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In an earlier column, I raised the matter of whether, and how, Senator Barack Obama's conspicuous intelligence may act as a barrier to his being elected president. [SNIP] In recent years, Democrats have nominated presidential candidates who are far more intelligent that their Republican counterparts. Common sense might suggest that high intelligence is necessary to be president, and conclude that we should applaud such nominations. Election politics, unfortunately, usually punishes the more intelligent nominee. Start with Nixon. Hubert Humphrey had a remarkable mind and while Nixon was no slouch, Humphrey always struck those who knew both men well as way...

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. (the presumptive Republican presidential nominee), is facing questions about his ties to Arizona real estate developers and home builders. DNC Chairman Howard Dean and Arizona Democratic Party spokeswoman Emily Bittner pointed Friday to recent stories by 'The New York Times' and the 'Washington Post' on McCain backing land deals involving SunCor Development Co., Del Webb Corp., and developers Donald Diamond and Fred Ruskin. The deals involved parcels and projects in the Phoenix area, Northern Arizona and Nevada. Republicans dismissed the stories and Democrats' criticism, saying the deals had bipartisan support and were done to benefit...

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean addresses fellow Democrats on May 4, 2008 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Watching agitated from the corner as their two stars slug it out, top Democrats were adamant Wednesday the party would unite behind its eventual champion to take back the White House. Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., speaks with reporters on the economy and high gasoline prices as Senators Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., left, Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., center, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., 2nd right, listen Wednesday, May 7, 2008 Capitol Hill in Washington. President George W. Bush (L) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid...

Have you considered the delicious hypocrisy of Democrat presidential candidates that months ago refused to participate in debates sponsored by Fox News now practically lining up to appear on the cable news channel?Chris Wallace certainly has, and on the most recent installment of "Fox News Sunday," asked Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean about this sudden change of heart by folks who just months ago were depicting the station as too biased to bother with.What follows is a partial transcript of this segment (video embedded right):

Today on Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace confronted Howard Dean over two highly misleading ads put out by the DNC attacking John McCain on Iraq and the economy. Regardless of the very obvious fact that the ads were misleading, at best, Dean refuses to back down irrespective of the evidence Wallace cites. It makes for comical political television, and we can all rest assured that there's plenty more of this to come...

Dean: GOP uses ‘hate’ and ‘race baiting’ to win By Klaus Marre Posted: 05/04/08 12:06 PM [ET] Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Sunday that Republicans are using “hate and divisiveness” to win elections. Dean argued that the use of Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) former pastor Jeremiah Wright in GOP ads in local races is “race baiting.” “When you start bringing up things that have nothing to do with the candidate and nothing to do with the issues, that’s race baiting,” Dean said on Fox News Sunday in response to a question whether the Wright issue and his ties...

Howard Dean appeared on the Daily Show and said definitively that the Michigan and Florida delegations will be seated. (H/t Scott Jacobs.) The video is here. Representative quotes: STEWART: If I were designing a plan to submarine your chances, and again, you don’t have to follow my advice here, I would take the state that was, let’s say crucial to the Republican election chances — lets, let’s call it Florida — and I would find a way to insult them. Maybe not seat them at the convention, that sort of thing. Then I would pick a Rust Belt state, maybe...

Excerpt - The Democratic National Committee raised only $4.7 million in April and ended last month with a perilously low $3.7 million in the bank, a Democratic insider tells Washington Wire. Four years ago during the last presidential election cycle, the story was much different. The DNC raised $19 million in April 2004 and ended that month with $42 million cash on hand, Federal Election Commission reports show. ~ snip ~ What explains the cash crunch at the DNC? Some critics say it’s proof that Chairman Howard Dean just hasn’t been very effective at cultivating donors or managing resources. Dean’s...

Howard Dean sent the following email to his mailing list yesterday: "Dear Friend, John McCain wants to stay in Iraq for 100 years. He’s said it, and it’s on tape. But his campaign hates that he was caught. They’ve viciously attacked anyone who reminded the American people that he said it, including me. They’ve said that those who reference the 100 years comments are “deliberately misleading voters.” So we’ve taken John McCain’s own words — video of him saying that 100 years would be “fine with me” — and made a TV ad. There’s no confusion, no distortion, no misleading...

