(Host) Senator Jim Jeffords says he hopes Howard Dean will stay in the Democratic presidential race for as long as possible.
Speaking Tuesday night on VPR’s Switchboard program, Jeffords said Dean has raised many key issues during the campaign – issues that Jeffords says the other candidates are not addressing. Jeffords also says Dean has brought a lot of new people into the political process:
(Jeffords) “I certainly feel strongly that he should stay in right to the finish to pull out after tonight I think would be wrong he has such a following in this nation although it hasn’t turned up in the poll results but just from being with him and watching him as he went around the country he really hit the proper tones to get people excited.”
(Host) If Howard Dean doesn’t win the Democratic presidential nomination, Jeffords says there’s no doubt that he’ll strongly support whoever wins the nomination:
(Jeffords) “At some point we’re going to rally around a person because getting George Bush out which is the number one goal of mine and hopefully all America we’re going to have to do it in a very coordinated functions so we wouldn’t do anything to undermine the eventual candidate but rather to rally people to make an enthusiastic charge towards voting day.”
(Host) Jeffords says he believes the president is vulnerable in this election year because Bush has supported fiscal policies that have resulted in massive federal deficits.