Chris Matthews: Howard Dean should replace Daschle David Edwards and Joe Byrne

Published: Wednesday February 4, 2009





Print This Email This Chris Matthews interviewed Senator Claire McCaskill last night on MSNBC's Hardball about the president's nomination for the Secretary of Human and Health Services. After talking about Tom Daschle for a moment - the rules are, you live in a glass house, McCaskill remarked about Daschle's notoriety - Matthews turned the conversation to Howard Dean. How come he's not the HHS secretary? He's getting squat from the president.



Matthews listed the reasons why Dean would be perfect as a member of Obama's cabinet: Howard Dean is the chairman of the Democratic party...he had a big hand in bringing this victory that you all enjoy this year, he's a medical doctor, he succeeds in so many ways in building your party up and raising money and doing everything right, he began this populist thing back in the last election...he's getting nothing!



Senator McCaskill responded by saying, I don't know that he wants anything, Chris.



Before Daschle's nomination had been announced, bloggers had seen Howard Dean as a very real possibility. Chris Frates and Cecile Dehesdin of Politico pointed out that Dean is a high-profile bomb-thrower and would have trouble working with Republicans.



Daschle withdrew his nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services yesterday due to revelations of tax fraud amounting to $140,000. Obama has not yet announced his replacement. Now that the position is open again, political spectators are wondering who will be next.



It sounds to me like he didn't get what he wanted, Matthews concluded his interview.



This video is from MSNBC's Hardball, broadcast Feb. 3, 2009.









Download video via RawReplay.com





Correction: Due to a transcription error, Sen. McCaskill was misquoted in an earlier version of this article. She said, "I don't know that he wants anything," not, "I don't know that he was anything."



