The Day After

I'm sick of B2B, so a little blog break. As you might expect, Dean dominated the local front pages today. A round-up of coverage:

Burlington Free Press

* Plausible as president (editorial) - Have no doubt, Howard Dean is a legitimate candidate with a real shot at the White House. And at this point in the campaign schedule, that's all he needs.

* Dean revs crowd - Democrat Howard Dean came home to Burlington on Monday to formally announce for the presidency. He gave a crowd-rousing speech that gave Vermonters a glimpse of the more passionate, more populist politician Dean has become.

* Thousands jam streets for glimpse of history - The Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. shop reported brisk sales of "Maple Powered Howard," a sweet concoction of maple syrup, vanilla ice cream, walnuts and maple-flavored whipped cream. The line for the one-day-only sundae stretched out of the shop minutes after Dean concluded his speech.

* Dean kicks himself for 'country club' remark - "The Democratic Party, all the candidates from Washington, they all know each other, they all move in the same circles, and what I'm doing is breaking into the country club." ... Dean winced as he heard his own words.

* National media turns spotlight on Dean - The media interest in Dean, according to one national correspondent, is more than routine. "He's sort of come out of nowhere to rattle the cages of both Democrats and Republicans," said David Shuster of NBC news...

Rutland Herald

* Dean launches White House bid - Despite coming from a small state and having a comparatively weak fund-raising base, Dean has emerged as one of the leading candidates in the field of nine Democrats vying for the nomination. He raised $2.6 million in the first fund-raising quarter and is expected to collect about $4 million in the second period, which ends next week.

* Home state reception is enthusiastic - While governor, Dean developed a reputation as a moderate Democrat who never shied away, indeed sometimes sought out, battles with the liberal wing of his party.

On the presidential campaign trail he has been tagged as a liberal for his fervent criticism of Bush on the Iraqi war. Admittedly, it's a bizarre metamorphosis for Dean, and some liberals in Vermont, who are still adjusting to the shift in perception.

"I agree a centrist in Vermont probably qualifies as a more liberal person elsewhere," Dean told reporters Monday at a news briefing before the speech.

And Elsewhere

* NY Times (requires free registration): After a Year Campaigning, Dean Officially Enters Race - Howard Dean offered a new reason for his presidential campaign today, declaring that a year of campaigning had convinced him "our nation is in crisis" because of a White House that he said was in the grip of big-money contributors and conservative ideologues.

* LA Times (requires free registration): Dean's in the Race Officially - After months of crusading as an antiwar candidate, Democrat Howard Dean sought to recast his presidential campaign Monday with a fiery speech in his hometown that struck anti-corporate and anti-Washington themes but made just glancing reference to Iraq.

* WaPo: Ex-Vermont Governor Comes Out Swinging - Dean's rhetoric was forceful, his delivery impassioned, of a piece with his attempt to define himself as the plain-speaking insurgent in a Democratic field dominated by Washington veterans. So far his strategy has not failed him. Polls show the 54-year-old, five-term governor running well in Iowa, and he won a recent straw poll in Wisconsin. In New Hampshire, a Concord Monitor poll this week finds him in second place, 9 points behind Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.).

ntodd  ¶ 10:14 AM