Dean was in Kentucky and Cincinnati today. A reporter sat down with him in Starbucks...

[madfloridian]

and got an interview about several issues.

He was in Kentucky to visit with Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Lundergan. Lundergan said that he and Dean are meeting to discuss the continuing reorganization and rebuilding of the Democratic Party.

Then it looks like he was in Cincinnati for a fundraiser tonight.

Here's how the reporter got the interview...kind of interesting. Took notes on the back of an envelope.

http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/gov2/2007/01/howard-dean-on-ky.asp

Howard Dean on KY

One of our best reporters, Greg Korte in Cincinnati, happened to run into DNC Chairman Howard Dean at the Starbucks downtown at 4th & Walnut. Korte sat down with him, took notes on the back of an envelope and turned a story around that Dean is focusing on KY gubernatorial race. Great hustle and a good scoop.

Here's a summary of some of the subjects in the interview in Starbucks. Nothing earthshaking at all. Odd he has not been on TV since his appearance on Bay News 9 in Tampa December 10, just before he went to Europe. That's when he said there should be a new election in Florida 13th. Jennings acted strangely about it in an interview, said she did not know about his support...odd. She brushed it off in the part I read.

Guess he's doing his job building the party and letting the 08 folks vie for air time. Many of us have feared he might be muted in this position, and not able to give his views. I hope that is not the case. His voice has been important to the grassroots. Many in the party want to silence it, hope it doesn't happen.

Democrats' chief calls Ky. a 2007 priority

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, in Cincinnati for a fund-raiser tonight, said the Kentucky governor’s race will be a top priority for his party in 2007. Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, he said, “is deeply steeped in corruption. He’s had to pardon nine of his employees ahead of time – before they were even charged.”

Winning the Kentucky governor’s mansion is important for Democrats strategically in 2008, he said.

On U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R- Miami Township (Clermont County), who barely held off a challenge from Indian Hill physician Victoria Wulsin: “She’ll have a perpetual strong challenger for as long as she stays,” in that seat, he said. He was talking about a Democratic challenger, but he said he expected her to continue to face primary challenges as well.

As for Paul Hackett, Schmidt’s former Democratic opponent who faces a grand jury investigation for chasing down three men with an assault rifle after they crashed into a fence at his Indian Hill home, Dean said he didn’t know about the incident but suspected that it wouldn’t hurt his political career at all.

He has a statement up at the DNC about Bush's speech tonight.

Governor Dean Responds to Bush Address On the War

"By choosing to escalate the crisis in Iraq, President Bush continues to ignore the lessons of history, ignore the advice of military experts, ignore the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group and the will of the American people. The President's plan will not make America more secure. It puts more American troops in the middle of a civil war and a situation reminiscent of Vietnam. Democrats in Congress have made it clear that they fully support our brave troops in combat, but will also hold the President accountable for a new direction in Iraq that turns the country over to the Iraqis and allows for our troops to come home. Our troops have already sacrificed enough for the President's mistakes."

I did find one more brief statement from him this last week, speaking of the new congress.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16472057/site/newsweek/

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean is telling party leaders that if they don’t pass a bill with teeth, they will lose their majority in two years. Next to the war in Iraq, voters were most concerned about the corruption on Capitol Hill. “You can’t promise no more business as usual and then not deliver,” says Dean."

[madfloridian]

1. From Ohio...why Dean doesn't try to take credit.

Someone at the Cincinnati fundraiser asked him why he lets others take credit. I thought this was a nice answer, from the DFA blog.

We talked a little bit more, I mentioned that he never takes credit for what he does and he said that he has found that if you let others take credit for what you do, more gets done.

:7