Dean: I Didn't Say 'Panic Attack' [Yes, He Did]

NewsMax.com, Fox & Friends ^ | Jan. 19, 2004 | Carl Limbacher

[Carl/NewsMax]

Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean denied that he ever suffered from "panic attacks" during a Monday morning interview with Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends," insisting that neither he nor a reporter who recently interviewed him had used that term to describe an episode where he hyperventilated upon taking office as Vermont governor in 1991.

Citing a recent interview he gave to People magazine, Dean complained to "Fox & Friends" host Steve Doocy, "I think if you read People magazine it says no such thing. The quote that you just read, it didn't say anything about a panic attack."

People's interviewer did, however, twice ask Dean about past "anxiety attacks," prompting the former Vermont governor to detail his hyperventilation experience.

Noted People's Ann Driscoll, "It sounds as if you had a little bit of an anxiety attack when you got the word that you were now governor."

"I did," responded Dean. "I hyperventilated and I started hyperventilating and I thought, You better stop that or you won't be much good to anybody. . . . To suddenly get told that you have responsibility for 600,000 people — it provokes a little anxiety."

And in fact, it turns out that Dean himself has used the term "panic attack" to describe his old ailment.

Just three months ago, the Associated Press reported, "The candidate, who rarely talks about his personal life, said his brother's capture and death caused him to seek therapy for bouts of anxiety. Dean was quoted calling the episodes 'panic attacks,' although his aides said he quickly described that as a poor choice of words."

Still - despite his own use of the term - Dean complained Monday that Fox had hit him with a low blow.

"It's amazing to me the kind of stuff that you just did," he told Doocy. "It says nothing of the sort that I had a panic attack in People magazine. I'm shocked that you'd say such a thing."

[George W. Bush]

It seemed a fitting thing to say, but it's a little over the line. Sorry.

Maybe I'm oversensitive, having seen what a good friend has struggled with over it. I've notice that hack comedians on ComedyCentral have started making Tourette's jokes so I'm probably overzealous about it. Not sure I have any right to be, I've made plenty of other tasteless jokes myself over the years.

[The Red Zone]

and I thought, You better stop that or you won't be much good to anybody. . . . To suddenly get told that you have responsibility for 600,000 people — it provokes a little anxiety.

Why, chief? You're their governor not their godfather.

[George W. Bush]

Kerry's problem is that his oblong shaped head makes it difficult for sufficient oxygen to reach his brain. I think that his decision to use the "F" word has been his only independent thought. Most of the time, he appears to just write down what everyone else says, jumble some of the words, and then repeat it.

Did you watergate Kerry's headquarters or something to get this inside info? This is actually Ketchup Boy's secret strategy for winning.

No, I'm serious.

[Jaysun]

Hardly the kind of difference that one would play to a presidential electorate, eh?

No kidding! Could you imagine a President who spends most of his day asking for barf bags or who keeps his door locked so that nobody will come in and tell him "stressful" news?
I've been having nightmares about this. In my dream Dean is standing on top of the desk in the oval office with a pistol pointed to his head. He's in his underwear and he's screaming, "Stop asking me stuff! Stop asking me stuff!!!"

[caisson71]

Civilians, not military personnel, who may have previous military service, like veterans who die as civilians, are accorded some military honors. However, brother-of-Dean was alleged to be CIA, nor proven or even disproven, yet was accorded military personnel, honor guard, full array of dignitaries,etc when he in fact was probably the alleged war protestor.

[The Red Zone]

Believe me, I am on the verge of a panic attack every time I think Howard Dean could possibly become the next President of the United States.

If, to consider a worst case scenario, something happened to either Dubya and Cheney (or whoever will be the veep candidate for '04) just days before the election, to put them out of the picture... what happens? Does the GOP end up with an empty slot to fill however it wishes if it wins on the scheduled election day? If both Bush and Cheney were (God forbid) wiped out in such a time frame, does the election forfeit to the next highest polling candidate (presumably the Democrat unless there is a strong conservative spoiler)? Does the whole election get postponed?

[ShandaLear]

Panic attacks are characterized by a fear of losing control. That they were caused by the death of his borther makes no sense.

[Jaysun]

Did you watergate Kerry's headquarters or something to get this inside info? This is actually Ketchup Boy's secret strategy for winning.

Actually, I just saw him furiously scribbling things down on a yellow pad of paper during one of the debates. I also saw one of his speeches:
"So if you want to change the plight of the black community vote for Al Shar-....uh..John Kerry....me...vote for me....."

[Krodg]

Now that's a panic attack.

[mware]

Q: And later, when you were having anxiety attacks in Vermont, what were those like?

