KARL ROVE vs. HOWARD DEAN

KARL ROVE

Former Bush Advisor & Deputy Chief of Staff
Karl Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. At the White House he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison, and Intergovernmental Affairs and was Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, coordinating the White House policy-making process.

Karl has been described by respected author and columnist Michael Barone in U.S. News & World Report as “…unique…no Presidential appointee has ever had such a strong influence on politics and policy, and none is likely to do so again anytime soon.” Washington Post columnist David Broder has called Karl a master political strategist whose “game has always been long term…and he plays it with an intensity and attention to detail that few can match.” Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, has called Karl “the greatest political mind of his generation and probably of any generation… He knows history, understands the moods of the public, and is a visionary on matters of public policy.”

Before Karl became known as “The Architect” of President Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns, he was president of Karl Rove + Company, an Austin-based public affairs firm that worked for Republican candidates, non-partisan causes, and non-profit groups. His clients included over 75 Republican U.S. Senate, Congressional, and gubernatorial candidates in 24 states, as well as the Moderate Party of Sweden.

As a Fox News contributor, Karl provides a “genuine feel of inside knowledge,” says David Zurawik, Baltimore Sun television critic. Megan Garber, of the Columbia Journalism Review, says Karl has “focused his punditry on what he knows best: strategy.” Even the New York Times acclaims that “Rove’s substantive contributions may now inspire a little work ethic among the celebrity talking heads who may be forced to bring to the news a little more data and a little less opinion, a recalibration that would be welcome to its devoted viewers.”

Karl writes a weekly op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, is a Newsweek columnist, and is the author of the book “Courage and Consequence” (Threshold Editions).

A Colorado native, he attended the University of Utah, the University of Maryland-College Park, George Mason University, and the University of Texas at Austin.

Karl has taught graduate students at UT Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and undergraduates in a joint appointment from the Journalism and Government departments at the university. He was also a faculty member at the Salzburg Seminar.

He was previously a member of the Board of International Broadcasting, which oversaw the operations of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, and served on the White House Fellows regional selection panel. He was also a member of the Boards of Regents at Texas Women's Union and East Texas State University.

Karl now serves on the Board of Trustees for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation and the Texas State History Museum Foundation. He is also a member of the McDonald Observatory Board of Visitors and the Texas Philosophical Society.

HOWARD DEAN

Former Vermont Governor & DNC Chairman
As Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Governor Howard Dean made the Democratic Party competitive in every race, in every district, in every state and territory, while integrating national and state party operations and standing up for Democrats' core values. Governor Dean was the architect of a "50-State Strategy," investing money and staff in every state − including those where Democrats had long fared poorly − to build party infrastructure and lay the groundwork for electoral gains. The Obama campaign, working with DNC organizers in all 50 states, won several states that had not elected a Democratic president in decades, including Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana.

After achieving national prominence in his bid for the Democratic nomination for president, Governor Dean founded Democracy for America in 2004 to build on the groundswell of support and the wave of new energy sweeping the Party. And since that time, Democracy for America has been working with the grassroots to elect fiscally responsible and socially progressive candidates to all levels of government − local, state, and federal − all over the country.

The breadth of Governor Dean's political experience has given him a unique perspective. He began his political career in the early 1980's as the Chittenden County (Vermont) Democratic Party chair. In 1983, Dean was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. He was then elected lieutenant governor in 1986 and was re-elected in 1988 and 1990. He became Vermont's governor upon the death of Governor Richard A. Snelling on August 14, 1991.

Elected to a full term in November 1992, Governor Dean was re-elected four more times and created a record based on fiscally conservative principles that promoted equality and opportunity for all the citizens of Vermont. Under his leadership, Vermont paid down its debt and by 2001 enjoyed a $100 million surplus. Through his innovative health care plan, 96 percent of Vermont's children now have health care coverage and more than a third of Vermont's Medicare recipients receive state help in paying for their prescription drugs. His 'Success by Six' program ensures that more resources like day-care and home nurses are available to parents if they need them. And with strong support from Governor Dean, Vermont officials instituted an Interactive Learning Network that wired almost all the state's high schools, even in the most rural areas.

Governor Dean's successes prompted Governing magazine to proclaim him "Public Official of the Year" in 2002.

Dean's leadership roles also include turns as chairman of the National Governors' Association, the Democratic Governors' Association, and the New England Governors' Conference.

Before entering politics, Dean received a medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City in 1978. Upon completing his residency at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, he went on to practice internal medicine in Shelburne, Vermont.

He is married to Dr. Judy Steinberg and they have two children, Anne and Paul.