I realize that Howard Dean is running as an outsider, taking on “Washington politicians,” and promising to “shake things up” in DC.
That being said, Dean has also surrounded himself with key Washington insiders such as Joe Trippi and Steve Grossman, and all the while, has been reaching out to Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill for support and endorsements.
It’s a fine line to walk. This week, it’s a line Dean stumbled over clumsily.
In Iowa on Tuesday, a potential voter asked Dean how he would handle entrenched Beltway bureaucracy. As the New York Times reported, the Iowan “mentioned Republicans and Democrats alike, and Dr. Dean made no distinction.”
Dean responded that if he won the presidency, lawmakers in Congress were “going to be scurrying for shelter, just like a giant flashlight on a bunch of cockroaches.”
Cockroaches? Running as an outsider is one thing, comparing members of Congress — including his fellow Democrats — to cockroaches is something else entirely.
Apparently, the comment wasn’t well received by congressional Dems. Roll Call reported yesterday that the cockroach comparison has “caused reverberations on Capitol Hill.”
Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee and a Gephardt supporter, said, “Governor Dean has had some very big things wrong for a long time.”
A Democratic leadership aide added that “in Howard Dean’s world there has been no one fighting against the Republicans until [he opposed] the Iraq resolution.”
Another Dem aide said the comment may ultimately hurt his congressional outreach. “No self-respecting member of the minority can read Howard Dean’s comments about a ‘go along and get along’ attitude and not be pissed off,” the aide said.
As he’s done before, Dean was apparently embarrassed by his own words and began to backpedal. The New York Times reported Wednesday that Dean later described the cockroach remark as “a bad line” that he shouldn’t have used.
His apology will probably end the controversy, for the most part anyway, but I think the Dean campaign has to start learning some lessons here.
First, after months as the “up and coming” candidate, Dean is the frontrunner for the nomination. Now would probably be a good time to stop condemning his Democratic rivals and start appearing above the fray.
Second, Dean needs to start thinking about appearing “presidential.” Insurgent candidates frequently have this problem. Voters, particularly independents, generally admire candidates they perceive as having stature. Dean may make his existing fans happy by comparing members of Congress to cockroaches, but he’s only reinforcing fears about his limited national appeal.