How the Dems Did In Howard Dean

Business Week ^ | 2/24/2004 | Ciro Scotti

[Utah Girl]

The party bosses slipped the stiletto into his back, just in case his own gaffes and free-spending campaign guru weren't enough Poor Howard Dean. The Icarus of the Democratic Party is back in Vermont now with what drippings are left of his wax-winged candidacy. But, to torture this allegory further, one question remains: Did Dean fly too close to the sun -- or just too close to the power source of the Democratic Party? The pundits of the Media Establishment and the jokesters of late-night TV would have us believe that Dr. Fury imploded, that he got so mad that he stamped himself into a political grave. Dean wasn't temperamentally suited to be President, they said, his message wasn't sunny, he was a loose canon, he wasn't electable, and the electorate sensed that. Yada, yada, yada. But was any of that true?

[bobo1]

That should make Howard mad enough to make an independent run.

Blessings, bobo

[Utah Girl]

Problem is, Trippi obligingly ran through most of Dean's money. I do believe Dean is flat broke in the campaign fund area...

[okie01]

At least somebody in the media understands exactly what happened. And why.

Howard Dean never would've become President. He may not have even won the nomination. He's a nut and a crank. But he deserved better than he got.

[dead]

By all accounts, he had been a good governor of Vermont.

What "accounts" is the author referring to?

Deannie Baby sealed the "accounts" of his governorship, so the masses would never know what he was up to up there.

Normally, the press would be outraged at such an action. But Dean was a liberal Democrat, so secrecy was "cool".

[marron]

The interesting thing about Dean's demise is not the scream, for in my opinion there was nothing about it that was worthy of comment. What is interesting is that the entire media turned in lockstep and lined up behind Kerry, using the scream as a pretext.

It reminded me of the impeachment days, when talking heads and their guests on every channel would use the same catch phrases simultaneously, over and over, so that flipping from station to station revealed a bizarre uniformity of idiom.

The media exposed itself again with the Dean debacle as dancing to a single tune, brazenly orchestrated, embarrassingly conformist, unnaturally uniform, and no one noticed. Well, we noticed it, but no one from within the matrix noticed it as far as I can tell.

[McGavin999]

You are absolutely right in your assessment. The dem party is back firmly in the hands of the Clintons. The "little people" don't need to worry about what's right for them, the dem party will tell them who they get to vote for, and they'll even make sure they do the voting. The "little people" aren't smart enough to pick who they want, they must have their leader chosen by those who are smarter, richer, and know best.

[swilhelm73]

If party stalwarts like Dick Gephardt and John Kerry couldn't do it, then by God they'd send for reinforcements. And so in rode General Wesley Clark on a makeshift horse that looked suspiciously like Bill and Hillary Clinton with a sheet thrown over them.

Nah, Clark isn't the most notable sheet wearing member of Democrat party...that would be this guy;



Robert Byrd, ex Kleagle of the KKK.

[dead]

Much like Bill Buckner is blamed for blowing the Red Sox's World Series win in 1986, the "I have a scream" speech is blamed for blowing Howard Dean's political campaign.

But in both cases, the game was already effed up before those supposedly defining moments. The Red Sox already blew their insurmountable lead before the ball rolled through Buckner's legs. And the Dean campaign had already blown to shreds before the breathless "Ayyyyyyigghgghh!" screech.

In both cases, the damage had already been done. And in both cases, there was a second chance (New Hampshire, Game 7) to gain victory, but the momentum and the moment was lost.

[GeronL]

Busniess Week is a WashPost magazine.... excerpt list??

[luvbach1]

...which wasn't really a scream but just a weary man in a noisy room trying to rally his troops.

Maybe it was all of the latter as well, but it really was a scream.

[luvbach1]

And let us not forget the loud and guttutal recitiation of the states in which the Dean Machine was going to be victorious,

[I. M. Trenchant]

The Scream -- which wasn't really a scream but just a weary man in a noisy room trying to rally his troops.

You hit the nail on the head. You have said everything there is to say about Dean's political demise, well and eloquently. His so-called 'I Have a Scream Speech' was straight out of the lexicon of fire-and-brimstone barnburners that are given by, and expected of all successful politicians. I think the best paradigm for such speeches was essayed by 'Big Ed Keller', the University trustee in the Thurber-Nugent play, The Male Animal. In the film of the same name, 'Big Ed' is played by Eugene Pallette who, as the most ardent alumnus, is commissioned to rouse the team and its supporters for the 'big game' with Michigan. It never ceases to amuse and is well worth the rental cost for any who haven't seen the film. Ironically, it was Dean's listing of the states, which included Michigan, that made me think he may have sought inspiration by reprising an old videotape of the The Male Animal.

[William McKinley]

And so in rode General Wesley Clark on a makeshift horse that looked suspiciously like Bill and Hillary Clinton with a sheet thrown over them.

Having Robert Byrd around is handy for the Democrats.

[William McKinley]

Got to the same part of the story and had the same thought :-)

[grania]

fiscally prudent

Reality check...the Dean campaign went through something like $30 million dollars. All the money in the world couldn't hide his flaws forever.

I thought it was the pooling of votes by Edwards and Kucinich that put him back to third place that caused him to snap.

[DeaconRed]

He fell like a rock after he lied about being invited by Jima Carter.

[Jim Noble]

It actually started the second Friday in January, with a two pronged assault.

One-it was revealed that he had an "anxiety attack" when the Governor of VT died, and Mad How unexpectedly became governor.

Two-the usual suspects started a (n obviously orchestrated) chorus of, "where's "Mrs. Dean", a calculated insult to Dr. Steinberg who does not, and never has, used that name.

Both of these sharp sticks obviously came from the Clintons. After them, it was all downhill.