No, no, hear me out. Because it’s true.

Howard Dean will be a worthless President and a mistake for the country.

We are approaching a turning point in history; this much is clear. The decisions we make between 2004 and 2008 will be pivotal to our nation’s fate in the 21st century. We need a President who has a clear vision for America’s future — and it doesn’t have to be Bush. But it sure as hell won’t be Dean.

If there is only one reason to dislike Howard Dean, it is that he’s promised to repeal all of Bush’s tax cuts. There should be no doubt those tax cuts have boosted the economic recovery (although how much they’ve helped is a different debate). Taking that money back would deliver a shock to American markets, which would be bad for the world economy as a whole.

More worrisome is that Howard Dean has targeted Alan Greenspan for replacement, accusing him of having ‘become too political.’ This is particularly odious when you consider Dean’s motivation: he thinks Greenspan should have opposed tax cuts. Greenspan has chaired the Federal Reserve for many years, and he’s done a remarkable job. While other economists may argue over details of his decisions, Greenspan’s policies have always been rooted in his economic beliefs, not in presidential politics. That Howard Dean would attack a very capable and experienced economist, just because Greenspan’s past policies don’t fit Dean’s political agenda, is reprehensible.

Then there’s the issue of Iraq. Howard Dean has voiced his opposition to the war many times, but has yet to suggest anything on how to clean up the mess. Dean’s silence is a clear signal that the rowdy Vermonter simply doesn’t know what to do. Scream all you want, Howie, but that won’t bring stability to Baghdad and it won’t bring our troops home sooner.

Evidently, I’m not the only one who thinks that Howard Dean sucks. Seems a bunch of opponents have formed Howard-Dean-Sucks.com. While the web page is lacking substance (and seems engineered to support Kerry), it does have a good domain name.

There are a lot of things George Bush has done wrong in his four-year term. But we need a President who can fix Bush’s mistakes without stomping all over his successes. Howard Dean has promised to kick our markets in the teeth, wants to fire the economist who steered us out of recession, and hasn’t said one damn thing about American foreign policy anywhere in the world.

Some people love to hate Bush, and so does Howard Dean; therein lies much of his appeal. But when you look past the rhetoric and examine his policies, he’s a worthless candidate for President, and a sorry excuse for a leader.

Howard Dean sucks.