Howard Dean: Gen. Hayden Unfit to Run CIA

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is calling on Senate Democrats to vote against the nomination of Gen. Michael Hayden to run the CIA, saying his efforts to wiretap terrorists while he was running the National Security Agency make him unfit for the job.

"After [Thursday's] hearings, it's obvious that Hayden's involvement in the NSA's domestic spying program disqualifies him from heading the CIA," Dean declared, in a message emailed to Democrats on Friday.

"We need a CIA chief committed to protecting Americans without misleading them," Dean said. "Hayden, through his involvement in the domestic spying program, has shown that he cannot."

"We cannot stand for that," the top Democrat added.

Apparently Dean realizes that he doesn't have much clout left with Senate Democrats - so he's calling on the grassroots to bombard them with calls and emails.

"When the Senators meet to decide on Hayden's confirmation, they must hear the voices of their constituents," he urges in the email. "We want to deliver the voices of 100,000 Americans who oppose this nomination."

Every now and again I get the urge to scale down my political philosophy to simple logic: "If Howard Dean Is Against It, I'm For It".

In other words, now that Dean's filled us in on what he thinks, the Democrats need to do the right thing and make sure Hayden gets passed.