First you click on Obama, then you pull down the menu....
Proud to say these cows are now wired too....
President –Elect Obama owes, in some part, his success to this guy who helped set the bar for how the World Wide Web could be as important a tool in a national election as the pundits and pollsters. Howard Dean was the one to fire up the internet and wi-fi to reach a nation-wide generation of voters who rarely do anything without an internet connection. Dean handed that baton to Obama and it was truly instrumental in reaching out to voters and fiscal supporters who gave more money and visibility to his campaign, more than anyone had dared to dream.
But this is just a glimpse at Dean in this national spotlight – the DNC. There was the Howard Dean the preceded this that I think is what makes this guy as special as he is, and worthy of a Salon, SML title.
Early, when he was running for Lt. Governor back in the olden days, 1986-ish, Howard campaigned with nary an entourage. He drove himself in his red pickup truck all over Vermont. And before the eyebrows jump up at the mention of a pickup truck (stop snickering people!) it is Vermont we are talking about here. Winters full of ice and snow necessitate driving something 4-wheel drive if they can, and back then, a truck was about it, except perhaps for my ancient and beloved Subaru. So picture Howard Dean, dark hair, very thin and fit, driving a simple red pickup truck and tooling himself around Vermont meeting its citizens and asking for their support.
One cold morning, Howard came to visit the Milton Family Center, then a brand new Parent Child Center near Burlington, housed in an old Victorian, and barely a year old if that. I was it’s first Director and we had a tiny staff and plenty of parents primarily made up of Head Start parents and kids, teen parents and their children, and other parents who were wanting some parenting support.
Howard drove up in his red pickup, arriving during an early morning playgroup. He popped in the door, a bit shy, and very sweet actually, with that younger version of the famous Howard Dean grin on his face. Frankly, the staff and I expected him to come and go quickly, with a “vote for me please” message. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
First, Howard took the time to meet each and every parent at the center. He had one-one conversations with all of them and it was a vision to see them light up when this candidate, and a physician talked with them like they mattered. Many of them had spent their whole existence being invisible or ignored and here was this candidate guy talking and listening to them. They talked about their kids, their hopes, their lives and some actually opened up to him in ways that would make their social worker’s jaws drop.
He never once asked anyone to vote for him. He didn’t leave literature. He stayed for a very long time and appeared as though he had nowhere else to be, which would be not true since he still had an active medical practice. He listened. He heard. And he remembered.
Once he was elected, he didn’t forget these parents. When it came time to ask the State for line item funding we went to Montpelier and made the request to the appropriate committee for all the Parent Child Centers, which were a fledgling association throughout Vermont. We were accompanied by many of these same parents and we set up a press conference. Our champion? Lt. Governor, Howard Dean. He physically gave us his office to use for the press conference, and I cringe now remembering my (oh crap, I am going to say it) polyester outfit. At least my hair was not yet gray. Small favors.
The group of us including some very fine community activists held that press conference from behind the Lt. Governor’s desk as we were invited to do. Howard stood to the side, made some helpful comments when asked, but let the parent’s take center stage. And it worked. Line item support was soon a part of the budget and became a portion of the funding for all of the parent child centers, which continue to this day to do important work for parents and children in Vermont.
I left Vermont for warmer days in California, right before Howard Dean became Governor. And I am sure that he barely remembers me, if at all, but I know if asked he would recall those parents at the Parent Child Centers, and especially the Milton Family Center.
This guy is one of those very geeky and very important guys in the fabric of our politics and social policy. Not only did Dean make a difference for families in Vermont, but also he helped give our country the biggest gift of all, President Obama. For that alone he should be a Salon SML.
But don’t tell him I said that. He’s a little bit understated and shy…
Comments
evil double posting. sorry. I pasted it in from word, and it doubled the post in one long paragraph - so if you tried to read it,you probably got a Howard Dean Yeeeehaw headache. Fixed it. Sorry!
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