Last night, there was an "event for young professionals honoring Governor Howard Dean. Howard Dean is one of the many Democrats vying for the party's nomination to run against President Bush in 2004. The event was at Mod, on the Upper West Side, and it was pretty packed with people. The volunteers were excited, telling me that "the Governor will be here!" Gothamist would argue that not all Dean supporters or Dean curious (which is Gothamist's position) were young professionals, as Gothamist overheard a decidedly middle-aged man brag to his friends, "Well, technically she could be my daughter...but I got her card."

It was good to hear Howard Dean talk about his stance on issues, like health care, the economy, and the Iraqi conflict. Obviously, what he said made sense (health care for all, fix the economy, support the troops but the situation the U.S. has gotten into is another story...), as all well-crafted political stump speeches are supposed to. But it did get Gothamist thinking that it should try to be more politically aware than it is now. Gothamist has been pretty frustrated with candidates from all parties, hence a fondness for E.J. Dionne's book, Why Americans Hate Politics: The Death of the Democratic Process, and unfortunate cynicism about the political process.

There were a couple camera crews going around, probably one for the campaign, another from CBS. They were interviewing people attending, asking for their stance on everything, from the state of the Democratic party to Bush's policy to Governor Dean himself. Gothamist was glad that it wasn't asked to speak, as the primary motive for going was to see Courtney, who is working on Dean's national campaign. She was running around, ensuring that the event was going smoothly. Gothamist admires Courtney a lot for jumping into the political life again, living in Burlington, VT (Dean headquarters) to work for someone she truly believes in, after four years of living the New York "young professional life." That takes guts and passion.

Net net, it'll be interesting to see how Dean and the other Democratic presidential hopefuls will play out their strengths and weaknesses. We'll know by this time next year how things are going.

One of the cameras at the event was one belonging to Alexandra Pelosi, the documentarian behind Journeys with George, the look inside Bush's 2000 campaign, was there filming Howard Dean. Travels with Howie? Gothamist saw Alexandra Pelosi speak at the TriBeCa Film Festival last year - read Jake's account.

Nick Denton seems pretty pro Dean

Howard Dean was not mentioned when Hilton suggested Tony Blair for President.