That scream speech was good, clean political fun for the roomful of Deaniacs. Within 24 hours, Mira Liasson told FOXNews she was in the hall, and it was totally different than it looked on tv. According to her, it wasn't over the top at all, the 300 + mostly college kids ate it up. And if you remember the tape, so did Senator Harkin. He was standing right in back of Dean, clapping, laughing, having a great time helping Dean pump up the supporters.
Think about it. If Senator Harkin had gone on tv to defend Dean, he could have shut down the Destroy Dean Machine, he could have done it before it even got revved up good. Just think how powerful Harkin is. If Harkin had gone on Chris Mathews, written an editorial in the New York Times, explained the event, and defended his candidate, Dean might have easily weathered what should have been a one week story.
Oh, Dean was doomed anyway, but his "irrationally exhuberant" antics just speeded up the process....thanks to Senator Backstabbing Harkin.