Howard Dean is angry. I know because the corporations told me. I also know that he could never beat President George W. Bush. They told me that too. Repetition. Over and over. And it worked.
The date was July 6. Evelyn Nieves began an article in The Washington Post with the line, "Howard Dean was angry," followed by a description of how he looked under the headline, "Short-Fused Populist, Breathing Fire at Bush." The story ran on page one and was part of a series about candidates.
Three weeks later, Adam Nagourney at The New York Times penned a piece citing the Democratic Leadership Council, worrying that an unnamed "angry 'far left'" candidate would lead them to the wilderness. Nagourney puts "far left" in quotations from the group, but adds "angry" all by himself, offering no proof.
Then the echo chamber kicked off, and everyone had their preconceived notion about the candidate. Dean characterized his support that way, saying, "Democrats are almost as angry at the Democratic Party as they are at the Republicans, because its presidential candidates... don't have the courage to stand up on issues including gay rights, funding for children's programs and health care." That quote appeared in April 2003.
The "angry" memorandum appeared late in 2003 and was debated at first. Craig Gilbert of The Milwaukee Sentinel actually asked people what they thought, and whether it was productive. Obviously, Democrats said it was necessary to energize people to come out and vote. Republicans undercut the phenomenon, saying it wasn't enough to get one side angry in order to win. They did this despite Karl Rove's mid-October acknowledgement that turning out an additional four million Evangelicals absent in 2000 would be key to 2004 - hence the culture wars about whether homosexuals are humans or heathens.
Was there ever a resolution to that debate of whether energy was strength? Of course not - the answer was already decided. Dean became powerful by promoting a populist message against the corporate interests of both Bush and various vested Democratic groups. He was a threat, and any attack that could be used against him was, regardless of truth or evidence, while he and his supporters were told how to debate by the very groups he was fighting against. What he was and how he would be perceived were already decided.
Preconceived notions and unwavering courses of action are nothing new to the White House. Tax cuts were on the agenda whether they were giving the surplus back to the people, providing a short-term boost or encouraging long-term growth - they did none of that. An Iraq invasion was on the agenda as soon as Bush came into office, regardless of its intent - response to Sept. 11, 2001, self-defense or liberation of an oppressed people.
And so Howard Dean became angry, and his every action was judged on a scale determined by the people he was fighting against. It crept into the voter mindset and everyone had heard the story at least once.
The next predetermined attack point was that he was "unelectable." That "story" also broke in early July of 2003, with two stories out of Boston - one from The Boston Globe and the other in The Christian Science Monitor. Neither shows any basis for the argument other than repetition, hence the term "meme."
When Dean started polling high against Bush and raised the most money, he was still unelectable. Why? Because he was angry. The media pushed the line because it benefited them financially. If one candidate ran away with the election in the first quarter, no one would watch through the summer. By evening the field, they created a race, propelling candidates up and down before any votes were cast.
Last Monday, Iowa caucused. Everyone had their script before the election was over. Dean did a terrible job the week before the caucus appealing to new voters who were inundated with the two messages that defined his campaign before he could. He campaigned negatively and was never able to shake either reputation.
Then he delivered a horrible speech.
He was angry and unelectable all over again. But we already knew that.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
