I stayed up late last night to catch a replay of Drs. Howard and Judy Dean at the "Women for Dean" event Sunday morning. Governor Dean did exactly what he needs to be doing -- he talked about the issues that are important to Americans and reminded voters of what he accomplished in the state of Vermont: providing health care, balancing the budget, and improving the lives of regular working people.
But it was after the event that I was reminded me of why I personally started supporting Howard Dean almost a year ago. The C-SPAN correspondent interviewed several people who attended the event, and I was particularly struck by what one young women had to say. She talked about the way George W. Bush has created and stoked a mood of fear in this country, and when nobody else would, Howard Dean stood up and offered us HOPE. And then the correspondent asked her what she thought of the polls showing John Kerry in the lead. The young woman smiled broadly, looked directly into the camera with tears in her eyes and said:
"I'm not afraid."
Fear vs. Hope will be theme of the general election if Dean is the nominee, but it's also the theme of the New Hampshire primary right now. Dean offers us hope and change. The alternative is to recoil in fear at the change we face. We must take back the Democratic Party before we challenge the GOP-SCLM stranglehold on our country. Tomorrow can be a New Day for Democrats if we don't give into our fear of change.
I'm not afraid.