bush, Iraq is an albatross and the incumbent president's position on health care is nonexistent, he said. "Howard is a doctor; he understands health care, and health care is a huge issue and a huge industry in this state," Heath said. Denver pollster and political analyst Floyd Ciruli said Dean has a Bill Clinton appeal: a dynamic small-state governor who comes across as a Washington outsider.