Who said the following?

"In 1996, Howard Dean tried to cut over $26 million from Medicaid, and four times as governor, he tried to eliminate prescription drug assistance for seniors. The very same program he now proclaims across the country.

"Time after time, when faced with budget shortfalls, Howard Dean's first and only instinct was to cut. Cut education, cut prescription drug coverage, cut Medicaid funding, cut aid to the elderly, blind, and disabled.

"Howard Dean wears his bravado as a budget cutter like a badge of honor. But to me, where's the honor in saying quote 'we're willing to go after our own people's education, health, and welfare.'

"There is no place for governance without compassion. You can be proficient without empathy, but human lives deserve something more."

The answer in a second.

In defense of Dean, states can't run up budget deficits like the federal government can. Either it's illegal, or it's not plausible.

But this speech - delivered over the weekend - points to a core issue Dean will have to work to overcome: the perception that he's soft on defense, but tough on the weakest among us. He can overcome that perception (Bill Clinton signed an execution warrant for a retarded man while he was running for president, at the same time he battled an old remark that he "loathed" the military.) It will take a lot of work and maneuvering to overcome, though.

Now the answer: The speaker was Dick Gephardt.