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CNN Live At Daybreak

Democrats Owe Howard Dean Thanks

Aired February 19, 2004 - 06:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Howard. That's what the Democratic Party should be saying to Howard Dean who has now bowed out of the presidential race. The opinion is that of John Orman, Professor of Politics at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He is live on the phone with us now from Fairfield, Connecticut.
Good morning.

DR. JOHN ORMAN, FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY: Good morning, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm fine. So why should the other Democratic or Democrats, in general, be thanking Howard Dean?

ORMAN: I think they have to thank Howard Dean because he is the person who really focused the tone of this race. Right now we have Kerry and Edwards almost saying the same type of things that Dean said a couple of months ago. So without Howard Dean in the race, if you remember Dean's No. 1 tagline, he said hi, I'm Howard Dean. I'm from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.

COSTELLO: He certainly did get traditional Democratic voters and young voters excited about his campaign. But oddly enough, the same quality that fueled that excitement was really his downfall, wasn't it?

ORMAN: Yes, we found out that he had new ways to raise incredible amounts of money on the Internet. People were excited. They were at their blogs (ph). They talked about him. They felt connected. The political scientists and people in the media found another important thing, you have to leave your PC to go to vote. And a lot of people didn't do that.

COSTELLO: No, I mean by saying the weird twist here is that he was a straight talker supposedly, but his straight talking, the same thing that got voters enthusiastic was really his downfall, too. Can you really take the spin out of politics? Is that what this really proves?

ORMAN: Well he made a lot of mistakes. The so-called "I have a scream" speech. Some other things that really hurt him was when the Democrats started ganging up on him because he was the front-runner. And of course if you get a free pass from the media, the media is going to take their also opportunity to go after you. So a number of factors came together and the straight talking, passionate Howard Dean, as you pointed out, his asset at some times turned against him. COSTELLO: Yes, the straight talking Howard Dean is now at home with his family. His name will still be on the ballots in primary and caucuses across the country, even though he won't actively be campaigning. Will that have any effect on the race?

ORMAN: No, I don't believe so. I think some citizens are going to show up and vote for him just for that huge debt they owe him, but most people focus now on Kerry and Edwards.

COSTELLO: Well he hasn't thrown his support either way, but voters that were for Dean seem to be supporting Edwards. Will that hold?

ORMAN: No, I don't think so. I think there was some tension between Kerry and Dean when they went to New Hampshire. But if you look at the demographics and the political components of the Dean voter, they would surely probably go to a person that's a little bit more liberal than John Edwards. And I think they might go toward John Kerry over Edwards, actually.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Dr. John Orman from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, live on the phone with us this morning, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com








Aired February 19, 2004 - 06:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Howard. That's what the Democratic Party should be saying to Howard Dean who has now bowed out of the presidential race. The opinion is that of John Orman, Professor of Politics at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He is live on the phone with us now from Fairfield, Connecticut.
Good morning.

DR. JOHN ORMAN, FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY: Good morning, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm fine. So why should the other Democratic or Democrats, in general, be thanking Howard Dean?

ORMAN: I think they have to thank Howard Dean because he is the person who really focused the tone of this race. Right now we have Kerry and Edwards almost saying the same type of things that Dean said a couple of months ago. So without Howard Dean in the race, if you remember Dean's No. 1 tagline, he said hi, I'm Howard Dean. I'm from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.

COSTELLO: He certainly did get traditional Democratic voters and young voters excited about his campaign. But oddly enough, the same quality that fueled that excitement was really his downfall, wasn't it?

ORMAN: Yes, we found out that he had new ways to raise incredible amounts of money on the Internet. People were excited. They were at their blogs (ph). They talked about him. They felt connected. The political scientists and people in the media found another important thing, you have to leave your PC to go to vote. And a lot of people didn't do that.

COSTELLO: No, I mean by saying the weird twist here is that he was a straight talker supposedly, but his straight talking, the same thing that got voters enthusiastic was really his downfall, too. Can you really take the spin out of politics? Is that what this really proves?

ORMAN: Well he made a lot of mistakes. The so-called "I have a scream" speech. Some other things that really hurt him was when the Democrats started ganging up on him because he was the front-runner. And of course if you get a free pass from the media, the media is going to take their also opportunity to go after you. So a number of factors came together and the straight talking, passionate Howard Dean, as you pointed out, his asset at some times turned against him. COSTELLO: Yes, the straight talking Howard Dean is now at home with his family. His name will still be on the ballots in primary and caucuses across the country, even though he won't actively be campaigning. Will that have any effect on the race?

ORMAN: No, I don't believe so. I think some citizens are going to show up and vote for him just for that huge debt they owe him, but most people focus now on Kerry and Edwards.

COSTELLO: Well he hasn't thrown his support either way, but voters that were for Dean seem to be supporting Edwards. Will that hold?

ORMAN: No, I don't think so. I think there was some tension between Kerry and Dean when they went to New Hampshire. But if you look at the demographics and the political components of the Dean voter, they would surely probably go to a person that's a little bit more liberal than John Edwards. And I think they might go toward John Kerry over Edwards, actually.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Dr. John Orman from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, live on the phone with us this morning, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com