He's Baaack: Dean Leads Lefty Charge Against Obama

Howard Dean’s return to the national stage with stinging criticism of the compromises Democratic leaders accepted on health care reform has thrilled disaffected progressives—and even sparked talk of another run for president. One liberal blogger says his dusted-off bona fides make Dean “perfectly positioned” to challenge Obama in 2012. While many think that strains credulity, Politico reports, he appears to be preparing for something.

For one, Dean has reconnected with Democracy for America, the PAC that rose from the ashes of his 2004 campaign. DFA has pledged to run challengers to Democratic lawmakers who went the wrong way on health reform. Dean’s brother says the former Vermont governor kept a lid on it when DNC chair, but after it was clear he would not receive an Obama Cabinet post he had to speak out. “Someone’s got to do it, because a lot of Obama’s core constituencies don’t feel like they’re getting paid attention to right now.” (More Howard Dean stories.)