Dean Says His Candidacy to Remain Candid

GEORGETOWN, S.C. —  Buffeted by criticism that he is too outspoken and prone to verbal gaffes, Howard Dean says he won’t recalibrate his candid manner, arguing that holding himself back would be artificial.

As Dean’s Democratic presidential rivals have pounced on a series of his recent comments, the former Vermont governor has balked at suggestions that he needs to be more cautious in his public comments.

“I’m not going to withhold what I believe is the truth from the American people, because that’s why I’m running -- because there are enough people in government that aren’t telling the truth,” he said recently in an interview with The Times between campaign stops in Iowa.

From his statements about wanting to appeal to voters who display Confederate flags to his chiding of party leaders for not doing more to rein in his critics, Dean has provided his opponents with ample fodder. And, he continues making provocative remarks, some that don’t get immediate attention, including a few over the weekend.

On Saturday, he took on conservative religious leaders and corporations he says have undue influence on the government.

“Don’t you think that [the Rev.] Jerry Falwell reminds you a lot more of the Pharisees than he does the teachings of Jesus?” Dean said at a town hall meeting in Waterloo, Iowa. “And don’t you think this campaign ought to be about evicting the money changers from the temple?”

His candor has drawn sharp arrows from his rivals and some party leaders, who say his frankness only facilitates the work of Republican opposition researchers.

“It seems like he’s come down with a case of ‘mad mouth’ disease,” quipped Democratic strategist James Carville. “He may be candid, but there is the glory of the unspoken thought here.”

Some fret that Dean’s insistence on speaking his mind -- no matter what the political cost -- could be the Achilles’ heel of a candidate who otherwise has demonstrated relentless discipline in his quest to unseat President Bush.

“I know Howard Dean is the doctor, but I have a prescription for him: He doesn’t need to answer every question,” said Donna Brazile, Al Gore’s presidential campaign manager in 2000.

Dean dismisses such arguments, saying voters are tired of politicians who base their message on focus groups and polls.

“If you stick to your guns and stand up for what you believe is right, I think you are a better candidate, not a worse candidate, because people are so sick of Washington politicians who come and say what everybody thinks is the best way to win,” he told voters in Ankeny, Iowa, on Sunday. “ ... I drive my campaign crazy, because I say it first and then I go look at the polls.... But if you don’t talk to people from your heart, you can’t win.”

Exasperated aides to the Democratic front-runner have urged him to curb his words, saying that he can show restraint and still speak his mind.

But for most part, they’ve come to accept his approach, and say they will work with it through the campaign. While Dean understands the need to avoid giving his opponents more ammunition, they said, he is reluctant to alter his naturally blunt style because he believes it appeals to people.

“Sometimes you say, ‘Oh my God, I really wish he hadn’t said that,’ ” said a Dean advisor who did not want to be named. “But then you realize, he’s right. He’s a very direct person. That’s one of his strongest qualities.”

There’s no question that his outspokenness has won him strong support among many Democratic voters looking for a straight-talking candidate to take on Bush.

“He’s the least likely to take a position because it seems to be the most popular or politically favorable one,” said Bill Graham, a Des Moines attorney who held a house party Sunday for Dean. “He takes them out of courage and commitment.”

But it’s unclear if Republican and independent voters will approve of Dean’s blunt remarks. A few weeks ago, the candidate himself mused about the need to moderate his tone for a general election audience.

“I really understand that there’s some likelihood that I may be president of the United States and I have to think carefully about what I say and the implications beyond what I say,” he told reporters on his campaign plane.

But in the weeks that followed, the former governor made repeated off-the-cuff remarks, some considered too indiscreet for a presidential candidate. In Litchfield, N.H., he acknowledged his weakness in international affairs, telling voters he would pick a running mate with foreign policy experience “to plug that hole in the resume.” In Exeter, N.H., the next day, Dean called the Democratic Leadership Council, which was founded by party leaders, including former President Clinton and former Vice President Gore, “the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.” That statement prompted scolding from party leaders who said he appeared to be attacking Clinton, a party icon.

On Sunday, he joked that Bush’s opposition to sex education reflected Bush’s ignorance of the subject.

“I once thought the problem was we needed the surgeon general to explain the birds and bees to the president,” he told members of the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines.

Later in the day, he suggested that party leaders should do more to stem the attacks on him by his rivals.

“If we had strong leadership in the Democratic Party, they would be calling those other candidates and saying, ‘Hey look, somebody’s going to have to win here,’ ” Dean told reporters.

He defended his comments, saying he’s merely being honest about matters like his lack of foreign policy experience.

“What am I going to do, pretend I have a doctorate in foreign policy when I don’t?” he asked in the interview Sunday, sitting in a minivan before a town hall meeting in Ames. “The other guys have pointed it out for three weeks. Why not say it? So what?”

He blamed the furor on the news media and his rivals, along with LexisNexis, a database service that allows reporters to instantly find quotes. “People are jumping on stuff that’s meaningless,” he said. “It’s gotcha by other politicians, it’s gotcha by journalists. We’re sort of in the gotcha phase of the campaign. There’s very little substance.”