HOUSTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - In the shadow of Enron Corp.'s <ENRNQ.PK> tower and using the failed energy company as a metaphor, Democratic White House hopeful Howard Dean accused on Tuesday President George W. Bush of bankrupting the United States morally and fiscally.
The former Vermont governor, who began his bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination a quirky outsider and a year later finds himself leading the pack, rolled out a new, broader-brush version of his standard stump speech that appeared designed to add vision to his campaign.
He told hundreds of supporters gathered in an outdoor theater less than a mile from Enron's headquarters that traveling the country had shown him Americans felt disconnected from their government and business leaders. They were also "afraid that America is becoming more and more hated across the world" and worried they would always be struggling to make ends meet, he said.
Dean urged voters to join him in forging a new social compact at home and in fostering a U.S. role as a moral force in the world, saying: "America should not only be feared by the world, but also admired by the world."
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http://www.forbes.com/work/newswire/2003/11/18/rtr1152823.html