DNC Chairman Howard Dean Will Not Seek Second Term
According to the AP, Howard Dean will honor his committment to a one-term chairmanship of the DNC.Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean plans to step down from his post when his term expires in January, wrapping up a tenure in which the party heavily invested in all 50 states for a payoff that helped elect Barack Obama president.
Dean, who was briefly his party's presidential front-runner in 2004, was elected DNC chairman in 2005 and has long vowed to serve only one, four-year term. At a postelection news conference in Washington last week, Dean indicated again that he didn't plan to stay on, aides said on Monday….
Dean was the architect of a “50-State Strategy,” investing money and staff in every state — including those where Democrats had long fared poorly — to build party infrastructure and lay the groundwork for electoral gains. The Obama campaign, working with DNC organizers in all 50 states, won several states that had not elected a Democratic president in decades, including Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana.
State party chairs were generally thrilled with Dean's approach, while some Democratic leaders in Washington complained early on that the party's money would be better spent helping candidates who had a real chance of winning.
The disagreement broke into open warfare in 2006, when Dean clashed over money and strategy with New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who ran the party's successful effort to win back control of Congress. Last week, Emanuel accepted the job of White House chief of staff in an Obama administration.
Yeah, I heard Emanuel absolutely hates Howard Dean. National progressives are not too thrilled with Obama's choice for Chief of Staff, if you hadn't heard.
To cheer yourself up, go over to Salon and read this great article by Mike Madden:
As Dean leaves the helm of the Democratic National Committee, one thing is clear: He got it right with his controversial 50-state strategy.
A true man of vision, he is. This is actually the first Dean article I've seen that makes any mention of a potential Cabinet position. Health would be appropriate, not necessarily because of his background as a physician but because of the brilliant way he instituted health care for the people of Vermont when he served as governor. There's a lot of experience there I'd hate to see go to waste just because the guy who's got Obama's ear hates Dean.
Or check out this Salon article called “Howard Dean, vindicated” by Joe Conason.
Blog For Iowa 