Robert “Mike” Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), continued to slam his Democratic counterparts for an ad they are running against presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Duncan on Tuesday accused Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean of running an ad that features footage from director Michael Moore’s controversial movie “Fahrenheit 9/11.” The ad, which slams McCain for his now-famous New Hampshire town hall line that U.S. troops could be in Iraq for 100 years, features footage of an improvised explosive device (IED) going off near U.S. soldiers. ABCNews confirmed it was the same footage that...

Many veterans and bloggers are e-mailing about the DNC's latest anti-war ad against McCain, which features a scene with two soldiers standing in the foreground as an IED goes off. The ad implies that they are US soldiers in Iraq. The ad is featured right now on the front page of Democrats.org in a splashy contribution plea. The question for many outraged readers is: Where did the DNC get the video footage? Here's the ad on YouTube:

The Democratic National Committee has sparked outrage among veterans and others across the internet by running an anti-John McCain ad that shows U.S. soldiers being hit by an IED blast. The video excerpt in the DNC ad does not indicate if the soldiers survived. Video: See the DNC Ad -

The left, the Democrats, and soldier death porn In addition to the "100 years" lie, the DNC ad in question also shows a serious lack of respect to our servicemen and women by showing imagery of some of them blowing up: The Democratic National Committee has sparked outrage among veterans and others across the internet by running an anti-John McCain ad that shows U.S. soldiers being blown up. After the new ad’s voice-over castigated McCain for suggesting that the United States may stay in Iraq for “maybe 100� years, the footage becomes shocking. The DNC ad then shows an explosive...

Carolyn NJ State Coordinator Gathering of Eagles ent me the following message, " If you have not yet seen this ad from the Democratic Party, it shows two American soldiers being blown-up in iraq. My heart goes out to all of those families that have lost loved ones in Iraq, and I cannot imagine the anguish that this ad must be causing them. We MUST express our outrage to the Democratic Party - this ad is so hurtful to our military families and it should not be tolerated in the American political arena. If you have not seen the ad...

The following is being issued by the Republican National Committee:April 29, 2008 Chairman Howard DeanDemocratic National Committee430 S. Capitol St., S.E.Washington, D.C. 20003 Re: DNC's Use of "Fahrenheit 9/11" Footage in "100" Ad Dear Chairman Dean: I write regarding the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) advertisement attacking Senator John McCain titled "100," which was released on Sunday, April 27, 2008. As you are already aware, and as has been widely reported, the DNC's ad is troubling for at least two reasons. First, its message is factually false; the DNC is deliberately misleading American voters. Second, it constitutes an illegal excessive in-kind...

DNC Ad on John McCain and Iraq: "100"

<p>The Democratic National Committee has sparked outrage among veterans and others across the internet by running an anti-John McCain ad that shows U.S. soldiers being blown up.</p> <p>After the new ad’s voice-over castigated McCain for suggesting that the United States may stay in Iraq for “maybe 100” years, the footage becomes shocking.</p>

Barbara Walters Pesters Howard Dean: End Dem Race Photo of Scott Whitlock. By Scott Whitlock | April 28, 2008 - 12:27 ET On a day when Senator Barack Obama's controversial pastor would be speaking to the National Press Club in Washington, "Good Morning America" guest host Barbara Walters chose to question Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard exclusively on how soon the Democratic presidential contest can be ended. At one point during Monday's segment, she even hectored Dean about his responsibility to bring unity to the Democrats. Walters lectured, "But that's also your job, Dr. Dean, to get one of them...

Having hit McCain on the economy last week, the DNC rolls out an ad today with some arresting images from Iraq going after him for his "100 years" comment and tying him to Bush. It will air this week on cable channels. Howard Dean offered the preview on "Meet the Press" and laid down a pre-emptive response to the McCain/GOP response that McCain was alluding to a peaceful U.S. presence in the country a la South Korea or post-WW II Germany : “Now, does anyone think who's watching this show that if you keep our troops in Iraq for 100...

WASHINGTON - Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama must drop out of the Democratic presidential race after the June primaries in order to unify the party by the convention and win the election in November. But Dean didn't say which candidate should drop out, only that it should happen after primary voters have been to the polls. "We want the voters to have their say. That's over on June 3," Dean said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." Dean also said that while the party rules say Democratic superdelegates...

