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."

[Krodg]

Dean-Cheney???

You are one scary person.....

[Nita Nupress]

So much of how Dean reacts to things is exactly like many short men I've known in my life. Must be a common over-compensation.

Did you see his endorsement appearance with Bradley? I thought Dean was going to freak out every time Bradley got close to him. Dean wanted NOTHING to do with it and his body language was facinating to watch. The whole situation was REALLY making Dean uncomfortable. When my husband and I saw it, we looked at each other with the same thought and cracked up laughing at the same time.

The last time I saw such blatant body language on TV was when Clinton spotted the camera at Ron Brown's funeral.

[Natural Law]

Another "smoking toe" incident.

[ringingfreedom]

Yeah, that's what I want to see. My president, with his head in a paper bag when the next 911 comes.

[savedbygrace]

No, I missed that.

I used to work for a short man whose office was apparently set up just for him. The chair behind his desk was as high as it could be and the guest chair was set very low. The sofa next to it actually had NO legs. The sofa legs had been REMOVED to make it shorter than HIS chair.

Funny stuff.

[OldFriend]

The Dean family floated the idea that the son was CIA.....but I doubt it....he was very much an anti war activist.

[Irene Adler]

I consulted a quite short medical specialist once who would see you briefly in his office to sort of debrief you before you left. He actually had a dais about 4-6 inches high built in his office on which his desk and chair sat, and the visitor chairs opposite his desk were both on the normal floor of the office and were somewhat shorter than normal, as well. I wondered if he ever got absent minded and slid his desk chair off of the dais by mistake which would have been quite a crash.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Actually I did Google it, and went to a bunch of web pages. I think it is fair to say that panic attacks and anxiety attacks are the same. But the fact remains that the People magazine interview did not use the term "panic attack," and thus Dean was technically correct in reprimanding Doocy.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Doocy did well in my opinion, and voters will be able to check the facts in People Magazine itself. Howie obviously denied he said what he said, spun some BS around it and figured he'd get away with it. Even while Doocy was reading direct quotes to him from the magazine itself. Dean is no Bill Clinton.

[BigSkyFreeper]

In my opinion, it harkens back to that famous quote by the bent one, "Depends on what the meaning of is is".

[governsleastgovernsbest]

For Iowa voters who have been following things carefully, reading that Dean had attacks, be they panic or anxiety, might really have hurt Dean in the last days of the campaign. One more bit of evidence suggesting he doesn't have what it takes to be President and would be a weak candidate.

[Fester Chugabrew]

"If, to consider a worst case scenario, . . ."

So you're trying to induce a panic attack, eh?

Sheez. I do not know what we would do. How about let's do like Democrats do and make up laws to fit the scenario and ordain judges who agree with us?

[Fester Chugabrew]

Dean has the proverbial snowball's chance.

Words of comfort are always welcome.