From the introduction on, it's clear that the multiple authors of this book are attempting to do for former Vermont governor Howard Dean what political columnist Molly Ivins did for George W. Bush in her pre-2000 election book, Shrub: to examine the private life and public record of a high-profile presidential candidate for clues as to how he might perform if elected. Like Bush, Dean comes from a privileged background: He grew up on New York's Park Avenue, the son of a successful Wall Street stockbroker, and graduated from Yale University. From there, however, the two men's lives and interests diverged. After a brief, unhappy stint on Wall Street, Dean left the business world for a career in medicine. After medical school in the Bronx, he and wife/fellow physician Judith Steinberg moved to Burlington, Vermont, where they set up a family practice together. Dean entered state legislative politics in the early 1980s, and this book does a thorough job of covering his rise to governor in 1991, as well as many of the major issues he faced in nearly 12 years in the job.
Voters who think of Dean primarily as an anti-war progressive may be dismayed to discover that he's actually a very pragmatic, moderate Democrat. He's a fiscal conservative who sided as often with businessmen as he did with environmentalists. And, true to Vermont's quirky political orthodoxy, he favors gay rights (with significant qualifications, it turns out) but is opposed to a national gun control bill. The most valuable chapter by far is the final one, "What Kind of President?" in which Dean's positions are concisely laid out on a variety of issues: taxes, education, health care, labor unions, and foreign policy. Ultimately, Dean is presented as an unlikely mix of Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower--not exactly a catnip combination for progressives, nor the unelectable leftist that he's sometimes painted to be by his detractors.
Although a worthy book, Howard Dean: A Citizen's Guide suffers from having too many authors--nine of them, mostly Vermont daily newspaper reporters--and too little authorial voice. Unlike Ivins' examination of Bush, this volume doesn't crackle with wit or speed ahead on interpretive energy. Still, it's a solid examination of a seemingly decent man who is likely to be the Democratic candidate and a credible contender to Bush in the 2004 presidential election. --Keith Moerer
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