Well, well, the Post is really starting to get a clue. After a cover story on Dean yesterday, they run a personal profile in the style section today.

The man cannot be scripted, says Kate O'Connor, who travels with him everywhere and has been his aide for 14 years. (And he's never once yelled at her, she says.) He usually speaks without notes, and has done so for years. This habit of speaking first and apologizing later has contributed to Dean's reputation as a hothead. "He says, 'You can't write me a speech and tell me to be emotional and passionate. I have to feel it.' He just does it," she says. "It comes from within."

Ask Dean about his temperament, his crankiness, his bedside manner, and he quickly draws a parallel between his work as physician and presidential candidate. "Sympathy and support is what patients need," he says. "You have to tell them the truth. If they have cancer, you can't say 'This is not a big deal.' You say 'You have the possibility for a reasonable length of life, and here's what we're going to do' -- bang, bang, bang. Most people don't appreciate uncertainty. And that is my job as a presidential candidate, to inspire confidence and empower people to believe in themselves."