Dean’s inarticulate yell may be costing him support. People were a bit put off by Dean’s adolescent screaming in Iowa Monday night and some supporters are beginning to waver.
Dean calls it a cry of passion. (Ugh, what an image.) But other people said it smacked of immaturity. Former Sen. Alan Simpson said: “He looked like a prairie dog on speed.” Even people on the official Dean blog were put off:
“Tonight, after the caucus results, Dean gave his speech to the troops. Yes, he was over the top, but he wasn’t speaking to America, he was speaking to us, the Deaniacs,” one writer penned. “Having said that, I feel I must say this. . . . He should never broadcast a speech like that again. Never. Ever. Again.”
Of course, the partisans don’t find anything wrong with it: “Bob Scipione, 66, a retired biochemist of Bedford and a committed Dean supporter, offered this explanation: ‘The man has to be out of control to beat Bush.’” Is that what we really want from the guy with his finger on the button? To be emotionally unstable?
What I find even more interesting is that the media are highlighting it. I think Dean is sinking and the field is more wide open than it’s been in months. Dean, Kerry, and Clark have to be considered equal now with Edwards waiting to pounce when the primary trail heads South. This should all be very interesting in the next few weeks.
