Dean on CSpan today--I was impressed....

[Gloria]

Right now I'm uncommitted. I initally was for Kerry, flirted with Dean, and am interested in Clark. I haven't been thrilled with Dean during the debates.
But the sit-down interview was very impressive. He wasn't rushing, was very relaxed. I wish he had that demeanor during the debates. I've always liked his "punch" but sometimes he comes across as too abrasive and brash while under pressure and appears rushed and stumbling over his words. During the sit-down, the punch was there but better modulated! I like his comments about Truman and being direct.

Seeing the sit-down pushed up my image of Dean again....if he could project the sort of power he had in this interview, I would be a much happier camper with regard to his candidacy. I tend to worry about this "electability" thing...but at the same time, think he's sharp enough and is running an aggressive enough campaign to slap this sort of crap down. He was asked about "bluntness" and the possiblity of turning off voters and he was candid about it and said it was a possiblity.

But it's exactly this "bluntness" that I like in Dean, above all else, because I think it levels the playing field against Bush's boorishness!
I'm NOT saying Dean is boorish...he's not, he has a brain and says what he wants to say directly, while Bush is just arrogant with nothing else to offer. But in terms of style, Dean's style seems to be just the thing to put up against Bush. Again, a little bit of modulation to enhance the aura of being "Presidential" would really go a long way to rounding out Dean's public persona.

This is rambling, but it sort of gets to the root of something I want to see in Dean before I commit to him or anyone else...

[KoKo]

1. My post on this, very like yours, was locked as a dupe..it was an opinion

on an already running post and thread about the C-Span interview. Here's my post and lock:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=594552

But I'm glad to see your comments. I was very discouraged, so it's good to see a post from someone who wasn't. What was always good about the DU General Discussion Forum was our ability to discuss what we felt after seeing a Media Show. But, if we are confined to original posts it's hard to clarify our emotions by having a dialog where we might find our initial reactions were clouded.

I will miss that, if we are confined to "original posts."

[slinkerwink]

2. hey!

It's so unfair you're locking this....this one is clearly the opposite of the thread you yourself posted.....tsk, tsk.

:nopity:

[pruner]

3. some of the MODS have itchy trigger fingers

:)

[KoKo]

4. Sorry, Gloria, didn't mean to derail your thread...

Apologize.

[Gloria]

5. I didn't realize there was another thread.....that's a problem, you watch

something later or miss the original post, so you post thinking it's original.

ALso, I haven't memorized the "rules" and frankly, I won't, so if someone wants to lock, fine, but sometimes this can be a detriment to the concerns we all like to address...

[Skwmom]

6. I only caught a minute of it.

The part where he says he can't stand for someone to lie/be dishonest. Too bad he doesn't apply that principle to his own behavior.

[mandyky]

7. Dean came off as very presidential

and not the angry person some try to pin on him. I think the CSpan folks gave him time to answer without interupting, which is a novelty these days.

[madfloridian]

8. I thought it was an excellent interview.

He was himself, and he spoke what he believed. I think frankly that he is presenting just about as much detail as anyone else on issues right now. He has loads more at his website.

In debates, none of them are given a chance to be themselves at all. They are too busy having to fight off attacks from each other and attacks from the moderators.

There is such a thing as asking the right questions and asking questions that are intended to be rude.

[mzmolly]

9. It was a great interview.

A glimpse of a side of Dean I hadn't seen.