The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

p> DEAN DOES THE DISHONORS br> Former Vermont Gov. Howie Dean annoys a lot of people. Many of them Democrats. But no one is more annoyed at him than the would-be leader of the party, Bill Clinton . /p>

First, Dean swoops in and sucks up to Clinton's failed protégé Al Gore, without really trying to cozy up to the big guy. Then the two new soul mates announce Gore's endorsement blocks from Clinton's Harlem offices (which, by the way, was Gore's idea).

Now Dean is using the Clinton economic program as his latest doom and gloom target in stump speeches around the country, and Clinton isn't happy about it.

Dean has been telling just about any audience listening to him that Clinton's claim that the era of big government is over was in essence a betrayal of basic Democratic values. That Clinton got into bed with Republicans to cut back government, and in turn hurt poor families who needed more of what Dean think government should be giving them.

In classic Dean fashion, he riles up his crowds with those kinds of ideas, then turns around and tells the press that his remarks aren't intended as shots across Clinton's bow, even though Dean has told campaign staffers that Gore, for one, told him that those remarks about the Clinton Gore economy were spot on target, and confirmed Gore's belief that Dean was the straight talker the party needed.

Clinton has not spoken directly to Dean's claims, instead, in a telling point about who is running whose campaign, former Clinton economic advisers Mickey Kantor and Laura Tyson went on attack mode. Both just happen to be working as advisers to Gen. Wesley Clark. Both, while opening their remarks by saying that General Clark would adhere to Clintonomics, then went on to push back on Dean's remarks, defending Clinton's economic policy.

Says a Clark adviser in Washington, "This really had little to do with Clark policy and everything to do with President Clinton wanting someone to defend his honor. He was angry that no one had stepped up before now."

According to a Dean staffer in Iowa, Clinton has sent Dean a message through intermediaries to stop using him as a political scratching post on the campaign trail. Dean, though, as late as last Friday was still using Clinton as an example of what is wrong with the Democratic Party.

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