The New Republic

Everybody knew Howard Dean's proposal to repeal the Bush tax cuts would prove controversial in the general election. But during the Democratic nomination fight, too? Over the last few weeks, rivals have attacked Dean for saying that, as president, he would rescind even those parts of the Bush tax cut that are not directed at the very rich. "Some in my party want to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class," John Kerry declared recently, in a typical broadside. READ MORE >>

When I first interviewed Howard Dean in early 2002, the Iraq war was still a glint in Dick Cheney's eye, nobody had heard of Meetup.com, and Dean's campaign organization numbered all of one. Beyond Vermont, he was virtually unknown: As we walked through downtown Boston, not a soul recognized him. He was also a more simple character then--just another earnest public servant embarking on a long-shot bid for the White House. Dean had been charming: blunt, as always, but in a disarming, comical way. Eventually I wrote a READ MORE >>

Perhaps the most hopeful sign about the Medicare reform law President Bush signed this week is the fact that it has so many Republicans in a tizzy. "I didn't come here to create the largest expansion of Medicare in history," protests Arizona Representative Jeff Flake. "If we veer off the path of thelimited government of Ronald Reagan, it will be at our peril," warns Indiana Representative Mike Pence. But conservative critics give Bush and his allies far too READ MORE >>

If a pregnant woman wears red underwear with a safety pin tucked into it, will it make her newborn child healthier? No self-respecting physician would say so. But the possibility may be worth considering, thanks to a phenomenon scientists call the "Latino health paradox."As you might suspect, people who don't have regular access to medical care tend to end up sicker than people who do, since it's through regular checkups that you're most likely to catch things like cancer or heart disease before they kill you. And, naturally READ MORE >>

When the history of this presidential campaign is written, one of the best chapters will be about how Howard Dean beat Tim Russert. It was roughly a month ago that Dean appeared as Russert's guest on NBC's "Meet the Press," and, by the time Dean was through absorbing Russert's jabs, he looked decidedly less than presidential. When asked about the balanced-budget amendment and the bipartisan proposal for Medicare drug coverage, Dean seemed to waffle. When asked to name the number of troops serving in the active military, READ MORE >>

Although President Bush has pledged $15 billion to fight global AIDS over the next ten years--an impressively generous sum, assuming his tax cuts don't swallow up the money before it's spent--he clings to a very specific idea about how AIDS-prevention money should be spent: on teaching abstinence. That's why he and his supporters constantly talk up the success of Uganda. Ten years ago, 15 percent of the country's population had AIDS. Today, just 5 percent do. And a major reason for the drop is an AIDS program that conforms to White House notions of propriety. READ MORE >>

When Richard Gephardt unveiled his plan for near-universal health coverage in April, one of the sharpest rebukes came from fellow Democratic presidential candidate Bob Graham. "The problem I have with Congressman Gephardt's proposal is we tried that before," Graham said during an appearance on ABC's "This Week." "That is what President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton tried to do in 1993 and 1994. And what we found was that the health care system in the United States is so complex, and there's so many groups that have a READ MORE >>

SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN READ MORE >>

Given the White House's reputation for political savvy and tight spin control, its very public stumbling over Medicare has been fascinating to watch. It began back on January 10, when the administration circulated a memo on Capitol Hill outlining President Bush's Medicare reform plan, including the requirement that seniors leave the traditional fee-for-service program and enroll in HMOs if they wanted to obtain prescription-drug coverage. This didn't sit well with congressional leaders, in part because READ MORE >>

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE READ MORE >>