Howard Dean: A Citizen's Guide to the Man Who Would Be President [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

I haven't finished this book yet, but I am deeply impressed by the quality of the reporting. As a Vermont resident, I've had the luxury of learning about Dean from my friends and neighbors. They've always painted a complex portrait of Dean--a man with great strengths and important weaknesses, but also a widely-respected governor.

This book resonates with those local opinions, and fills them in with a wealth of detail. It describes Dean's tireless work to put Vermont on sound financial footing, his health care battles, his reaction to civil unions, his environmental record (both good and bad), his least popular policies--and ultimately, his reputation as a man who deeply loved his adopted state.

In an era of shoddy reporting and "taking stenography for power", the authors of this book understand the role of the press: to educate, illuminate and inform the citizens of this country. They tell both the good and the bad, interview supporters and opponents--including a large number of people who are both--and try to acheive a well-rounded view of Dean.

I don't know whether every fact in this book is correct, or every conclusion is fair. But the reporting is credit to Vermont's press.

If you don't live in Vermont, this is perhaps your best guide yet to understanding Dean's record as governor. If you're a Dean supporter, this is an excellent way to learn more about his achievements and his failings. An informative book.

The first few chapters that detail his adolescent years are kind of dry, but informative. This book changes speed and gets interesting as soon as it tackles his public service career. His political record is one of a fiscal conservative, and a proponent of states' rights. If it wasn't for his passion for universal health care and land conservation, you might think he is Republican. He balanced the budget in Vermont, and when almost every other state had a budget crisis, his state was financially comfortable. At the same time, he was able to attract new business to the state, expand health care coverage, and protect wild lands from development. This book has a separate chapter for many separate issues, which enables the reader to study specific items of interest, and pass over those of little concern.

The mass media has painted Howard Dean as a left-wing liberal. Part of this stems from the Dean Campaign's attempt to unite the Democratic base. But the other factor in this misrepresentation is the Vermont civil unions law. Howard Dean did not write this law, but he did sign it. His postion being that he supports equal protection under the law. As the book explains, Dean is not a social radical, but simply felt giving equal legal rights to same-sex couples was the right thing to do.

The final chapters of this book attempt to explain the "Dean phenomenon," including his use of the Internet as a major campaign tool. And since the book was finished and rushed to publishers in the fall of 2003, the material is topical and will still be useful throughout the election year.