Good question....

The LA Times Ron Brownstein recounts this exchange in his overview of Sunday's Presidential debate:

"Dean has argued that he was looking for ways to stabilize Medicare for the long term, not to retrench it. But Dean threw new fuel on the fire earlier this month, when he said in an Iowa Public Television interview that "We're going to have to limit the growth of entitlement programs."

After immediate criticism from Gephardt and Kerry, Dean issued a statement that "under a Dean administration, cuts to Medicare are off the table." He reiterated that position Sunday. But that inspired the pointed jab from Kerry: "Now, if he just took Social Security and Medicare off the table, the question is, what entitlements are on the table? Veterans' pensions? Food stamps? Medicaid? Social disability?"

Good question, Governor. C'mon, fess up.