These bear the tell-tale signs of scorned lovers’ rants. Their once beloved candidate is now reviled, mocked and tossed overboard while they prepare for the possible return of their “ex” with all the unpleasantness that entails. And who is joining them? Well, none other than Howard Dean, who until recently seemed to pursue strategies designed to either end the race early (Obama liked that) or to encourage delegates to respect the pledged delegate count (Obama really liked that). Yet Friday, for the first time, Dean uttered this: “I think the race is going to come down to the perception in...

Governor Howard Dean, DNC Chairman, Delivers the Democratic Radio Address Good morning. I'm Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. I want to start by offering Pope Benedict XVI the warmest welcome as he travels here in the United States. He is in our thoughts and prayers while he visits America. His visit reminds us of the Catholic values of social justice, working for the common good, and caring for those most in need. These are also the values of the Democratic Party. We face challenging times in our country and our world. Our troops are in Iraq...

If, as Hillary Rodham Clinton has suggested, her campaign takes the fight to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations all the way to the Democratic National Convention this summer, the fate of her challenge is all but certain to hinge on 25 individuals appointed to the Credentials Committee by party Chairman Howard Dean. The Credentials Committee, which also includes 161 members selected from the states based on primary and caucus results, is the 186-member body that will help determine whether to seat the two rogue delegations. Since it appears virtually impossible for Clinton to win enough of the 161 members...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Jeff in Jackson, Michigan. Thank you, sir, and welcome. CALLER: Mega dittos from Jackson, Michigan, Rush, this is Jeff. RUSH: Yes, sir. CALLER: Hey, I want to thank you for Operation Chaos, because I think that it's going to go much farther than the November election. I think it's going to set the tone for politics in the future. RUSH: How so, sir? CALLER: You're on to something. I just think that politicians, no matter what side, have had nobody to fear, you know, not as many people vote. But the amazing thing is how many people...

Howard Dean was on Wolf Blitzer's show yesterday, and Drudge picked up his admonition to the superdelegates with the splashy headline: "Dean To Delegates: Decide Now." In the interview, Dean says that he wants the superdelegates to begin "voting" now. "We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time," he said. "We've got to know who our nominee is." Unfortunately for the party, Dean is in no position to tell the superdelegates when to decide. The reason? The chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee carries with it very little political power - certainly not enough...

Top Hillary Fundraisers Rip Into Howard Dean For Saying Super-Dels Should Announce Support "Starting Now" By Greg Sargent - April 18, 2008, 2:27PM Two of Hillary Clinton's most prominent fundraisers tore into Howard Dean in interviews with me today, sharply criticizing the DNC chair for saying yesterday that super-delegates should say which Dem candidate they support "starting now." "Governor Dean should do what he has said he will do -- refrain from injecting himself into the primary process, as millions of Democrats have yet to cast their votes," Hillary national finance chair Hassan Nemazee, one of the most influential fundraisers...

(CNN)— An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they’re for – and “I need them to say who they’re for starting now.” “We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time,” the Democratic National Committee Chairman told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “We’ve got to know who our nominee is.” After facing criticism for a mostly hands-off leadership style during much of the primary season, Dean has been steadily raising the rhetorical pressure on superdelegates. He said Thursday that roughly 65 percent of them have made their preference...

An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they’re for – and “I need them to say who they’re for starting now.” “We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time,” the Democratic National Committee Chairman told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “We’ve got to know who our nominee is.”

The Democratic party will portray Republican presidential nominee John McCain as "wishy washy" on key issues but claimed they will not raise his advanced age during the general election campaign, party chairman Howard Dean said today. In a briefing with reporters, Dean outlined the party's attack strategy, formulated with the help of a team of pollsters aligned with both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the contenders for the Democratic nomination.

To: NATIONAL EDITORS Contact: Luis Miranda of Democratic National Committee, +1-202-863-8148 WASHINGTON, April 6, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean highlighted the reasons John McCain is not a strong candidate in interviews with George Stephanopolous on ABC's This Week and Bob Schieffer on CBS's Face the Nation this morning. Dean also discussed the Democratic Party's "extraordinary candidates" and delegate selection process. On John McCain "I don't think Senator McCain would be a good president either in terms of defense or certainly in terms of national policy where he's deeply out of touch with almost everything that Americans...

