The audio of the entire long interview was up for a while at the NYT. I transcribed bits and pieces of it.

"Bai says this unique politician admits he sometimes says things he should not say. Transformational figure in Democratic politics.A rare bridge between the last era of Democratic politics and the next.

Bai: He is notoriously frugal...some would say cheap. (audience laughs)

This is a guy who searches for his own flights on line because he wants to save the Committee money. He is a chocoholic. He is a junky for sugar. (laughter again as people know that and worry about it)

Bai says he has confided that he has told his kids they can do anything they want in life as long as it is not journalism. (much laughter.)

Bai asked why he decided to seek the leadership of the party. Dean says he did not get his first choice (joke), a 3rd party would just not work, would be too bloody and divisive. He decided the best way to serve his country was to try to reinvigorate the Democratic Party.

Dean says he wants to put in a real long term business plan for success, win the 2006 elections so at least we can stop the hemorrhaging that is going on in the country and build a base from there.

He then says that if we succeed, which he has every intention of doing is that it is harder to change an institution which is in power than one which is out of power. But he doesn't think the American people can afford to have a weak Democratic party anymore.

The fear is they would say ok now we are back in power, things are ok. His 2nd greatest fear after not winning is that if we do we fail to get health care, we fail to raise the minimum wage, fail to start to balance the budget...

He says the Demcratic party has essentially been "non-functional as party" for about 30 years. The last race that was actually won by the "party" was in 1968.

The functions of the party have been taken over by the campaigns. (he is right about that totally.) He says he thinks Kerry's GOTV effort was terrific, but that was "John Kerry's GOTV effort" and the DNC played a secondary role.

There's not a scientific body in the government that's not complete demoralized. They put people in charge of the CDC because they're right to life. Well, I think you're supposed to know something about public health if you go to the CDC.

The FDA, they can't keep a commissioner, why? Because the WH tells them what drugs to approve. They don't care what the facts are. They didn't care what the facts are when they went into Iraq.

The thing about the Democrats is that we intellectually curious, we interested in new ideas. The Democrats are the true liberals, not in the bad sense the Republicans have made it out to be, but in the good sense, the English sense of broad-minded. Now having said that we need some new ideas. (laughter)