Dean: I won’t “vigorously” support Obama’s re-election
Raw Story- By Sahil Kapur
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 — 9:20 am
WASHINGTON — Escalating his opposition to what remains of the health care legislation, former Gov. Howard Dean has taken more swipes at President Obama, after a contentious back-and-forth that led to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs publicly sniping at him on Wednesday.
Dean, who outspokenly championed the public option and also supported the Medicare buy-in, said Thursday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that he won’t “vigorously” support Obama’s re-election in 2012.
“I’m going to support President Obama when he runs for re-election,” Dean, also a former DNC Chair, said. “Not vigorously. I’m going to vote for him.”
Although Dean hasn’t withdrawn his support for Obama, he is a leading voice in the progressive community, and his dialed-down support of the Obama presidency as a result of this health care bill is likely to represent and ultimately fuel the sentiments among the president’s core constituency.
The show’s host, Joe Scarborough, pointed to this possibility. “‘Not vigorously!,” said Scarborough. “Boy, I can almost feel the confetti falling on my head here,” probably referring to the delight among Republicans.
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