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Barack Obama for Beginners publisher Chip Fleisher (among many, many other books) makes the case well at TruthDig.com:
The position of HHS secretary would play to Dean's proven strengths-his medical training and his ability to work within budgets, to name just two. And no one could bring more passion to the job. To my mind, an old congressional hand, a Washington insider-another nominee like Tom Daschle-who knows how to wheedle and stroke egos and trade this for that in order to make things happen the old-fashioned way would not achieve meaningful reform on health care. There are just too many entrenched interests, and Washington insiders are congenitally incapable of making things happen with so many well-connected players trying to affect the game's outcome.