A couple of weeks ago one of my roommates asked me if I wanted to join him at some sort of event for Howard Dean. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that someone who at times appears to be an actual liberal is getting so much support. It should make for a more lively debate on the upcoming election year. I’m glad that the Democrats are considering putting up a candidate for President based on ideology rather than electability. Relatively speaking, that is.

That notwithstanding, why on Earth would I contribute to the Dean campaign when the most basic tenet of my own candidacy is that money and politics should be separate? No, I do not support Dean, he has baskets of money and he is working hard to get more. His much-ballyhooed ‘grass roots’ fundraising is great, but don’t think there aren’t tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in the DNC coffers with plenty of strings attached. The way things are right now, it is not possible for a Democrat or Republican to be elected without bringing along an enormous amount of baggage.

On top of that, I would be a better President than Howard Dean.