Abercrombie backs Dean for president

Advertiser Staff

WASHINGTON — Rep. Neil Abercrombie has endorsed Howard Dean as the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, describing the former Vermont governor as the right candidate to unite the party and challenge President Bush.

Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, predicted Dean would appeal to conservatives as well as union workers and liberals. "He has this quality of being able to reach out to lots of different people," Abercrombie said.

Dean, a physician and former state legislator and lieutenant governor, is one of nine Democrats pursuing the nomination. He was among the most vocal of the candidates in opposing a pre-emptive U.S. war with Iraq, arguing that the Bush administration should have continued to work with the United Nations to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.