Dean Tones Down 'Red Meat' Rhetoric After Iowa Loss

[rodbarnett]

By Patricia Wilson
MANCHESTER, N.H. (Reuters) - Presidential hopeful Howard Dean on Tuesday toned down his "red meat" rhetoric, hoping to recoup a stunning loss in Iowa with a more subdued campaign in New Hampshire in the Democratic battle to challenge President Bush in November's U.S. election.

After coming a distant third in Iowa behind U.S. Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina, Dean seemed to be searching for the right tone as he touted his own record of balancing budgets and providing health care as governor of Vermont and criticized Bush's record as president.

"Today, I am going to give a different kind of speech," Dean told supporters in Manchester. "Those of you who came here intending to be lifted by ... a lot of red meat rhetoric are going to be a little disappointed."

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=4169880

[Fleshdancer]

1. This is what drives me nuts about the media

They bitch and moan that Dean is a "one issue candidate" or that he doesn't have any ideas, blah blah blah, but every time he gives a speech on policy or *gasp* ideas and thoughts not related to the war, they don't report it.

This article about his latest speech tells me nothing about the actual speech. Sure, it tells me he placed 3rd in Iowa, that he's "angry" that he "seems to be searching for the right tone" but what the hell did he actually say?

[rainydaywoman]

2. I so agree!

The media is supposed to report the facts, but they mostly just give us their opinions.

[tom_paine]

14. Not even their opinions...they give us the Pravda

I never would have guessed that, in Totalitarian Nations, "conventional wisdom" becomes Pravda.

But I am now witnessing it.

Most reporters, the ones that aren't Bushevik Loyalists/Propagandists anyway, are just plain damned lazy. There is a "script" which once written (metaphorically speaking) is followed by all those thereafter.

There's more, but I am alreday getting nauseous writing about it.

See www.dailyhowler.com for more on this and other Totalitarian Press Phenomena.

Perhaps "Managed Democracy" might be a better term, as the Imperial Pravda, in a stunning case of Orwell's Doublethink, has used that term to describe Putin's Russia, when Putin has been using the Bushevik Playbook almost verbatim, though he has moved the removal of basic freedoms and representation much fasrther along than Bush yet dares to.

[yellowcanine]

3. A mistake on Dean's part, imo.

He came in third in Iowa. Iowa is not a great predictor of presidential nominees. Clinton was way back in Iowa in 92 and was credited with a comeback by only coming in 2nd in NH. Dean's passion is what has gotten him as far as he is. It is a mistake for him to "reinvent" himself. This was what Gore did too much of - which used to drive me crazy and I think contributed to his losing some states he should have won.

[OpenMindedDem]

4. Exactly

Next Dean will be sporting a beard and some new clothes a la Gore. That would be a big mistake. Stay on message.

[BigDaddyLove]

19. Maybe Dean's the one bidding so voraciously for Clarks'........

sweater on Ebay.

:shrug:

[tom_paine]

15. Agreed. Stick to your guns, Howard!

[Chomskyite]

25. To quote Karl Rove

Stick to principle!

Stick to principle!

[FredScuttle]

35. Then, it becomes

Abandon principle!
Abandon principle!

(apologies to the Daily Show)

[damnraddem]

5. I'm concerned about what red meat he will cut.

ALL of the Dem candidates need to attack Dubya and keep attacking. And one of the GOOD things about Dean is that he speaks his mind -- if we lose that, we lose much. On the other hand, falling into responding in kind to other Dem candidates was a mistake on the part of the Dean campaign in Iowa.

[Fleshdancer]

6. It might be too early to tell, but I think Dean is going to focus on Bush

instead of the other Democratic candidates. Comparing Dean's record in Vermont to Bush's record as Gov. or even as President is a good start.

Here's a portion of what's on the blog:

For eleven years, Howard Dean was Governor of Vermont. For eleven years, he balanced budgets, and now he will show George Bush how it’s done.

He provided health care for nearly every child in Vermont and expanded prescription coverage for seniors. Now, he can show George Bush how it’s done.

He created 20% more jobs and raised the minimum wage.

