Dean Reminds Me of Clinton

No, not Clinton's sexual problems, his policy making. While I was reading this Washington Post article on the behind-the-scenes Dean, I couldn't help but think about Clinton and why I liked his approach to making decisions.

Friends and colleagues, as well as Dean, say his decision-making process reflects his training as a physician. "My style is to get everyone in a room and keep asking them questions until I'm satisfied," Dean said. "I pick apart everyone's ideas until it all fits together or falls apart. I make the decision, but I want all the information. It's like being a doctor. You never get all the information you want, but you try to get as much information as you can."

The two obvious ways to spin this are that he is a "waffler" or genuinely open to having his mind changed if the case is strong enough. Clinton got tagged by the right and the left as a waffler. In some cases I'm sure it was true. But I also liked that fact that he didn't just wake up one day with a decision and that was that, the facts be damned. The key for Dean will probably be to emphasize that this is how he works. Phase 1: Get information. Phase 2: THINK. Phase 3: Make decision. If he can be clear about this, he might be able to avoid the "waffler" tag that nailed Clinton.

I hope that Clinton has talked to Dean about how hard his first term was. How many things he thought he could do and in the end had to change his mind. Gays in the military springs to mind. Just read the first part of The Clinton Wars to get more examples.