Dean warns Dems of divided danger By: Victoria McGrane April 6, 2008 01:37 PM EST Howard Dean warned Sunday that a Democratic Party that’s still divided come convention day could hand presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) the presidency. But he said he's not going to pressure undecided superdelegates to pick a side. Speaking on both CBS’s “Face the Nation” and ABC’s “This Week,” Dean sounded confident that the superdelegates themselves would make their decisions quickly enough to avoid disaster. “The only thing that is going to make John McCain president is disunity among Democrats. And we cannot afford...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ALHiadIsKo

Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean has a plan that will produce a nominee before his party's convention in August, avoiding what he fears could be a "really ugly and nasty" fiasco. Democratic leaders have begun complaining he has bungled the party's nominating process and alienated voters because of his failure to engineer a political compromise in the DNC's ill-advised decision to strip Florida and Michigan of all its delegates. But Mr. Dean, whose polls show the party's internecine warfare is hurting its chances in November, has been talking to party bigwigs about a deal and now says the delegations will...

53 minutes ago (at time of posting this thread) WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republican John McCain Thursday portrayed his possible Democratic presidential election rival Barack Obama as a national security neophyte who was dishonestly misrepresenting him on Iraq. Intensifying his assault, McCain questioned Obama's plan to leave a "strike force" of US troops in the Middle East after an eventual withdrawal from Iraq, and accused him of being "disingenuous" about his own Iraq stance. [SNIP] "I think somebody ought to ask what in the world he's talking about, especially since he has no experience or background at all in national security...

Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean has a plan that will produce a nominee before his party's convention in August, avoiding what he fears could be a "really ugly and nasty" fiasco. Democratic leaders have begun complaining he has bungled the party's nominating process and alienated voters because of his failure to engineer a political compromise in the DNC's ill-advised decision to strip Florida and Michigan of all its delegates. But Mr. Dean, whose polls show the party's internecine warfare is hurting its chances in November, has been talking to party bigwigs about a deal and now says the delegations will...

Florida's congressional Democrats and the national Democratic Party are concerned about their November election prospects if the Florida delegation isn't seated at this summer's national convention...Howard Dean said... Whether the state's 210 delegates are seated "makes a difference" in the congressional races in Florida, where the party hopes to pick up one or two seats, and in the presidential race, Mr. Dean said. "I don't think we can have a vote in Denver about whether or not Florida is to be seated" without prompting a divisive floor fight that could damage the party in the November polls... Florida was stripped...

March. 25, 2004 WASHINGTON - Howard Dean returned to the campaign trail Thursday, but this time he raised his voice above a noisy crowd to endorse Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, his former rival, for the Democratic presidential nomination. Speaking to college students at George Washington University, Dean, the former governor of Vermont whose dark-horse anti-war campaign energized voters in the Democrats’ base, said Kerry would better protect jobs, the environment and the nation than President Bush. “Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America,” Dean asked the young crowd, “a group...

In her most definitive comments to date on the subject, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton sought Saturday to put to rest any notion that she will drop out of the presidential race, pledging in an interview to not only compete in all the remaining primaries but also continue until there is a resolution of the disqualified results in Florida and Michigan. A day after Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean urged the candidates to end the race by July 1, Clinton defied that call by declaring that she will take her campaign all the way to the Aug. 25-28 convention if...

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean yesterday admonished Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama to stop attacking one another because it's demoralizing the party's base and damaging its chances of winning back the White House in November. Lecturing the two rivals for escalating campaign attacks that he said have gotten too personal, and bluntly telling their supporters to "keep their mouths shut," Mr. Dean warned that the party's convention this summer could get "really ugly and nasty" if their bitter battle for the nomination is not settled soon. Mr. Dean called on the 350 unpledged superdelegates, who will likely...

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., launches a biography tour next week, which looks to tell the American people about his days as a POW in Vietnam, at least based on his new TV ad (watch HERE) introduced today in New Mexico. In response, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean issued a statement, saying, “John McCain can try to reintroduce himself to the country, but he can’t change the fact that he cast aside his principles to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Bush the last seven years. While we honor McCain’s military service, the fact is Americans want a real leader who offers...

