DNC chair predicts McCain as GOP nominee

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean predicted Sen. John McCain of Arizona would be the Republican U.S. presidential nominee.

And in an e-mail to Democrats, he outlined what he thinks is needed to defeat McCain in the general election, The Hill reported Tuesday.

"John McCain will be the Republican nominee -- he's the only one with a reasonable path to the nomination," Dean wrote in the fundraising missive.

Dean, a former Vermont governor and 2004 presidential hopeful, said McCain would continue President George Bush's policies on the Iraq war and healthcare. Dean said McCain has admitted a weakness concerning economic issues, said the United States may be in Iraq for 100 years and indicated he wanted the Supreme Court to reverse Roe vs. Wade, the landmark abortion case.

"We can't afford four more years with a president who drives the economy into the ground," Dean said. "We can't afford four more years with a president who fights an endless war in Iraq. We can't afford four more years with a president who gives tax cuts to companies who ship jobs overseas; with a president who can't get every American the healthcare they deserve; with a president we just can't trust."