Published: August 16, 2008 08:20 pm         

Q&A with Howard Dean

TERRE HAUTE — Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean tried to rally support for presidential candidate Barack Obama on a visit to Indiana, a state that has favored only one Democrat (Lyndon Johnson in 1964) since 1936. He answered a few questions in a telephone interview with Tribune-Star columnist Mark Bennett.

• For decades, Indiana has been taken for granted as a red state by both parties in presidential campaigns. What makes Democrats think this election can go their way here?

“First, people in Indiana really do want a change. They’d like our troops to come home from Iraq, and they’d like the economy to work for ordinary, working Americans. And neither one of those are going to be true if John McCain wins. They want real change.

“And the second is, frankly, that we have polls that show Barack Obama ahead here in Indiana.”

• After all these years and all the different presidential candidates, why this year have the people in Indiana changed their mindset?

“I don’t think the people in Indiana have changed that much; I think it’s the Republican Party. They’re not at all conservative about money; they’ve been spending up a huge amount of debt for our kids. They have no sympathy for ordinary, middle-class Americans at all. And they basically have us in a war policy with no plan to get out. Those are things that people in Indiana, I don’t think, like.”

• In the 2006 midterm election, the Iraq war was a primary reason Democrats displaced some longtime Republican congressmen in Indiana. In the past couple years, do you think the effort by Congress to bring the war to a conclusion has been adequate?

“I think it’s pretty clear you have to have a president to want the war to end in order for the war to end. And so, if you really want to get out of Iraq, you have to have a Democratic president, because John McCain has basically adopted George Bush’s policies on both Iraq and the economy.”

• But have the people in Congress pushed hard enough to make a change?

“The Republicans in the Senate have the power to prevent anything from coming to the floor, and they did that hundreds of times to stop [Democrats] from doing anything about health care, the war or anything else.”

• People here are interested in whether Senator Evan Bayh will be Obama’s vice presidential candidate. Are you satisfied that two Midwestern senators would be an appropriate combination at the top of your ticket?

“I consider Evan Bayh to be a close friend, but I’m not going to have any comment of any kind about the vice presidential selections. Senator Obama has asked us not to comment about that, and I’m not going to.”

• Is that completely his call?

“It’s completely his call.”

• What advantage do the Democrats present in solving some of the economic problems we’re having here in Indiana?

“There are three things the Democrats will do that the Republicans never do. One is balance the budget, the Republicans haven’t done that for 40 years. Two is, readjust the trade bill so that trade works for people instead of hurts them. And three is, to reconstruct the tax structure so it helps seniors and working people instead of Exxon/Mobil. Cutting taxes to Exxon/Mobil is what John McCain thinks is a solution.

“There’s a huge difference this year between the two parties. This isn’t like it doesn’t make a difference. McCain is basically pushing the Bush approach to the economy, and Obama has a different approach. And I think people will make a choice based on that more than anything else.”

• Can you see Indiana becoming an intensified battleground state, or are we still on the fringes of the hottest part of the political spectrum?

“I wouldn’t be in Indiana if I didn’t think we could win it. You can’t be everywhere, but this year we have a real chance in Indiana. And the reason we have a chance is because people in Indiana are hurting economically, and the country always does better economically under Democrats.”

• Do you think the upcoming Democratic National Convention will convey that to Hoosiers?

“I think the convention will help, but I think the biggest difference is the debates. I think the debates are going to make it really clear that Barack Obama really understands the plight of working people, in terms of their health care, helping their kids pay for college, having jobs available, and that the Republicans really don’t. Four more years of George Bush’s policies is not the direction I think we want to head in, and I don’t think it’s the direction Indiana voters want us to head in either.”

• Were there lingering doubts raised by Sen. Clinton about Sen. Obama that will become a problem for him in his campaign against Sen. McCain?

“Barack did very well [in Indiana], and we had a huge turnout here. I think having those primaries in all 50 states that counted, mattered and helped people to get to know the candidates.”

• What campaign mistakes have you seen by the Republicans so far?

“I think the Republicans are very good campaigners. I don’t think they’re very good at governing the country. … I think it was a mistake to take the low road and attack Obama’s patriotism. I think that’s a big mistake, because I think people are sick of that kind of campaigning.”

• A new ad for Sen. McCain involves favorable comments from Democrats, including you, about him. Is that a misrepresentation?

“I would urge you to look at our ad as a reply to it, and then you can decide that one for yourself.”