A senior Republican Party official demanded that Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean apologize late Friday afternoon for calling Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) “a blatant opportunist” who has “cast aside his principles.” Frank Donatelli, the deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), sought to drive a wedge between Dean and Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) over the comments. “Howard Dean owes John McCain an immediate apology and both Senators Clinton and Obama should unequivocally denounce this disgraceful attack,” said Donatelli. While the candidates have generally tried to stay above the fray, the parties and...

Dean says attacks getting too personal Associated Press - March 28, 2008 4:43 AM ET WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic Party chief Howard Dean is expressing concern about the angry tone of his party's presidential campaign. Dean says Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and their supporters should beware of tearing each other down, demoralizing the base and damaging the party's chances of winning the White House in November.

Dean Says Attacks Getting Too Personal Mar 28 09:36 AM US/Eastern By NEDRA PICKLER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic Party chief Howard Dean says Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and their supporters should beware of tearing each other down, demoralizing the base and damaging the party's chances of winning the White House in November. In an interview with The Associated Press, Dean also said he hopes the Democratic nominee will be determined shortly after the voting ends in early June and that he will encourage the superdelegates who will play a role to make up their minds before...

BREAKING: Dean wants closure by July 1 A potential game-changer from CBS News and "The Early Show." Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean says he wants superdelegates to make a decision by JULY 1 -- the most specific he has been in his effort to prod the party to decide between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton before the Democratic National Convention in late August. Harry Smith asked if after the nominating contests end with the South Dakota and Montana primaries on June 3, "Do you want the superdelegates to have some sort of vote immediately so that you'll know months...

Rubio: Delegate Dilemma 'Dean's Fault'State House Speaker Says DNC Should Split Delegates In Half POSTED: 4:50 pm EDT March 21, 2008 MIAMI -- On the same day that a federal appeals court in Atlanta dismissed a lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee about the party's decision to strip Florida of its delegates at the national convention, the state's House speaker blamed DNC chairman Howard Dean for "treating Florida like a third-rate state." "You know whose fault this is? This is Howard Dean's fault," House Speaker Marco Rubio, D-West Miami, said Friday while taping a segment for WPLG-TV's "This Week In...

DEAN DNC NIGHTMARE: THREATS FROM DONORS AS DELEGATE DISPUTE GROWS... Donors want $$ back from DNC over delegate snub... Developing...No story yet.

Fla. And Mich. Should Get A Second Chance To Make Their Votes Count Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean said this morning he is hopeful that Michigan and Florida can work out do-over nominating contests. "I would prefer that their delegates are seated in some way, but that way has to be within the rules that everybody agreed to...And I think they will," Dean told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos. "The states have got to come before the DNC with a plan, or else decide to appeal their exclusion to the credentials committee. When they make those decisions, then we're going...

WASHINGTON - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean urged Florida and Michigan party officials to come up with plans to repeat their presidential nominating contests so that their delegates can be counted. "All they have to do is come before us with rules that fit into what they agreed to a year and a half ago, and then they'll be seated," Dean said during a round of interviews Thursday on network and cable TV news programs. The two state parties will have to find the funds to pay for new contests without help from the national party, Dean said. "We...

Howard Dean seems pretty proud of himself this weekend, having come up with the best quip he's had in ... well, ever. He says since the GOP nominee is an old white guy, that today's Republican Party "looks like the 1950s and talks like the 1850s.” That's all well and good for Dr. Dean. But for those who actually care about history, you may recall that John McCain spent most of the 1950s at the Naval Academy, learning how to fight and if necessary die for his country. And as more than one friend pointed out to me this weekend,...

DNC chair: We may have to broker Clinton-Obama deal Posted: 03:02 PM ET (CNN) — As predictions of a convention floor fight from the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue to mount, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said the party would likely intervene to prevent that scenario. Dean said Democrats would look to “get the candidates together to make some kind of an arrangement” before the party meets in Denver this August to officially select its nominee. In an interview on NY1 on Tuesday, before the outcome of the day’s votes was known, Dean said he thought...