Howard Dean presidential campaign, 2004

Howard Dean for President 2004
Campaign	U.S. presidential election, 2004
Candidate	Howard Dean Governor of Vermont (1991–2003)
Affiliation	Democratic Party
Status	Announced June 23, 2003 Withdrew Feb 18, 2004
Slogan	Dean for America
Website
Howard Dean 2004 (archived - Jan 30, 2004)

The 2004 presidential campaign of Howard Dean, 79th Governor of Vermont, began when he formed an exploratory committee to evaluate a presidential election campaign on May 31, 2002. Dean then formally announced his intention to compete in the 2004 Democratic primaries to seek the Democratic Party's nomination for President on June 23, 2003. Dean dropped out of the race in February 2004 after poor contest showings in Wisconsin.

Dean officially announced his candidacy on June 23, 2003, at a rally in his home state of Vermont, overlooking the Church Street Marketplace, in the heart of Burlington (Vermont's largest city). During his announcement speech, Dean stressed the importance of universal health care, and fiscal responsibility.

Dean, a former medical doctor, called for a comprehensive call for Universal Health Care for the United States. He proposed an annual $88 billion on health care programs in the United States as well as wanting tax credits to help workers of moderate income buy "affordable" coverage similar to that offered to federal employees, with extra insurance subsidies for companies employing less than 50 people. Dean also proposed spending nearly $1 trillion over 10 years on health insurance. Dean also stressed the need for the expansion of state health care programs for children throughout his campaign.

Dean opposed the use of taxpayer-financed vouchers for tuition at parochial or other private schools, and promised to rework federal annual testing in grades 3 through 8 while allowing for more state and local control. Dean also guaranteed that people would not have to pay more than 10 percent of their income toward loans after post-secondary graduation as Dean would provide $10,000 a year in federal aid for university or high-skills learning.

Dean proposed a radically different tax plan than President Bush's which would repeal all of the Bush tax cuts, and replace them with tax cuts on the middle class. Throughout the campaign, Dean stressed the need for lowering taxes on the middle class while raising them on the upper class. He also promised to renegotiate components of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other free trade agreements with foreign powers. Dean also promised to "put the U.S. on a path to a balanced budget", but never specifically stated any deficit reduction proposals other than repealing the Bush Tax Cuts.

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