I defected, became Independent because it seemed to me, increasingly, that both the Republicans and the Democrats were wings on a bird which was made all about money. 

It was all about big business and neither party was really supporting what I believe in. Neither was out to benefit the people or take care of the environment or do any of the things that government is supposed to do. 

Well, looking at Dean's record, I'm very impressed at what he's been able to accomplish in Vermont with healthcare, cutting child abuse and increasing, creating good-paying jobs. The economy in Vermont is doing surprisingly well at the moment, considering how badly off the rest of the country is.  Here in California, it's been a disaster and in part because we had this little energy problem, which could really be traced back to Bush's policies which, as I said before, are all about benefiting his friends in big business — particularly Enron, which was doing some gaming with the energy market, which basically took us from having a significant surplus to having a massive deficit.

I'm also drawn to his charisma and I think that he has an excellent change of really beating George Bush, and beating him not by pretending that he's going to do the same thing or edging to the middle or any of that nonsense, but by truly standing up for what he believes in.

And standing up for working people... standing up for the environment and taking government back to what it should be — a counterbalance to the forces of the market, not merely its handmaiden. 

My name's Tony.  I work in a butcher shop and I'm taking back my country.