The impending visit of Howard Dean, a luminary of the Democratic Party and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is certainly stirring up some excitement.

It may actually cause conversations to occur, such as one the other day with a person who does not consider himself aligned with either political party.

He said, “what EXACTLY is a Democrat?” and the question was accompanied by a look which could have been interpreted as, “and exactly why should I care?”

It was a good question, and now is a good time to answer, because Governor Howard Dean will be here, in American Samoa this weekend, to celebrate with us our inclusion in the democratic process.

In the transformational election of 2008, the Democratic party continued to champion the rights of every American - no matter what the ethnic or religious background. Known as the “party of inclusion” - we now have our first African-American president, who faces challenges as broad and complex as the American people themselves.

Maybe the real question should be: why would someone in American Samoa choose to be identified as a Democrat in a place where family and title matter so much more than political persuasion, come election time?

Perhaps it is this very idea of “inclusiveness” - so pervasive in the Democratic party - so integral to political activism, that holds the appeal.

It is this reaching out to all cultures under the American flag, this embrace and celebration of their unique and multi-faceted contributions to the fabric of American society, which holds the key to Democratic party enthusiasm.

Yes, the bedrock of family and blood ties are uniquely important to the people of American Samoa. But the larger family - the American family - is one in which all members of society must have a voice, and play a part; that would include the islands of the sea and the unique branch of the American family that is American Samoa.

The Democratic Party website declares, “We must work to incorporate all Americans into the fabric of our nation...The Democratic Party is America’s last, best hope to bridge the divisions of class, race, region, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. We will succeed if we continue to govern by the same principles that have made America the greatest nation on earth — the principles of strength, inclusion and opportunity.”

A visit to the territory by Governor Howard Dean, currently chair of the National Democratic party is historic by any measure:

It gives those of us out in “the territories” hope that we will not be forgotten by the Obama administration.

It reminds us that we are part of the great American family, a vibrant, ever changing picture of all who cherish freedom.

It highlights our inclusion through participation in the Democratic party whose roots began with no less than Thomas Jefferson, our third president, and author of the Declaration of Independence. It was he who first founded the Democratic party as a congressional caucus.

(His purpose? To fight for the Bill of Rights - that addition to the Constitution which would ensure that the “common man” would have as much right to the freedoms of America as the wealthy elite.)

His presence here brings us to the table - to feast on idealism founded on beliefs described by Democratic President Andrew Jackson who said, “one person with courage is a majority,” or by Democratic President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who challenged us to “ask not what your country can do for you, but ask, what you can do for your country.”

It allows us in American Samoa to acknowledge as a part of our own history, the accomplishments of the Democratic party, some of which are:

Passing the nation’s first labor and child welfare laws (President Woodrow Wilson);

Pulling America “out of the Depression by looking beyond the Democratic base and energizing citizens around the belief that their government could actively assist them in times of need” (President Franklin Delano Roosevelt);

Integrating the military, paving the way for civil rights leaders who followed (President Harry Truman);

Putting a man on the moon and establishing the Peace Corps (President JFK); 

Passing the historic Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act and creating Medicare, to ensure older Americans would be able to receive quality health care (President Lyndon B. Johnson); and

A promise to assist ‘America’s forgotten working families’ resulting in the longest period of economic expansion in peacetime history -- inheriting a $290 billion budget deficit when he began in 1992, President William Jefferson Clinton left office with a budget surplus over $200 billion, eight years later.

The Democratic Party established the Democratic National Committee (the DNC) at its convention in 1848. That convention charged the DNC with “promoting the Democratic cause between conventions.”

It is this same DNC, the longest running political organization in the world, which Governor Howard Dean has chaired for the last four years.

There is much to celebrate here; it is a time fraught with challenge but also rich with opportunity. As Democratic Party chair for the last four years, Governor Howard Dean was instrumental in moving the electoral process into the 21st century with his use of the internet for fundraising. It was his “50 - state strategy” that laid the groundwork for Obama’s campaign, bringing grassroots activism to the forefront.