Rove vs Dean Debate

Someone tipped me off that Karl Rove and Howard Dean were debating at DePauw University. I watched it on a live stream.

Howard's opening remarks were much better than Karl's about generational civic engagement.

(photo courtesy of DePauw U)

"Our generation is a partisan generation," Gov. Dean declared. "People have talked about the culture wars. We've spent a lot of time demonizing each other's side, that makes it very difficult. One of the extraordinary things about this new young generation is they're sick of it. The question I get most often from young people is, 'When can you guys stop fighting about this stuff you've been fighting about for 30 years and get something done about the things you can agree on?' And I think it's going to have to wait until this generation is fully empowered for that to happen."

Dean reminded them that as they voted more in 2008 than other generations in decades, it was up to them to continue the engagement.

Rove made a terrible joke about a mouse in the University President's pool, which made me realize that Rove was initially uncomfortable, but then he got into how important it was to get involved with the community, whether it is business development that creates jobs, volunteer work, or serving on a city commission. I did like that part of his opening remarks.

There were times I was surprised how much they agreed upon when it came to immigration issues, Afghanistan and to a certain extent border security. However when it came to the CIA and investigations about national security, Rove denied that Bush's administration ever tortured any one, but the advanced techniques (meaning waterboarding) were approved by the CIA, and he claimed that the ones being interrogated were told ahead they would not be killed and at that a doctor was always available. Hmm...have a little feeling Rove was acting like Cheney and not telling all of the truth there.

When it came to civil discourse, Rove went on and on about the First Amendment. Dean didn't quibble much here especially at town halls, as he said the one he attended with Jim Moran a few weeks ago was raucous, but fine with him. Rove went off on a rant about Scott Simon's interview recently of a novelist who wrote about having lunch somewhere and Rove (fictionally) was there. The writer said something about grabbing a knife, but valor got the best of her. Simon laughed at the humor. Rove apparently wrote NPR to tell thing it wasn't very funny to him. Dean's debuttal was about Lou Dobbs' remark about him "[H]e's a bloodsucking leftist -- I mean, you gotta put a stake through his heart to stop this guy". Rove did invoke a smile from Dean when he said "Never trust CNN."

Rove's wingnutty kicked in full force when it came to health care reform. He said he didn't want a government bureacrat making decisions about his health care. He repeated John McCain's idea of tax credits, etc. Dean smacked Rove pretty good, saying that he was tired of private insurance coming between him (as a doctor) and the patient. He also wanted insurance where you cannot take it away from you, it is called Medicare.

Here's the video clip:

Howard Dean on health care reform

Overall, I thought it was a lively debate, and while Rove was more snarky than Dean overall, I liked it.

To read more and see more video clips, go here.

Dean debates Gingrich on MTP on Sunday. That's more controlled by a Republican hack, but Dean can handle him any day of the week.

Psst, President Obama...We Need this Man for HHS

Dr. Howard Dean, former gov't of Vt, presidential candidate in 2004, and DNC Party Chairman until December, pushed back against the goons who are against spending money on medical research.

On the Huffington Post, Dr. Dean explained why medical research funds were necessary for the stimulus, in particular, about comparative health care:

Comparative Effectiveness Research:

At issue is something called "Comparative Effectiveness Research" which basically means giving your doctor access to the latest research on what treatments and therapies work and which don't. This also helps doctors know which treatments are more expensive than others, and helps both patients and doctors decide if there is a cheaper treatment that is just as effective. As a doctor and the husband of a doctor, I know how important it is to have solid scientific research to make critical decisions for my patients.

This research will help doctors choose the best treatment for their patients' situation and help them make more informed choices rather than risk prescribing less effective or even potentially harmful treatments.

Essentially, in order to control costs and provide patients with better care as we reform health care, the Federal Government will fund and disseminate research that evaluates the effectiveness of different treatments and medicines. This research will give doctors and patients better choices, and most importantly better health care for their money.

This is a common sense idea that should have been put in place a long ago.

I agree with Dr. Dean on this one. I've been battling a sinus infection for over a week, and while I have read that antibiotics are not as useful in getting rid of a sinus infection, they have always worked for me. Now my health care provider tells me that they have a policy not to use antibiotics for sinus infections. If I had known that, I wouldn't have bothered to go in and get looked at in hopes of a prescription when I had already tried other remedies and know what to do about colds and sinus problems in general. There is nothing on the website about the policy, and I would prefer if comparative research was done and put on websites of our health care providers for different illnesses to explain their policies if the research points to it. A handout for $15 doesn't cut it for me in the age of the Internet.

The most important point Dr. Dean makes is this one, medicine is science driven and not ideology driven. Rush and his ilk, who aren't doctors, don't get it.

So to President Obama, this man is clearly in your camp. Hire him as your HHS Secretary. If you believe in a team of rivals, he fits into your cabinet, and your chief of staff needs to embrace Dr. Dean's ideas.

(photo courtesy of nmfbihop, taken at Netroots Nation)

Howard Dean Speaks Out

http://www.democrats.org/page/invite/deanmessage

This rocks along with Jim Webb's proposal, as Edwards supported yesterday:

"The threat of a nuclear Iran is one of the greatest threats to world peace today, but we must deal with this threat by being smart. It's impossible to trust President Bush to do that - his reckless Iraq policy has created a chaotic situation in Iraq and damaged America 's moral standing in the world.

"Congress has the power to stop this President from taking our country down another disastrous course in Iran , and they should use it now. President Bush long ago exceeded his authority in Iraq and needs to return to Congress for new authority to manage the withdrawal of the U.S. military presence.

"He certainly has not been granted Congressional authority to pursue military action in Iran and Congress should put him on notice that he must request authorization before doing so.

"I applaud Senator Webb for standing up to President Bush and introducing a bill that sets a clear standard and reflects the will of the American people.

"No President should ever take any option off the table, but instead of focusing on military action, we should focus on the many steps in front of us that have not been used -- negotiating directly with Iran, getting our European allies to join us in offering an economic package to assist Iran in meeting its energy needs peacefully, and isolating Iran's radical leader.

"America used to be the light that the rest of the world looked up to in times of crisis. We must stop this stubborn pursuit of foreign policy based on ideology, and return America to its place of moral leadership."

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