Friday, 9 January 2004 - 12:07 AM CST

Dean...

This is a great website...lots of good sources...you obviously keep up on issues...I'll come back and check on what you're thinking on issues...

I do think following the Democratic candidates would be useful, especially to get to substance rather than how candidates will be painted...the substance of those positions matter since the kind of leadership the country will experience with any of the candidates are dependent on a lot of individual traits and ideas...how someone might be painted seems like the same old cynical politics that so disillusions people from caring about substance...

I think your right that personality matters in elections...I also think this is for good reason...I think you can get a handle, many times, on how much you can trust someone by their personality as much as by their ideas...it's usually a sign, especially, of how open someone is to ideas that aren't their own and to new ideas they've not considered...I know many smart people who are asses and many less intelligent folks who are open to new ideas...ideally, I'd want someone who is intelligent, compassionate, and open-minded...but if I had to choose between someone who is smart but an ass -- say, like Paul Krugman -- and someone who is open-hearted but not as intelligent -- say like Tom Hanks or possibly even George Bush (though George has committed himself to "tough on crime" stances that I think are counterproductive) -- then I would choose the open-hearted leader, generally...

I do think that Howard Dean is the best combination of these traits of the candidates I've seen thusfar in this election season...he's not perfect, but I think he's more likely to work through those imperfections than any of the other candidates (this is the value of an open heart -- the ability to be responsible for mistakes over time more readily, rather than to respond to life and politics more self-righteously)...

Having said that, I do think it is important to get to know all of the candidates the best that we can...the election season will pass and we won't remember most of what we learned in all likelihood over time...but getting to know the candidates, I think, gives us a sense of our leadership, even within an imperfect political process...I share your disappointment that issues get so overcast by the horserace...and I'm excited about Dean's candidacy because it has so defied those in the media who have gotten lost in the cynicism of the current process and are convinced that horserace is somehow an adequate substitute for serious constructive discussion of difficult issues...

I spend a lot of my personal time as well as professional time working on these issues and working to inspire others to become reconnected with those issues in the deepest personal senses....you might check out my website and get a taste...

In the meantime, your site is a great source...

Talk to you later, Dean...

Ben

Saturday, 17 January 2004 - 1:46 PM CST

Thanks for you kind comments. I am always looking for ways to improve it, for my own satisfaction if nothing else.

I will keep track of what the Democratic candidates are doing. I'm just not gonna do a point for point analysis of each candidates position. Most of them want to repeal Bush's tax cuts to some degree. Most want to get the US out of Iraq and opposed the war to some degree. They are making the expected noises about jobs, schools and health care. I'll probably post some comments on these, if I haven't already.

Of course, being conservative, I haven't found any candidate among the Democrats that would make me vote for them. At the same time, that does not keep them from having good ideas. Public debate is where good ideas get refined.

Gov. Dean is a little too impetuous for my tastes. His "corrections" perhaps show how he adjusts to ideas,
as you pointed out, but he seems to be rash in responding and then has to backtrack. But other candidates, Clark for one, seem to be doing similar backtracking.

All candidates have their strengths and weaknesses. As you say, no one is perfect. Our job is to try to choose the person we would like to lead us.