Howard Dean has found himself a new job.

Once a general practitioner and the former Governor of Vermont, Dean found himself ousted as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee this year, a move that left many wondering what would happen to the political renaissance man. There had been speculation President Obama would pick Dean to take over the Department of Health and Human Services, but that didn’t pan out, so now Dean’s doing what many political insiders have done before him: joining a cable-news team.

Huffington Post’s Nico Pitney confirmed this morning that Dean has signed a deal to contribute analysis over at the business-centric CNBC.

The move comes at a time when CNBC is under intense pressure to change its format and criticism for its failures to report or foresee much of today’s economic crisis. In this regard, Dean — who worked on Wall Street after graduating college and has family ties to the financial sector, but has nevertheless been an early critic of the business practices that contributed to the current recession — should be a refreshing presence, particularly for progressive economists.

CNBC insists they began talks with Dean far before grassroots groups and comedian Jon Stewart took aim at the station for its unfortunate predications leading into the economic collapse. Regardless of timing, Dean’s presence will surely help steer CNBC back into good graces. And executives are wasting no time getting him on the small screen: Dean co-hosted Squawk Box this morning.