He invested in Vermont's children. He lowered child abuse rates and raised graduation rates. Teen pregnancy went way down; childhood immunization way up. He’s done this for Vermont’s children and now he can show George Bush how to do it for all of America’s families and children.

A doctor who's delivered health care. A governor who's delivered results.

America needs change. And Americans need their country back. Howard Dean is the candidate to do it -- because he's the Governor who has. Contribute today. And come to New Hampshire to help Dean win. Together we are going to change America.

[jamesinca]

8. One thing I think will help

It was noted that when Dean and Gephardt were at each other before the Iowa caucus both of their numbers dropped, that has stopped and Dean actually got some points back, but lost them on caucus night. Gephardt has dropped out of the race since. Liberman is the one I think that is still into attacking the other candidates and not presenting ideas or going after Bush. I think when Liberman drops out the tone of the race will change. I also think the Liberman will go after Kerry and Edwards with his attacks. IMHO the attacks on the other candidates will stop or decrease a lot now that Iowas is over. Liberman in my mind is the one bad seed left, once he is gone this may be a very clean primary.

[Kira]

10. When do you think

Lieberman will drop out? I'm tired of that smirk he makes when talking about Dean. It is really depressing reading all of these negative comments about Dean. I really have come to feel connected to him and his campaign and I don't want all of everyone's hard work to go to waste because of all of these lies and distortions that are being made about his personality. I guess I am crazy because I didn't have a problem with last night. I just thought he was trying to lift everyone's spirits who worked so hard for him. I don't think anything is wrong with that.

[Lugnut]

24. I don't have a problem with last night either.

I don't want to see a watered down Dean. I want to see a fired up Dean. I don't have a problem with an angry Dean. I'm pretty damned angry myself.

[mtop]

11. Bush is only afraid of Lieberman

Just read an article about this...Lieberman is the only moderate left in the race. Others are all anti-war and the public wants their candicates to support the troops....70%. What part of 70% in favor of the troops and the war in Iraq do we not get?

[Chico Man]

12. You actually believe that? (nt)

[jamesinca]

17. Support of the troops

Support of Bush is another thing, he does not have 70% approval rating. You are not seeing this judging by your argument. Bush is losing to an unnamed Democrat in the polls. That does not sound like 70% support for him. Because of the lies that Bush had told everybody and based his war on, our troops are dying. That is not really supporting them now is it. I support you so much I am going to have you killed and cut your benifits if you do make it back. I will lie to the public, congress and the U.N. to advance my blood lust and greed. People do not support that, they never had. The non-humans support that, they even consider it christian in some parts of the U.S. The only reason that the national security is an issue is because Bush and Chenney keep telling everybody to be afraid, we are in danger. Yet they do nothing to fix it, they only talk about it. Dean does support the troops, he does not put up with the petulance and fatuous nature of this administration. There were 2.25 times as many people that showed up to caucus last night than did in the previous caucus. This was the most number of people to show up and caucus ever in Iowa. Who does that 70% reflect, the republican view? 70% of republicans say they need a warmonger. Judging by your post troop support is the same as warmonger.

What article did you read that says Liberman is the only moderate left in the race? Was it written by Zell Miller? Please support your claims, don't just make them.

Welcome to the DU!

[mistertrickster]

29. I see you're new here--supporting the troops has nothing to do with

supporting the war. In fact, if you really give a damn about them, you'd get them out of that hell-hole ASAP.

As for Leiberman, why vote for a watered-down Bush, when you can just vote for Bush?

[mistertrickster]

28. good analysis, I agree--Gephardt killed Dean in Iowa when he forced

Dean to either ignore the attacks (bad) or respond (even worse). Kerry could stay on-message under the radar. Gephardt has run for president three times now and lost mightily all three times.

Let's hope he hasn't already done too much damage to the guy who showed Democrats how to stand up for what they are supposed to believe in.

[Malva Zebrina]

7. Dean's people in Iowa for some reason did not agressively

pursue getting the leftovers from Gebhardt when they did not meet the fifteen percent and were not viable. Kucinich people went to Edwards. Dean people should have been there on the ball. I watched the caucuses on CSpan and it was an education.

