Howard Dean kept his cool last night during his hour in Chris Matthews’s hotseat even as he admitted during a furious round of questioning that he had hoped to receive a deferment from serving in Vietnam when he presented a draft board with evidence of a medical problem.

In the past week, opponents of Dean—the firebrand former governor of Vermont who is now widely regarded as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination—have criticized the candidate’s behavior towards the draft, pointing to the fact that he skied in Colorado after receiving a draft deferment.

“I was not looking forward to going to Vietnam,” Dean said.

National security is considered a key issue in the campaign, and two of Dean’s biggest competitors—Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., and Gen. Wesley K. Clark—are running hard on their own military experiences.

Nevertheless, Dean holds his lead in New Hampshire and is facing a tie with Rep. Dick Gephardt in Iowa. Even in Massachusetts, Dean is polling well, running even with Kerry.

Dean kept up his sharp criticism of President Bush and took shots at the other Democratic candidates last night during the live broadcast of Matthews’s “Hardball” from the JFK Jr. Forum—but contrary to his reputation as short-fused, the former governor stayed calm.

At Harvard, Dean drew the strongest interest of the six candidates who have visited Harvard so far, with 1,819 people entering a lottery to watch the broadcast live at Forum.

Unlike other candidates to appear on the show, Dean did not attend a discussion with students in Kirkland House beforehand—leading some to doubt the sincerity of his outspoken commitment to young voters.

But about 40 students and community members eagerly welcomed Dean to campus, rallying in Harvard Square before his “Hardball” appearance with signs that read “Beantown is Deantown” and “Dean: A Yalie Harvard Loves.”

War and Peace

The most contentious part of last night’s interview came when Matthews repeatedly fired questions about what he described as the candidate’s “almost-experience” in the military.

Dean said that when he presented the draft board with information about his back problem, he was prepared to accept their decision.

“I felt if they took me, they took me, and if they didn’t, they didn’t,” he said. “It wasn’t like I was trying to dodge the draft. All I did was say here, look. Here’s my information. Do with me what you will.”

After Matthews’ repeated questioning, Dean acknowledged that was hoping to receive a deferment when he brought x-rays and a doctor’s letter with him to his physical exam.

Matthews and audience members also questioned Dean last night on his limited foreign policy experience, an issue that Kerry has raised in his campaign.

Dean stressed his firm opposition to the war in Iraq as a factor which sets him apart from other candidates, noting that all of the other presidential contenders gave at least initial support to the war.

“Their kind of foreign policy experience is not the kind we want in the White House, and mine is,” said Dean, receiving cheers from a largely supportive audience.

Closer to Home

A month after the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry, Matthews probed Dean about his support for civil unions when he was governor of Vermont.

Mass. Gov. W. Mitt Romney and other state leaders have said they want to reserve marriage for heterosexual couples but allow civil unions with all the legal benefits of marriage for gay couples.

Dean, who signed a controversial bill establishing civil unions but not same-sex marriages in Vermont, said last night that the government was obligated to ensure “equal rights under the law.”

He said he would leave individual states to decide whether to satisfy this goal with civil unions or marriages.

But Dean said he wanted to focus on campaign issues beyond the traditionally contentious topics of “abortion, guns, God and gays.”

While apologizing for a recent remark that he wanted to be “the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks,” Dean criticized Republicans for making race a divisive factor.

He said it was important to focus on issues where people share a common concern, such as education, health care and the economy.

On a lighter note, Dean named A Beautiful Mind as his favorite movie—a question that several previous candidates to appear on “Hardball” have not answered as readily.

When asked his favorite book, Dean held up a copy of his own, Winning Back America, which he joked was selling for 20 percent off on amazon.com, compared to 40 percent off for Kerry’s book.

Harvard College Democrats President Andy J. Frank ’05 said Dean seemed more comfortable yesterday than he has in previous television appearances.

“He gets less flustered by questions now. He sticks to his campaign themes a little more readily,” Frank said.

But other students said after the broadcast that they did not feel Dean responded well to the tough questions.

“He waffled on foreign policy,” said Betsy A. Sykes ’04, the vice president of the IOP’s Student Advisory Committee and a member of the Harvard College Republicans. “He seemed argumentative, constantly Bush-bashing. He seemed to talk more about the problems rather than effective solutions for them.”

Rock the Vote

While Dean has emphasized his outreach to younger voters, some questioned why he could not make time to meet with students outside of yesterday’s show.

The other candidates who appeared on “Hardball” have met with students in the “Conversations with Candidates” series at Kirkland House sponsored by the College Dems, answered a question on youth engagement for the IOP TV talk show and attended a reception after “Hardball.”

Dean, citing time constraints, did not participate in any of these events.

After Aaron D. Chadbourne ’06 questioned him on-air last night about his unavailability, Dean responded that he would be interested in coming back to meet with Harvard students.

Chadbourne said he was escorted backstage after the show and received a personal apology from Dean. Chadbourne said the candidate told him that his staff members had not informed him of the invitations and that he would make an effort to come back.

“I think it was a nice gesture, but I think it’s more important that if candidates are going to expect youth to support them then they should make themselves available,” Chadbourne said.

Frank said the College Dems presented Dean with an official invitation yesterday to return to Harvard during the primary season.

Some students were unfazed by Dean’s absence at campus events before and after yesterday’s taping.

“I think he has the potential to mobilize the youth in our country in a way that none of the other candidates have been able to do,” said Kate C. Gluckman ’07. “His appeal lies not only in his policies but in his presentation.”

Gluckman said Dean “wants to be hip,” pointing to his choice of Wyclef Jean as his favorite musician.

Regina C. Schwartz ’06, co-chair of Harvard Students for Howard Dean who helped organize the rally prior to the taping, said she felt Dean would do a better job than Bush in representing student interests.

“Howard Dean really gets in touch with the students and isn’t afraid to speak his mind,” Schwartz said.

—Staff writer Jessica R. Rubin-Wills can be reached at rubinwil@fas.harvard.edu.