Dean sticks to it

Chris Matthews tried his best to get Howard Dean to turn gossip into something of importance. Dean didn't let him get away with it. He stayed on task.

MATTHEWS: Well I now want to bring up to you a topic that I thought would be something that might come up six months from now or a year from now, it‘s come up as you know, yesterday. “The New York Times,” at the top of the page, of the front page, ran a big story on Bill and Hillary Clinton and it led with the question of this: “When the subject of Bill and Hillary Clinton comes up for many prominent Democrats these days, topic A is the state of their marriage.” Is that a true statement?

DEAN: No. I think that‘s ridiculous. That‘s just gossip and I would expect that to be in the “New York Post,” not “The New York Times.”

MATTHEWS: What‘s the gossip in saying that party leaders are worried about the marriage?

DEAN: -- most people are worried, Chris, about gas prices, how we‘re going to get out of Iraq—

MATTHEWS: No, they‘re worried about who‘s going to get elected. Governor, you know the questions: who‘s going to get elected president and what things along the way are going to affect who gets elected. It‘s not gossip; it‘s trying to figure out the lay of the land, politically.

Let me read you something from a man I know you respect, David Broder of the “Washington Post.” Quote—in today‘s column: “The very fact that “The New York Times” has sent a reporter out to interview 50 people about the state of the Clinton‘s marriage and placed the story on the top of page one was a clear signal, if any was needed, that the drama of the Clinton‘s personal life would be a hot topic if she runs for president.” Is that a fair statement?

DEAN: I think that‘s also gossip. Listen, I‘m going to be tough on this stuff. I think gossip and silliness like that, in the long run, do not overcome the fact that somebody‘s got to do something about gas prices, that we‘ve sent a ton of jobs to China, that we have a budget that‘s so far out of balance that our kids are in debt—those are the issues that matter, not salacious gossip. And I don‘t care who writes it—I have a lot of respect for David Broder and "The New York Times"-it‘s still gossip.