Democratic 2004 presidential front-runner Howard Dean wrapped up a cross-country fund-raising and campaigning tour last night with a raucous rally at Bryant Park that looked more like a Phish concert than a political gathering.
About 16,000 Dean supporters – many of them younger voters – packed the park to listen to alternative rock and hip-hop music and hear the former Vermont governor blast President Bush on foreign policy, tax cuts and social issues.
Dean stood in shirt sleeves in front of a graffiti-style backdrop as he showed his willingness to attack Bush from the left.
“We’re not going to beat George Bush by being ‘Bush lite.’ The only way we’re going to beat George Bush is to stand up and be Democrats again,” he said.
Dean’s fund-raisers and his unique success at raising cash over the Internet has filled his coffers, raising $7.6 million last quarter with a $10.3 million public “target” for the three months ending Sept. 30.
He’s putting that cash to use by launching a $1 million blitz of new TV ads.
Dean, who has already run TV ads in Iowa and New Hampshire, now plans early ads in six other states.