As I watched the confusion, which was really not confusion, I wondered what foreigners think of us if they happened to tune in to the caucus. Crazy Americans is what it looked like I would guess to those in foreign countries not used to cacaphony , chaos and yelling for a candidate, but in the end, it was really quite refreshing for me to watch this and understand it a whole lot better.

Anyhow, I do not think that this is defeat for Dean. The DesMoines (sp?) Register endorsed Edwards. I watched the editor in chief explain why when he spoke on C-Span. I know nothing about the political leanings of that paper, but were I to make a guess based on what this guy said, based on how he praised George Bush, I would guess it is a Republican kiss the boots of Bush, publication. The guy praised Bush up and down and then, as an afterthought it seemed to me, said oh yeah--we endorsed Edwards after a long debate from all factions of the paper. AT the time I thought it might be a Rove ploy/trick. Why on earth they endorsed Edwards and were praising Bush, was beyond me--but they did. And we know now, how Edwards fared in Iowa. And many thought it puzzling. I attribute much of his success to that endorsement and I still do not understand why. Edwards is a good man, I like him but could not support him because of his stance on the invasion of Iraq and still cannot. He has been relatively innocuous while Dean and Kerry and to some extent Gebhardt have been in the news.

[Southsideirish]

18. Did you notice the intimidation factor on Dean people?

I was revolted when I saw the Kerry dude hollering and taking an aggressive step forward to wards the Dean people at the one caucus. This is democracy??? No thanks.
This guy was entirely wrong in his bully boy argument but by raising his voice and moving to wards them he had the Dean people trembling and if I were there I would have been trembling next to them as I am not a good "arguer" either.
I was ringing doorbells in Iowa and a Kerry supporter answered the door and kicked his dog to get away - nice, huh? Another shouted at us and ripped our material (we thought he wasn't home) from his doorknob and threw it at us. Not nice people!

[MasonJar]

9. Dean needs to tone down his rhetoric; it is not what

he says, but how he says it. It is too shrill, too harsh. I was a Dean supporter and sent him money more than once so you can believe me when I say that it is offturning. I think we have fabulous candidates; I will fight hard for whichever one gets the nod. The enemy is Bush. That bunch is destroying the world we live in with their grab for power and money. We have to emphasize this to the Christian right; Bush is the antithesis of Jesus, who fought the moneychangers while looking out for the poor and downtrodden. I have hope because I know one person that now abhors Bush that voted for him.

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

13. Dean can't beat Bush

That's the popular sentiment that I can't stand. I don't believe it. These Dean bashers are scaring off possible Dean supporters with bull. I think that the Bushistas are more afraid of Dean than the Washington insiders. Iowa lamed out.

[maxrandb]

16. The Greatest Thing About Dean, and

the reason the other candidates should consider toning down their attacks on Dean is that he has E-N-E-R-G-I-Z-E-D the young, the dis-enfranchised, and the "angry Democrats". I think that whether or not he wins the nomination, his supporters will get out and vote for the Democratic candidate. I think, above all else, he realizes that defeating Bush may be the only way to save our little democratic experiment.

Tone it down guys. Dean has shown you how to get out the vote, how to organize, and how to attract folks that have never voted before in their lives. You are going to need his support, and the support of his grass-roots efforts.

Four more years of this mis-administration and we are screwed. You better get out and vote while you still can.

[GalleryGod]

20. F.T.R. in Iowa. Failed to Report

TONE it down?? Are you referring to Howard "TripleX" "Macho Man" "Hulkster" Dean? Addressing his Troops last night ??

WWF Smackdown Live ! with Howie "Hitman" Dean.

Or Today, Howard "Credibility" Dean: While UP 8% Pts. He states "We're the Underdogs".

To Quote Seinfeld: "Yeah,Sure!?"
:nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

[BrokenSegue]

21. Has anyone heard Dean's response to his loss?

I heard it on NPR.
He was screaming somthing like, "We're gonna go to New Hanpshire and win, the the Carolinas then Oregon and Washjington..." etc etc finally he says, "Then to the White House where we'll get any new presdient of the united states. YEAHHH" That Yeah was cross between a primal scream and euphoria.
It was really funny. He's getting desperate to stay on top.

