Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told Hawai'i Democrats last night that if a Democrat wins the White House next year the first tasks would be to heal the partisan divide and restore the country's moral authority around the world.

Dean said President Bush has dismissed people who disagree with him politically both at home and abroad, governing by division and fear. "He was president of half the country," he said. "We can't do that as Democrats."

Dean's comments were at a fundraiser for Hawai'i Democrats at The Mandalay restaurant Downtown. The former Vermont governor appeared at a private fundraiser Thursday night in Kahala and met with party leaders and interest groups yesterday.

Dean's stop was part of a pledge to visit all 50 states as chairman. He developed a 50-state political strategy to make the party more competitive in states that have trended Republican.

Dean cited as an example the investment of party resources in traditionally Republican Alaska and believes the party is in place to pick up a U.S. Senate seat if U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is indicted as part of a federal corruption investigation. Stevens is close friends with U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, and the pair have worked as partners for decades to bring millions in federal money to Alaska and Hawai'i.

Dean also said he believes the party is in better position to appeal to voters under 35 who are emerging as a force in the political process. He said the party's presidential candidates reflect the multiculturalism that younger voters recognize, in contrast to the GOP presidential candidates.

Dean urged Democrats to get involved in door-to-door campaigning next year to complement the party's television, direct mail and telephone outreach. He said personal contacts are more effective at increasing voter turnout, and asked Democrats to knock on 40 doors four separate times and ask two people they know to do the same before the November elections.

Dean acknowledged that Hawai'i is a historically Democratic state but said majority Democrats in the state Legislature could do more with a Democratic governor in 2010. Gov. Linda Lingle was the first Republican governor in four decades and was easily elected to a second term last year.

"There is still plenty to be done in Hawai'i, but you have to do it by infrastructure," Dean said.

Paul Lindsay, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said "it's nice to see Howard Dean's scream has extended to Hawai'i, but his rhetoric would be better directed toward the Democrat Congress that currently holds historically low ratings.

"From their plans that undermine America's military to their reckless fiscal policies that would raise taxes on hardworking families, Dean's party is unacceptable to Hawaiians just as it is to voters in the rest of the country."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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