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Thursday, Dec. 11, 2003 9:53 a.m. EST Dean in New N-word Flap Two days after using Harlem as his backdrop to showcase Al Gore's decision to endorse him, Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean is under fire because supporters at a recent Dean event were heard using anti-black racial slurs. The event was a Dean fund raiser featuring several "pro-Dean comics," who, according to the New York Post's Deborah Orin, "used the n-word for blacks" during their routines. Dean later told reporters that the anti-black jokes were "wrong," but offered no apologies for the episode and didn't ban the offending performers from future Dean events. After governing the nearly all-white state of Vermont for three terms, Dean has already demonstrated a political tin ear when it comes to racial matters. Until last month, his standard stump speech included a line about how he wanted "to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks." The leading Democrat has since apologized, but the lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy within the black community has party insiders worried. One recent report highlighting the problem cited a woman who was spotted at a rally carrying an "African-Americans for Dean" sign. The woman, however, was white.
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