# Howard Dean is insane **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 20, 2004, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312 "2004-01-20T12:55:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/41 "2004-01-20T23:26:15Z")
Unfortunately (as I’ve been a Dean supporter), this means that Dean’s time as the media darling is officially over. A few weeks ago, this speech might have been portrayed as “fiery”, but now it’s “insane”. (If Bush had given it, it would have been “impassioned”.) He peaked too soon, I’m afraid. I can’t get as excited about Kerry as President, but I do think he has a lot of what it takes to make Bush look bad by comparison. Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![DeadJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/35a633/32.png) [@DeadJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadJesus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/42 "2004-01-21T00:12:53Z")
I’m a Clark supporter but I also think the media is making too much noise about Dean’s little uh-scream,screech, orgasm, whatever. When I heard about his volatile outburst this morning, I initially thought someone had caught him cursing a blue streak about placing 3rd in Iowa so content-wise, his speech was not as bad as I thought. Unfortunately, Dean came across like a rabid animal. He should have restrained himself until the cameras were gone, or at least turned down the volume. I know you gotta rally your base but take a hint from Edwards and take the opportunity to reach out to the undecided voters, especially when the cameras are on you. Not only has Dean alienated them, but according to ABC News, he’s alienated some of his supporters as well. :smack: And E-Sabbath is totally right, Dean’s speech sounds terrific with AC/DC playing in the background. The Stern skit this morning had me rolling in my cubicle. My co-workers must’ve thought I was having a fit! AC/DC: “For those about to rock…” Dean: “YYYEEEEAAAHH!!!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/43 "2004-01-21T00:38:28Z")
Nah, not insane. He’s excitable. I’d suggest industrial music, or techno. The article about him “losing it” that mentions his anxiety seems hardly relevant after what we know about JFK. He was like an NFL veteran, or Rush Limbaugh. Oooh, anti-anxiety pills, sleeping pills. I don’t support Dean, BTW. I do think that the “shots?” at his wife were totally bizarre. Um, she practices medicine. That’s important. Why do all political spouses have to be interested, less involved, in the campaign? It’s OK to just disengage from politics, IMO. Mentioning 15? states – and South Dakota twice? – at the top of his lungs was a bit too Castrolike. Hey, at least he didn’t drone on for eight hours. I’m surprised all the Deanos, Deanie Beanies, Deanie, eh, never mind, would be giving up. Iowa? C’mon. Nice battleship, but not the key to the election. He needs a strong second in NH. Maybe he needs to win. I guess nobody really knows. He’s right – albeit maniacal – that the election does not turn on the early primaries. Unless it seems to later. “YEAAAAa[sub]a[/sub]!” ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/44 "2004-01-21T00:44:24Z")
I agree with those that think everyone is being too harsh on Dean. Also, I hardly think that all the radical liberals live on the coasts. There have been many in Minnesota (HHH, Mondale and Wellstone). Then there is McGovern over in South Dakota. Some easily could have wandered into Iowa, during a blizzard. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/45 "2004-01-21T00:59:52Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > You can go hear the actual speech from a link on [Drudge](http://drudgereport.com/dean.mp3). Gah! He sounds like one of those announcers they hire for Monster Truck rally commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/46 "2004-01-21T01:03:11Z")
OK, maybe only seven or eight states. It really wasn’t that crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/47 "2004-01-21T03:29:03Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > [YYAAAGGGHHH!!!](http://www.drudgereport.com/dean.mp3) (mp3 link - 102KB) > [@](#): > > 404 Not Found > The requested URL ‘/dean.mp3’ was not found on this server. Anyone got another link to the audio file? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/48 "2004-01-21T03:51:43Z")
!8-19 year olds…young twenty somethings. He was playing to his crowd. Like Dean or not, he is waking up the younger generations. Don’t judge his support by the caucus. How many people in that age range do you think would show up on a cold monday night to go through all that rigamarole? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/49 "2004-01-21T03:52:00Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Did we slip into Bizarro World again? I thought the stereotype was that it’s the people on the _coasts_ who are the most liberal in the nation (Califonia and New York, especially). > > Since when did Iowa become Liberal Central, except in a lame attempt to make a misguided point? Well, we can look at stereotypes if you like, or cold hard facts. The Americans for Democratic Action, a very liberal interest group, provide a handy dandy ranking of every senator per congressional session, according to their positions on a range of votes selected by the organization as most representative in that session to guage a senator’s ideology. The rankings of the senators from New York and California for the 2002 session were as follows. Boxer 90% Feinstein 80% Clinton 95% Schumer 85% By this, we see that the coasts do tend to elect liberal Democrats. Amazingly enough, those supposedly moderate Iowa Democrats manage to return to the Senate, term after term, decidedly immoderate liberal Senator Tom Harkin. His 2002 ADA ranking was 80%. Source: [http://www.adaction.org/SenateVR2002.htm](http://www.adaction.org/SenateVR2002.htm) I don’t want to hijack this thread any more than necessary to prove my point. But you might want to crack open a history book sometime and read up about agrarian populist movements and some of the interesting left-wing characters who’ve exploited them. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/50 "2004-01-21T04:10:27Z")
