Howard Dean on CNN's "The Situation Room" Wednesday

"DEAN: You're always going to get some outliers. I think everybody would agree that we're better off that Saddam has gone, but certainly not safer. But Joe is out there, with supporting the president. I think most Democrats -- and Chuck Hagel sometimes supports us. You're always going to get a few people in each party that are with the other side, and that's fine.

The truth is, there is something approaching consensus in the Democratic side. There's not a lot of difference between Joe Biden and Jack Murtha. There may be some difference on timing, but the -- we know we have to leave Iraq. We know we can't stay there. We know this president's idea of staying there forever or whatever it was that Dick Cheney said -- we've heard that in Vietnam. We're not going to make the same mistake twice.

The truth of the matter is, you cannot have a permanent commitment to a failed strategy. This president never had a strategy to win in Iraq.

BLITZER: You say national security is going to be a winning issue for Democrats. Evan Bayh, who himself is a Democrat, senator from Indiana, former governor, thinking about running for president, said this -- he said, "I think there's a certain element of denial about how we" -- the Democratic party -- "are viewed, perhaps incorrectly, but viewed nonetheless by many Americans as being deficient on national security. Frankly, our fellow citizens have doubts about us. We have work to do."

DEAN: I think that's less true now than it was. I read that speech. It was a very good speech, and there were some lines in there that were really important, talking about the Republican deficiencies on defense. So the truth is -- you've seen the polls. You know that for the first time, Americans now believe that Democrats are more likely to succeed in defending America than Republicans are.

This has been one enormous mistake after another in this administration. Part of defending America is to maintain our moral leadership in the world. This president hasn't done that, either.

BLITZER: A lot of Democratic strategists, though, feel frustrated that the Democrats have not been able to capitalize on the failures that they perceive of this administration. Barack Obama, Democratic senator from Illinois: "We have been in a reactive posture for too long. I think we have been very good at saying no, but not good enough at saying yes."

DEAN: I await the positive message from the Hill. I absolutely agree with that. But I actually that in -- although, in all due respect to Senator Obama, who I am a huge fan of -- we are getting it together with a message."-from the transcript on last night's "The Situation Room" on CNN, via Howard-Empowered People.