"Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean will not pronounce Osama bin Laden guilty before a trial, he said in an interview published Friday.

New Hampshire's Concord Monitor reported that Dean said he would not state his preference on a punishment for bin Laden before the al Qaeda leader was captured and put before a jury.

"I've resisted pronouncing a sentence before guilt is found," Dean said in the interview. "I will have this old-fashioned notion that even with people like Osama, who is very likely to be found guilty, we should do our best not to, in positions of executive power, not to prejudge jury trials."

Dean added he is certain most Americans agree with that sentiment."

...and then Dean's political advisors must have realized to their horror just how incredibly foolish Dean's statements were.

and a few hours later...

"Later, Dean released a statement clarifying, "I share the outrage of all Americans. Osama bin Laden has admitted that he is responsible for killing 3,000 Americans as well as scores of men, women and children around the world. This is the exactly the kind of case that the death penalty is meant for."

If the Democrats don't want next November to become an unmitigated disaster they'd better wake up in a big hurry and rally around someone other than Howard Dean. The more bizarre and nonsensical statements like this the man makes, the more Americans will look at him funny and start to wonder what kind of grass they grow up there in Vermont.

Oh, and by the way, how do you think wounded US servicemen in hospitals in Germany or
Washington feel when Dean states that capturing Saddam Hussien is meaningless in the war against terrorism?