Hoystory

DNC Chairman “Howlin’ ” Howie Dean went on Fox News Sunday yesterday and revealed himself to be a dishonest jackass.

First there was his defense of two advertisements the DNC is running that grossly distort what Sen. John McCain has said to the point that they portray him as saying the exact opposite of what he really is saying.

WALLACE: The Democratic National Committee is now running an ad that attacks John McCain’s position on the war in Iraq. Let’s take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years.

MCCAIN: Maybe 100. That would be fine with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Governor, why are you distorting what McCain actually said?

DEAN: Well, I’m not. I actually have what he actually said. And if the Republican National Committee would like to pay for the whole six minutes, I’d be happy to do it.

I’ve said publicly that John McCain said that he wants to keep our troops in Iraq for up to 100 years. He himself said that some of that could be occupation like South Korea or Germany.

But the fact of the matter is, first, that anybody who thinks that we can keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years without them being victimized by roadside bombs, suicide bombers and militias I think is wrong and needs their judgment — to look carefully at their judgment.

And secondly, Americans don’t want our troops in Iraq for 100 years, no matter what they’re doing over there. We can’t afford that. We need the money here at home for our jobs.

WALLACE: Well, Governor, let’s take a look — and it’s not going to take six minutes. Let’s take a look at what John McCain actually said that day in New Hampshire. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: Maybe 100. We’ve been in South Korea — we’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea for 50 years or so. That would be fine with me, as long as Americans are not being injured, or harmed, or wounded, or killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Governor, you not only left out the part, as you said, where he talked about Americans keeping the peace very much as we have for a half century in Japan and North Korea, you also took the part where he said that would be fine with me, but then you clipped out the very next words he said, which were, “as long as Americans aren’t being hurt or killed.”

The non-partisan group FactCheck.org said, “What the DNC ad conveys is the opposite of what McCain said.”

DEAN: I don’t think that’s so, Chris. What John McCain said is his plan is — to deal with Iraq is to stay there maybe for 100 years, whether it’s an occupational force or whatever the force is.

Americans do not want our troops there for 100 years. Look. We have huge deficits. Iraq is partly responsible for that. We’re not investing in health care. We’re not investing in our roads. We’ve got unemployment rising. We need to bring our troops out of Iraq.

John McCain wants to stay in Iraq.

WALLACE: But you don’t think there’s anything…

DEAN: He has no plan — he has no plan to bring our troops home.

WALLACE: Listen, I think there’s plenty…

DEAN: Our guys do have a plan to bring our troops home.

WALLACE: … plenty to disagree with on John McCain’s plan in Iraq. I’m saying when he says, “That would be fine with me,” — that’s what you put in, and then you clip out the next words, which are, “as long as Americans aren’t getting hurt.”

And an independent group says you’ve completely distorted what he said. You’ve got no problems with that?

DEAN: Our problem is that John McCain is distorting — is distorting what he said. The fact of the matter is he began and ended his clip by saying he’s willing to stay in Iraq for 100 years.

That is not what the American people want under any circumstances, whether it’s like South Korea, or whether it’s like Germany or whether it’s continuing for 100 years to be sniped at by Shia militia and so forth.

Dean, who has claimed to have superior knowledge of the Bible — especially the Old Testament — might want to look up that whole “bearing false witness” thing. I seldom agreed with Dean’s predecessor at the DNC, Terry McAuliffe, but at least he was a more honest man — not that Dean is setting the bar very high.

But this was my favorite part of the interview:

DEAN: Chris, the Republicans — for the last 30 years, the Republican book is to race bait and to use hate and divisiveness. In 2006, the American people said no to that, and I think they’re going to say no to that in 2008.

It is true that the economy, the war and health care are more important to the American people. They are tired of the divisiveness of what the Republicans have done to them, and that’s why the Republicans are in trouble, deep trouble.

WALLACE: Governor, are you suggesting…

DEAN: Eight more years of George Bush is not what we need.

WALLACE: Governor, are you suggesting that bringing up Jeremiah Wright is race baiting, and hate and divisive?

DEAN: Yeah, I am suggesting that kind of stuff. I think when you start bringing up candidates that have nothing to do with the issue — when you start bringing up things that have nothing to do with the candidate and nothing to do with the issues, that’s race baiting, and that’s exactly what it is, just like Willie Horton was race baiting so many years ago.

I think we’re going to take a — we’re going to turn the page on this stuff. I tell you, you know, there’s a lot of difference between the Republicans and the Democrats on issues, but the biggest issue of all is we don’t use this kind of stuff. We never have used this kind of stuff, and we’re not going to start now.

America is more important than the Republican Party, and that’s the lesson that the voters are about to teach the Republicans.

WALLACE: But, Governor, I’ve got to tell you, when I interviewed Barack Obama last week, he said he thought that the Reverend Wright issue was a legitimate political issue — his words.

DEAN: Well, he can say whatever he wants. I’m going to say whatever I want. I’m not getting into Reverend Wright. He’s caused enough trouble for our country over the last several weeks.

What I am going to say is that I think America — the American people want a united country. For the first time in 30 years, they want us to stop hating each other. They want us to work together. And I think that’s what the issue is. That’s what our message is going to be.

And we’re not going to get into all this stuff about divisive figures. We’re just not going to do it.

Here’s the trivia question for you: Who was the first candidate in the 1988 presidential race to bring up Willie Horton?

If you answered Al Gore, you’d be right!

Democrats “never have used this kind of stuff” …. Right Howie.

And somehow Democrats are going to bring peace and unity and have people in this country stop hating each other by just shutting up people that don’t agree with them.

Radio talk show host Dennis Prager has a clip of Dean that he plays regularly in which Dean says that the difference between Democrats and Republicans is that Democrats “don’t want children to go to bed hungry at night.”

First, it’s a vicious lie — something of a character flaw (to say the least) in Dean. Second, I can’t remember the last time I became friends with someone, or rallied to someone, who continually lied about my character and called me names.

Howard Dean is a despicable human being.