In the South, Dean Speaks About ‘Human Concerns’

For the first time since causing a flap by saying he wanted to be the candidate for “guys with Confederate flags on their pickup trucks,” Howard Dean campaigned Sunday -- with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. at his side -- in a state where the divisive symbol of the Old South is commonly flown.

Clearly trying to put the issue to rest, the Democratic presidential contender first attended services and spoke at a black church, then addressed about 200 supporters at a hotel, and finally spoke at the opening of his state campaign headquarters. Each time he stressed that his domestic agenda is based on human need, not race.

“Everybody needs jobs,” he said. “Everybody needs health care; everybody needs education.”

Dean spoke specifically of his remark about the Confederate flag only once, when asked about it at a news conference.

“I have learned my lesson, and you will never hear those words cross my lips again,” the former Vermont governor said.

Dean enjoyed warm welcomes at the Community CME Church and throughout the day, with many African Americans saying they knew nothing of his comments and didn’t much care.

“I’m intrigued by this guy, and my husband loves him,” said Greta Harper, a Columbia pediatrician who is African American.

After inaugurating his new South Carolina campaign office, Dean flew to Virginia to accept the backing of Rep. Robert C. Scott. Other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Reps. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas and Carolyn C. Kilpatrick of Michigan, have also expressed interest in Dean’s campaign, aides said.

Missouri Rep. Richard A. Gephardt’s campaign expects to win the endorsement of Rep. James E. Clyburn, an influential black politician from South Carolina.

It is Sen. John Edwards of neighboring North Carolina, however, who early polls show is the leading candidate in the state.

Also on Sunday, Dean said he was contented to have a judge decide which of his records as Vermont governor -- some of which he ordered sealed for 10 years -- should be made public. A watchdog group has sued to have 145 boxes of documents unsealed, and Dean said the Vermont attorney general’s office would defend against the suit, with no input from him.

In recent months, some Democratic contenders have spent considerable time in South Carolina, often to woo black voters, and often at black churches.

The state is the first in the 2004 primary election schedule with a large population of African Americans, and upwards of 40% of the ballots set to be cast here Feb. 3 are expected to come from black voters.

Throughout his stops in the state Sunday, Dean wove a thread of unity -- racial unity, especially -- in his remarks.

“When I was in medical school in the Bronx, one of my first emergency room patients was a 13-year-old African American girl who was pregnant,” he said. “And her mother was furious.

“When I moved to Vermont to practice medicine, one of my first emergency room patients was a 13-year-old white girl who was pregnant. And her mother was furious.

“This is not about race,” he continued. “It’s about poverty. It’s not about ethnicity; it’s about the ability to get decent medical care.

“There are no black concerns, there are no white concerns, no Latino concerns,” Dean said. “They are human concerns.”