Howard: It was not a big deal. I was just anxious and I didn't know why.

Q: So it wasn't a paralyzing —

Howard: No. Not a bit. I didn't miss a day of work. I didn't worry about what was going to happen. I just wasn't sure what was going on and then I traced it to my brother.

Q: Through counseling?

Howard: Yeah.

Q: Was that hard, for someone —

Howard: No, it actually was great. It was really helpful. I mean, I like that kind of stuff. I had done a lot of it — I learned a lot about it in medical school. I had done some during my psychiatry rotations, so it was actually a terrific experience. It wasn't easy. You've got to work and you've got to uncover things that matter to you. And of course, we talked a lot about my father and all that other stuff.

Q: Was it just talking it through or were you ever medicated?

Howard: No. It was just anxiety.

Q: Well, today, you say the word "anxiety" and there are eight or nine different anti-anxiety drugs —

Howard: I'm not a big fan of most anti-anxiety drugs, just because they have addiction potential and things like that. You know, once in a while, I take stuff for sleep. That makes sense. But, listen, I don't want to dispense medical advice in PEOPLE magazine. The anti-anxiety drugs are very good for people who —

Judy: And a lot of them are NOT addictive these days.

Howard: Right. And you know anti-anxiety drugs and sleep drugs were essentially the same thing when I was practicing. And my experience was whenever I took a sleeping pill, there would be rebound insomnia and so I didn't like to take them.

Q: And since then, it was as if you went in, you took care of the problem and that has never been a problem since?

Howard: No. That was in the early eighties.

Q: It sounds as if you had a little bit of an anxiety attack when you got the word that you were now governor.

Howard: I did. I hyperventilated and I started hyperventilating and I thought, You better stop that or you won't be much good to anybody.

Q: Has that happened since, or before?

Howard: No.

Q: Why was that such a —

Howard: To suddenly get told that you have responsibility for 600,000 people — it provokes a little anxiety.

Q: But now you're asking for responsibility for 250 million and then, the global reach of the U.S. presidency. That doesn't provoke a little anxiety?

Howard: No. I mean, I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't — first of all, I think everybody has a little anxiety when they approach a job like that. But I think that over my life, I've made hard decisions about people who could die if I made the wrong decision. I've made decisions that have helped people to live who were about to die. I've seen a lot of people die, which nobody could do much about and for 11 years, I made decisions about all the things that presidents have to make decisions about — who gets what in the budget, things like security issues after 9/11, like my own security. So when you're used to making tough decisions, you know you have to make the tough decisions. The key to making tough decisions is to make it, not sit around and agonize about it.

[The Red Zone]

Bush is one of the zero-year presidents, upon which popular lore holds there is a curse. Dean-Cheney???

[George W. Bush]

"...vote for Al Shar-....uh..John Kerry....me...vote for me....."

Viet-Lurch is pretty scary. But I just saw on TV a bunch of middle-aged beer-gutted union workers going shirtless to scream their feeble love for Comrade Gephardt. Who knows how many kegs Gephardt had to buy to stage that sad display.

So much scary and funny stuff, so little time.

[VRWC_minion]

Frankly, panic attacks are no big deal. They pass like someone that has a sneezing fit.

[Jaysun]

But I just saw on TV a bunch of middle-aged beer-gutted union workers going shirtless to scream their feeble love for Comrade Gephardt. Who knows how many kegs Gephardt had to buy to stage that sad display.

I saw that earlier. At first I thought that the idiots had too many letters. Then I noticed that the one on the end was an exclamation point. How nice. I'm sure that having his name scrolled across pasty white beer guts will put him over the top.

[George W. Bush]

When confronted with political footage like that, you realize that sarcasm has its limits.

[Cobra64]

Thanks fellow FReeper. I'd love to email this to liberal acquaintences. Can I do that from Free Republic. I don't know the HTML commands to do that (if that's what it takes).

For instance, my email address is: md683606@aol.com.

[Polybius]

Maybe we shouldn't be barbequeing the Mad Cow until after he has the Democrat nomination wrapped up. (If Dean has any chance of that after this past month.)

[cynicom]

Guess he was presumed dead long time ago. Only a fool or a relative of Deans would have gone hiking in SE Asia.

[Jaysun]

Maybe we shouldn't be barbequeing the Mad Cow until after he has the Democrat nomination wrapped up. (If Dean has any chance of that after this past month.)


I'm with you. I wish that everyone would shut up and let this nut win the nomination. Then Bush should be able to handily roast him.

[radmanptn]

you can't make stuff like this up.
http://www.tourettesyndrome.net/tourette.htm