The 2004 Democratic presidential race is heating up, and the cast of characters is the gas fueling the flame. There are two African-American candidates, one of them being a woman and the other a minister. There are decorated war heroes, candidates from the north, candidates from the south, candidates for and against the war, and these are only the Democrats. With this full slate of candidates it's no surprise that tempers have flared and some candidates have been found with their feet in their mouths. But if its one thing that all these Democrats agree on, it's that George Bush is not doing a good job. The press is having a field day with the current crop of contestants; the Democratic race has never been so easy to cover by journalists. Howard Dean is the favorite to win the race, but in a contest with this many participants, its always unpredictable. Today's frontrunner could very easily be tomorrow's fool, who slipped up and said the wrong thing at the wrong time. A race like this has to be taken in one day at a time and shouldn't be scrutinized so. The choice of 2004 Democratic presidential candidates is deep, and it's anyone's race.
The first candidate discussed will be Howard Dean, the current frontrunner in the race. Dean is a physician from Vermont who received his B.A. from Yale University in 1971 and his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City in 1978. He served in the Vermont House from 1982 to 1986, was elected lieutenant governor in 1986, and became governor in 1991 with the death of then-Governor Richard Snelling. Dean's tenure in office was very impressive: He paid off an inherited $70 million deficit, created 41,000 new jobs, raised minimum wage twice, and guaranteed health coverage to every child under the age of 18. If that's not presidential material, then, what is? But Dean doesn't only look good on paper, but dean has major financial backing.
