I've been a lifelong Republican. I voted for Bush in the last election, but I've become very dissatisfied with the current Republican approach to government.  The Republican approach to government as it is being executed by Bush seems to be the mighty shall rule the world, irrespective of the concerns and interests of anybody else. I believe that we have to live as though we were on spaceship Earth and we have to be considerate of all life and all people as one single entity. 

Howard Dean impresses me as a person that combines leadership as well as compassion.  In particular, I'm concerned about the break between the wealthy and the poor and the fact that in this country it seems to be spreading. The strength of America in the past has been its middle class.  We have to promote a government that is supportive of the middle class. 

I think Howard Dean is a consensus builder.  I believe he can work in the international community to get cooperation from those who are now our allies and those that should be our allies.  I also believe that he is compassionate and will create social programs that can truly support a good lifestyle for everyone in the United States, but will be fiscally responsible.  The grassroots nature of the Dean campaign is truly American.  It represents the will of the people moving despite the actions of their own government and I believe that the grassroots character of this campaign is unique and very good.

My main concern is that the spread between the have and have-nots in this country is getting greater.  The strength of America is its middle class.  We need policies, we need to be compassionate and we need leadership that recognizes that the middle class are the American dream — it's what causes this country to be great and we need to support it.

I'm Phil. I'm an engineer. I own my own consulting business.  I'm a lifelong Republican and I'm switching to Howard Dean.