From **Debaser** ’s link to the _National Review_ article: > [@](#): > > Then he let out a strange, extended, yelp that seemed to come from deep within him: “YAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRHHHHHH!!!” Dean just wants to be a pirate. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/51 "2004-01-21T04:12:15Z")
For those about to Rock: FIIIIII-YYYYAAAARRRRE!!! OK, I got carried away with the new formatting options… ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/52 "2004-01-21T04:58:25Z")
Dammit, I missed it. What good is the conservative media when they can’t even spare the bandwidth for such a glowing Dean _faux pas_? Unless, that is, they and everyone else wish to let the incident lie fallow for the moment, in hopes that it can be used later against the Republican-approved front runner. I’ve spent fifteen minutes searching. Does anyone else have a working link? ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/53 "2004-01-21T05:40:40Z")
I just about died seeing Glenn Beck’s [picture of the day](http://www.glennbeck.com/page2/index.shtml) (if that’s expired, I’m afraid the effect isn’t quite the same–[this image of Dean](http://www.glennbeck.com/picoftheday/01-20-04-pod.jpg) with a collage of Dukes of Hazzard pictures). But then the webmaster kindly added the [Dean/Timmy remix](http://mfile.akamai.com/6713/wma/glennbeck.download.akamai.com/6713/preview/04/01/timmydean.asx) (caveat: I’m not a South Park fan, but I have heard of Timmy). ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/54 "2004-01-21T06:11:44Z")
that remix is great! Thanks for the link Was anyone else expecting him to start speaking in German? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/55 "2004-01-21T06:57:27Z")
Oh my god, **emarkp**! [Movie Trailer Voiceover Guy] Howard Dean _is_ Timmy! [/Movie Trailer Voiceover Guy] Actually, now I want someone who’s not as lazy as I am do a little Flash animation of Dean providing sound effects for [Rodan](http://www.buckbeagle.com/posters/rodan.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/56 "2004-01-21T07:11:32Z")
Won’t someone PLEASE link to a working video clip? ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/57 "2004-01-21T07:35:35Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > !8-19 year olds…young twenty somethings. He was playing to his crowd. Like Dean or not, he is waking up the younger generations. Maybe, but _this_ member of the younger generation was less than impressed with his little spaz attack. I want a presidential candidate who acts, well, _presidential_. Is that too much to ask? > [@JeffB](#): > > From **Debaser** ’s link to the _National Review_ article: > > Dean just wants to be a pirate. If so, I wish he wouldn’t be so half-assed about it. Howie, if ye wants to shiver yer timbers, get yourself an eyepatch and a parrot. Then we’ll talk. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/58 "2004-01-21T07:43:13Z")
> [@](#): > > **Ponder** : I read the transcript… My experience was just the opposite to yours. I saw Dean’s speech with the sound on mute. It was frightening. In fairness, the blue shirt highlighted the redness of his face and his small mouth and thin lips made him look like a ferret. But I really thought he had gone beserk. When I _heard_ what he said, it was a little better, but not much. Truly, it has to be seen for the full effect. My politics are very liberal, but I have not been supporting Dean so far. If I had, that speech would not have changed my mind. But a second such outburst _would._ > [@](#): > > **Lord Ashtar** : You could do what a buddy of mine did. He didn’t like any of the candidates (probably because he was too lazy to do any research), so he filled out the write-in ballot. His vote? > > “Fuck my ass.” > > He seemed quite pleased with himself. And all this time I’ve been blaming the Supreme Court… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/59 "2004-01-21T07:43:32Z")
Finally saw the clip on the Daily Show tonight. _That’s it?_ That’s Dean being “insane”? That’s the infamous Yeaargh? Okay, he sounded a bit like the Chicken Lady, but the whole thing was massively disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312/60 "2004-01-21T07:52:25Z")
Arrr. Yer notions of insane arrr not much use with scurvy while stuck in the doldrums drinking yerrr own piss. Arrr. Shiver me timbers. Dead men tell no tales. Yo, ho. Whichever aide overemphasized the necessity to “rally the troops” after the disappointing finish in Iowa should have explained to Howard that there are no actual troops or retreats to rally from. Put a Napoleon hat on the guy… The video captures are a wee bit scary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-dean-is-insane/225312.md?page=4)