Editorial-

A Presidential Endorsement

Up to this point, The Bradley Report has not endorsed a candidate for President. But now, in January 2004, at the very start of the presidential election year, we have concluded that Howard Dean is by far the best candidate for the Democratic Party in what we believe is the most important election since 1932. In our view, Mr. Dean is the one candidate who can defeat the un-elected but judicially selected 43^rd President of the United States, George W. Bush.

Mr. Bush, in our opinion, has unleashed through his administration and its policies a radical attempt to reconfigure American politics and perhaps the nation itself.

There is nothing remotely conservative about George Bush, Richard Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz, et al. These are men dedicated to changing the face of the world, not just America. It seems to us that our country is simply their gateway to an overall ideological goal of complete international dominance, yet to accomplish that goal they must somehow convince the majority of us that they are simply protecting our interests.

The Bush Administration’s actions defy anything that could be realistically viewed as conservative, first by radically spending the nation into an immense deficit, and then by vastly increasing ‘big government’ and its related intrusion into states rights while simultaneously reducing individual rights. Finally, Mr. Bush and his administration reveal themselves by a continuous attempt to consolidate power, particularly absolute authority through the executive branch.

These are not Republican values being enforced, these are radical policies invoked by a ‘new’ type of American political figure. These ' new ' politicians so far are successfully masking themselves as conservatives under the GOP’s banner. These people do not represent traditional GOP values; they have simply captured the Republican Party.

The Bush Administration has mounted an incredible attack on the American democracy, and it seem crystal clear to all of us at The Bradley Report that if this assault is not deflected or crushed in 2004, the possibility that it will be stopped or reversed in the future will be greatly diminished. Again, there is nothing conservative about the Bush Administration. This administration is radical, through and through.

Now, after a year of carefully watching, listening and reading the plethora of images, sound bites and written commentary relating to the wide field of Democratic Party candidates, it seems clear to us that the best candidate, perhaps the only candidate, who can effectively defend traditional American values against the onslaught of the Bush Administration is Howard Dean.

Mr. Dean began as the ultimate outsider, the complete underdog, but he has outdistanced his Democratic Party competitors, the majority of whom began the contest better known, better financially heeled, and often enjoyed the sympathy and sometimes the solid support of the national media. Mr. Dean has bypassed all of his competitors in the simplest manner imaginable, yet his fellow Democrats still don’t seem to understand the phenomena.

It’s simple enough: Mr. Dean decided to speak the truth about what is happening under the Bush Administration! A great many Americans breathed a collective sigh of relief that someone was willing to speak honestly and directly in public.

But Mr. Dean’s Democratic opponents, especially those who were members of Congress at the time the Supreme Court selected Mr. Bush for the Presidency, universally  failed to recognize the challenge presented by the Bush Administration; they thought Mr. Bush would be a subdued head of state, one who recognized he had lost the general election by 500,000 votes and would therefore seek to govern by consensus, utilizing the techniques of political compromise to move his policies.

They could not have been more incorrect.

Mr. Bush and his associates are radicals, and when the 5 to 4 majority on the Supreme Court handed them the reins of power, they did what radicals always do; they grabbed power with both hands and ran with it!

There was only one major Democratic Party figure that quickly began talking about this revolutionary political situation. And as time went on he became more and more emphatic about what was happening and why it needed to be challenged. That individual was Howard Dean, and in his approach he reflected what a great, great many Americans also perceived and understood.

This is why Mr. Dean has such a rock-solid base of support, and why his candidacy continues to grow exponentially. It is also why his candidacy has so confounded his opponents, many of whom were initially better known but all of whom shied away from directly confronting the new politics of the Bush Administration, all too often because of a pragmatic yet understandable desire to retain the foundation of compromise upon which our politics usually rests. But what they failed to remember is that it’s impossible to compromise with radicals. Mr. Dean didn’t forget that point.

In our opinion, Howard Dean is a quintessential Democrat! That is the difference. And average Americans all over the country intuitively have recognized that fact; it is why Mr. Dean is able to reach people on all levels of our society.

It is also why the attempts to curtail Mr. Dean by calculatedly illustrating his candid remarks in a literal, one-dimensional manner, dispensing with the true context, have backfired. Americans aren’t stupid, and when provided with the entire context of the remarks are quick to understand what was actually meant by the comments. As Mr. Dean himself recently stated, "I have a reputation for saying exactly what I think. And while the words may not be precise, the meaning is not hard to figure out."

What Mr. Dean thinks seems perfectly in tune with a majority of Americans, including those of us at The Bradley Report, who clearly understand what the Bush Administration is attempting. We at The Bradley Report are proud to state our support for Howard Dean as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.