[stickdog]

26. Yeah! I haven't been so shocked and horrified by a politician's behavior

since Wellstone's Memorial!

[bluedog]

38. what was wrong with it?

many many men have given the rally cry to their people..."Remember the Alamo?...and :"We have not yet begun to fight"...if there were media around and the news shows these men would have never gone down in the History books of giving the "Battle Cry"

I blame the media for all of this stupid shit....

[mistertrickster]

31. Well, I've been to plenty of athletic pep rallies etc. and what Dean did

was nothin'. I can't believe the stink the pundits and the Dean bashers are making out of this. I play bluegrass banjo and I hear whoops like this during every song. It is absolutely nothing.

If anything, it shows Dean to be an ordinary guy instead of an arrogant stuffed shirt the media paint him as.

[aeon flux]

22. I don't get it

if Dean was scoring highly in all the polls just prior to the vote in Iowa, why did he end up with just 18% of the vote there?

Doesn't make any sense. What do the exit polls say?

[BrokenSegue]

23. Undecided voters

Dean lost most of his support from the large portion of undecided voters going to Kerry and EDwards.
Also he lost many of his core support because of Gephardt's attacks.
People liked the more docile Edwards and Karry campaigns.

[stickdog]

27. Dean needs to stay on his (pre-frontrunner) message.

Deanies gave Dean our support, time and money to fight Bush and to take back this country. Kerry & Edwards won by stealing and honing those exact themes. It would never have happened without Dean and Dean's success.

So why still support Dean?

1) You can trust Dean GOING FORWARD because he stood up for what was right BEFORE it was the thing to do. With gay rights. With Iraq. With the Bush's "popular" tax cuts for the rich. With the Medicare boondoggle. With universal healthcare for his state.

2) Dean's a fighter who has HEART. It's not anger -- it's the passion to fight for the underdog, to stop the Republicorporate attack on the middle class, to put the livelihood of Americans ahead of billionaires' portfolios and megacorporations' profit margins, to create new jobs by giving small American businesses a helping hand, to restore common sense and morality to our dealings with other countries and to stop the political scaremongering and actually DO something constructive and Constitutional to make America safer. It's the strength we're going to need to overcome the special interests and Republican roadblocks to universal healthcare, fair taxation, corporate reform, renewable energy and environmental protections. Finally, it's the passion we'll need to stand up to Bush's 200 million dollar political destruction machine and send the boy king home crying.

3) Because Dean tells us the truth. He doesn't make a bunch of promises he can't keep. He doesn't give everything away to special interests while increasing government spending and trying to bribe everyone with a few hundred dollars in tax cuts. He doesn't govern based on the whims of polls and pure, selfish political expediency. He governs responsibly, for today and for the future.

4) Because Dean's done it. He's won every election he's ever been in handily. He's brought affordable healthcare to Vermonters. He's reduced child abuse, protected the environment and created jobs all while balancing the budget every year.

5) Because Dean's already been vetted, and his supposed weaknesses are now all old news. Because Dean's clean, and despite everything they've thrown at him, the only thing they've gotten to stick is that he CARES TOO MUCH about his country.

[sendero]

30. I agree....

... with everything you say - but as a Dean supporter I have to say I'm a bit dissapointed in him.

That post-loss speech played right into the hands of those who would paint him as some kind of loony.

His positions and character are not in question to me. But he has to refine his speaking persona if he plans to be a force in this race.

[mistertrickster]

33. So in other words you're saying that you like Dean because of

his honesty, but he should pretend to be someone he's not to pander to the media.

Hmmmm . . .

[sendero]

34. not even a good try....

... all of us behave a certain way among friends, coworkers, etc.

Dean does not have to scream like a mad man to get his message across. Or is it that you think he is a madman?

[pintobean]

36. Not pander to the media, be aware of them.

Those of us following this know exactly what Dean was doing, and saw nothing wrong with it. The media presents him how they wish the viewer to see him. To the casual observer, he came across as mean and angry. Dean needs realize how much harm the media can, and will, inflict on him.

[mistertrickster]

32. Amen, bro--you should post this in the politics board too.

It's right on.

[stickdog]

37. I would if I could. (nt)