Why I like Dean

I just received the following message from the Dean campaign. It demonstrates what, I think, is the primary reasons why Democrats should get behind Dean:

Hello. My name is David Salie. I'm Governor Dean's Deputy Director for Grassroots Fundraising, and I need your help. We're working on a day of nationwide events on April 26th, commemorating the third anniversary of Governor Dean's signing of Vermont's civil union legislation. We hope to organize one hundred house parties that day, each paying tribute to Governor Dean's political courage in risking his political career for doing what was right.

I have said repeatedly in the past that it is naive for the Democrats to think that they will ever find a candidate that will NOT be subject to an endless campaign of smears and innuendo. What we need is a candidate who isn't afraid to confront these smears head on instead of trying to avoid them. One of Dean's biggest potential vulnerabilities is his decision to sign Vermont's civil union law. There can be little doubt that the GOP will try to use this to hurt Dean in more socially conservative circles. Your typical Democratic candidate of the last few years would deal with this problem by either avoiding it entirely or, even worse, try to say that what he did isn't what he actually did. In the end, such a candidate comes off looking weak and cowardly. Dean, recognizing this potential problem, has chosen to preemptively respond to it by actively promoting it. The idea of holding a celebration for it is, in my opinion, brilliant. It is an open challenge by Dean to the GOP. "Bring it on" is the message he is sending. And that is the reason why I like Dean.