By Nedra Pickler
Burlington (AP)- In another shocking example of Dean's slippery politics, Dean has refused to answer questions regarding when he has stopped beating his wife. Howard Fineman of Newsweek magazine asked Dean, while Dean was botching the simple job of making pancakes at a local diner, "Governor Dean, I wonder if you could tell us when you plan to stop beating your wife?" Dr. Dean looked flummoxed, quickly regained his composure, smiled and said "That's a riduclous question." He continued pancake flipping and refused to discuss the matter further.
Judy Steinberg, Dean's wife who is mysteriously absent from the campaign trail and is rarely seen in public, could not be reached for comment. A high-ranking Democratic official speculated that this is certainly mysterious behavior and should lead us to question Dr. Dean's relationship to his wife.
A Democratic pollster said this is another example of how Dean will not play outside of New England. "Southern men especially are very protective of their women," this unnamed source said. "This statement and lack of clarification on Dean's part is offensive to them." RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie described Dr. Dean as "Vile" and demanded the American people know the truth. "President Bush has long indicated that he rarely beats his wife. Why won't Dr. Dean do the same?"
Reaction from Dean's rivals was swift. Gen. Clark said he had established program's for servicemen in Europe to help with these kind of domestic problems. Sen. Lieberman said he questioned Dean's temperment. "You wouldn't want a President Dean beating Tony Blair would you? Do you know the damage this could do to US/UK relations?"
The Dean campaign, in appearant lockdown mode, has refused to respond to furtehr inquiries about this matter.
