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If he had been shouting in German, he would have sounded like Hitler.

I know I won't be popular for saying so, but I completely disagree.

Mean Dean's little pep rally was spontaneous, unrehearsed, and largely unintelligible. Hitler's performances could not be more different. They were carefully scripted and choreographed down to the last detail, rehearsed, and bone-chillingly focused in message. The only element common to Hitler's rallies and Dean's rally is their anger.

Dean likely believed his team was dispirited and needed to be be whipped up emotionally immediately. He thought it essential that they see him as a "winner" who had suffered nothing more than a minor setback. He has played football and my guess is he reverted to an emotional-coach-in-the-locker-room style because it is the only style he is familiar with for such situations.

I am not familiar with his various gubernatorial campaigns, but I would guess that in those races he never found himself in the same situation that he found himself and his supporters yesterday. If he had, he likely would have discovered long ago that a locker room rant is ill-suited to a gubernatorial or presidential campaigns where peole are scrutinising every word and gesture for signs of emotional instability.

Dean's performace over the past month has been one long concantenation of political pratfalls and whoopie cushions.

You're bringing too much thought and logic into the conversation. ;-)

I have heard that before about Hitler, and I DO conced the point. Furthermore, I have read some of Hitler's stuff, and you are right, the guy could be eleoquent. He made the German people feel good and proud about the Reich. VERY persuasive man, was Hitler.

See, for me, the deal is, I don't speak German. I just hear the sound. So if I am listening to one of those old newsreels or a recording of a Hitler speech, , the sounds comes across not unlike Dean's rant last night.

That's more what I meant.

Tia

Mean Dean's little pep rally was spontaneous, unrehearsed, and largely unintelligible. Hitler's performances could not be more different. They were carefully scripted and choreographed down to the last detail, rehearsed, and bone-chillingly focused in message. The only element common to Hitler's rallies and Dean's rally is their anger.

No, he definitely had practiced his lines, like the one about if you told us we'd finish third, we'd have given anything for that. Plus, he had to sit down beforehand and work out the states in the correct order or the primaries, and then the states his opponents come from.

Dean likely believed his team was dispirited and needed to be be whipped up emotionally immediately. He thought it essential that they see him as a "winner" who had suffered nothing more than a minor setback. He has played football and my guess is he reverted to an emotional-coach-in-the-locker-room style because it is the only style he is familiar with for such situations.

I really like your comparison here; besides, I'm sick of people using Hitler analogies!

If Dean had been a coach exhorting his team at halftime, his yelling and his gestures and his weird primal scream would have been considered galvanizing. But football coaches can get away with a lot more emotion -- heck, Dick Vermeil's constant crying is seen as endearing, but put those tears on the campaign trail and it's a different story. Same with Dean.

"He has played football and my guess is he reverted to an emotional-coach-in-the-locker-room style because it is the only style he is familiar with for such situations."

Given that Dean is 5' 6" I find this somewhat doubtful.

BTW, I meant to suggest that I have my doubts about this claim from Dean and his pals. I know he makes the claim--it just strikes me as unlikely.

Especially since he claims to have been an offensive lineman.