Harkin, Grijalva push Dean for HHS

By GottaLaff

Health care we can believe in, snerk!

For all you Howard Dean fans out there:

Two prominent Democrats are urging President Obama to nominate former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over HHS and sits on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Thursday that tapping Dean - the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and a presidential contender in 2004 - would be "a very good move."

Meanwhile, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), an emerging ally of the president, penned a letter to the White House Wednesday urging the same pick. [...]

"While most of the public have only known Howard as a ground-breaking candidate for president and one of the most successful leaders of our party, I have also known him as [a] champion for universal healthcare," Grijalva wrote Obama. "It has been the cause of his life."

Grijalva has been close to Obama, endorsing him in January 2008 after his initial pick, former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), dropped out of the race. He was rumored to be on Obama's short list to head the Department of the Interior, and was one of two Arizonans to catch the Super Bowl alongside Obama at the White House. [...]

Though Dean has not actively campaigned for the position, many see his biggest obstacle as White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. As chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Emanuel and then-DNC chief Dean clashed over budget priorities during the 2006 election cycle, sometimes ending meetings with profanity-laced tirades.

Rahm, Howie! Stop that fighting or I'll be forced to turn this blog around! Now behave, or no cable air time for either of you.