WHO KILLED HOWARD DEAN?
The television pundits are proud of their culinary work. They boiled, broiled, fried, and basted until they completed the job. Put a fork in him. Howard Dean is done.
The Democratic Party owed Governor Dean much more than their participation in the mass media mischaracterization of his message, manner and tone. Dean did not possess the charisma and persuasiveness of Bill Clinton, but he did have the matter of fact, common sense, common man intelligence of Harry Truman – just the style, manner and personality to expose the bogus and disastrous policies of George W. Bush.
Howard Dean stood up for the most basic of Democratic ideals at a time when his fellow contestants felt compelled to cater to the neo-evildoers in Washington. Just as Truman pursued a moral, dignified and intelligent way for our country, Dean recognized the destructiveness of fewer jobs, the shortsightedness of environmental degradation, the incongruity of war to achieve peace, the lack of vision and practicality in simultaneously proposing a mission to Mars with $500 billion deficits and the hypocrisy of the unfunded No Child Left Behind Act.
Dean successfully channeled the anger of millions who felt apathetic and disenfranchised. He awoke voters and gave voice to the legions who intuitively questioned the policies of the present administration. He introduced serious dialogue to an administration whose every effort has been to deceive, distract and manipulate the masses. By talking about the misguided war in Iraq, the shameful lack of jobs, the destructive obese deficits, and the massive increase of our $7 trillion national debt, he caused America to question whether George W. Bush is the right man for the job.
Before Howard Dean, Democrats were sounding like “Me too, I agree with Bush” Joe Liebermans. But when he came out swinging with his “I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party”, record crowds showed up, money poured in from the common man and everyone involved began to run scared – the Republicans, the Democrats and the national media.
Governor Dean got a raw deal from his fellow Democrats; but they can be excused. They were running for office. Exploitation of trivia was in their best interest at the polls. But the media, especially the television punditry, have no excuse. Rather than giving fair treatment and attention to the message, they attacked the dignity and personality of the man. They were determined to frame Dean as one without substance despite his many personal, professional and political accomplishments..
That is why we heard about Dean’s “woodchuck” smile rather than his balanced budgets and successful healthcare policies in Vermont. That is why we got “the Judy dilemma” rather than the story of his successful 20+ years of marriage. That is why we got the “Dean scream” rather than his impressive practice as a family physician.
In 1999, after speaking to a youth group interested in politics, President Clinton opined, “I couldn’t tell them the truth, that the media runs the government.” Perhaps he should’ve warned us that the war room mantra for 2004 has been changed to “It’s the Media, stupid.”
