The recent round of criticism from fellow Democrats "about Howard Dean's four-month tenure as Democratic National Committee chairman has prompted Senate leaders to rise to his defense at a public event planned for today," the Boston Globe reports.
"Originally scheduled as a private meeting between Dean and the leadership team of Senate minority leader Harry Reid of Nevada, today's session instead will now include a news conference and photo opportunity as a public embrace of Dean, who has rocked the political world over the past week with provocative condemnations of the Republican party."
However, the Washington Times has a different spin, saying several Senate Democrats will use the event to force Dean to apologize for his recent comments.