An interesting perspective.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1106752,00.html"Dean is no soft-hearted country quack. He has a ruthless streak. It was Dean aides who put out a press release attacking workers on a rival's campaign for roughing up a Dean staffer in Iowa and calling him 'a faggot'. Yet it was far from clear if the incident was true. Dean has also used his anti-war message to savage fellow Democrats as much as George Bush. His plan for winning the election is simple: forget the middle ground. He aims instead to attract support from the 50 per cent of Americans who don't vote.
But Dean's radicalness masks a good deal of conservatism. Republicans (masterminded by the genius that is White House adviser Karl Rove) seek to paint Dean as an ultra-Leftist, an interventionist and soft on terrorism. He is a throwback to the radicalism of the 1960s. But the image is simply not true. Much is made of Vermont's Civil Unions (which gave gay couples the same legal rights as marriage). But Dean signed the law only after it had been promoted by a state court. He did not initiate it. Vermont state Democrats saw (and still see) Dean as a fiscal conservative who fought hard to defeat their spending plans. He used his Governor's veto more times than any predecessor, scuppering their ambitions. He left the state with a balanced budget (when its constitution does not even require one). He is also pro-guns, for the death penalty and in favour of using tax breaks to attract business. He is, however, pro-environment, pro-healthcare and anti-big corporations. And, above all, he was against the Iraq war.
His policies seem to reflect his doctor's nature: a blend of practical liberalism mixed with sensible conservatism. Doctors rarely favour truly radical surgery, except as a last resort. Indeed, Dean cannot leave his doctor's surgery behind. He once heard a rumour that campaign manager Joe Trippi had a pain in his left side. He called Trippi and asked about his bowel movements and whether he had blood in his urine. Dean then collared him the next day and gave him a physical. Trippi finally went to a clinic and found he had a cracked rib.
It is no surprise that Dean the Doctor crosses over so much with Dean the Politician. His Jewish wife, Judith Steinberg, is also a doctor. So are both her parents. They met in medical school in New York, after Dean had finished his studies at Yale, and are a close couple. They used to spend hours, at the back of class, helping each other do crosswords. They are also intensely private. "
more at the link