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The strategic thing to do would be to vote for Edwards. If Edwards makes a good enough showing, the race will be extended, focusing media coverage on the Democrats and their message. Narrowing it down to John Kerry will put an end to the free media and signal the Bush campaign to open fire.

That would be the strategic thing to do, but last night I read an excerpt from one of Dean's speeches last year (before all the media fuss). It's not particularly eloquent--that wasn't Dean's strength. Nor does it talk about grand, inspiring ideas. It is, however, a perfect example of why I supported Dean.

"In our state, we believe in inclusion in special ed so we include 82 percent of all our kids who need special ed with IEPs [Individualized Education Programs] in mainstream classrooms. Now that scares a lot of teachers and it scared a lot of our teachers. There's a lot of nervousness about how in the world a classroom teacher was going to handle a big influx of kids with disabilities. I think today they wouldn't trade it for anything. Because what we did, of course, is have those kids go in with adequate funding and with para-professionals.

"Let me tell you what that meant. It means that teachers have other adults in the classroom. They're not certified teachers, but they are adults and because there's very few disabled kids with para-professionals that need a hundred percent all the time, that frees up the para-professionals to help once in a while with some of the teacher's duties. Kids make more progress who require special ed, but let me talk to you about what I think is the most important thing about this is -- for me it's very personal.

"I have two kids, neither of whom require special education. When we made this change in Vermont, my daughter was in the sixth grade, my son was in the 4th grade; my daughter's now a freshman in college, my son's a junior in high school Our daughter is too far advanced for this to affect here. We phased it in. But my son was affected; he had a child in his 4th grade class that couldn't speak and of course didn't have any other skills in terms of communication, other than very, very basic ones. That child not only got to the 8th grade, was still included. And one day I asked him, how is Patrick doing. He said, he's doing pretty well; he talks and he writes.

"The effect it had on Patrick was extraordinary, but the effect it had on my son was more extraordinary because we have a whole generation of kids who are now growing up understanding that people with disabilities are just people who have some differences like every other person has differences, but they're people."

But we can reverse this trend by supporting institutions, policies, and yes, plans that promote interaction across all social boundaries. For example, public schools, affordable housing, and pedestrian-oriented development can put people back in touch with one another and perhaps make them think twice before supporting harsh action against illegals, fags, welfare queens, and the whole roster of "others." It's a basic concept that Dean understood and implemented, as exemplified by his story, and it's an approach to policy and governance we desperately need.

If you have the luxury of voting in a purely strategic fashion, I urge you to vote for Edwards. But the primary is supposed to be the one time you're able to vote your conscience. This will likely be the only time I can vote for Dean, and I only have one vote to cast. Don't get me wrong; whoever becomes the nominee will get my time, energy, and money in the race against Bush. But today, my vote goes to Howard Dean.