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Dean Bashing in the Press

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Howard Dean from friends, relatives, and even random people that see the sticker on my car. Most of the questions boil down to one of two things. Why is Dean so angry? and Why is the media so mean to Dean?

Question #1 is a direct result of Question #2. The media, the established party insiders and his opponents have all drummed up this angle that he’s all about anger, veins popping out of his neck, etc.

If you believe this, you need to start doing a little more of your own research. Watch a speech given by Dean, watch one of his TV appearances yourself. They’re on the Dean For America website. Make your own decision, don’t let the media do it for you. It’s lazy, and if you let them do it for you, we’ll end up with another 4 years of the downward spiral our current administration has set us on.

Salon.com has written an excellent article about this whole phenomenom, entitled The media vs. Howard Dean. I would love it if you’d check it out. You’ll have to click the “Free Day Pass link on the first page and watch a quick ad. It’s worth it.

By some measures, Dean’s media troubles began with his June 22 appearance on “Meet the Press.” During the hour-long sit-down, Dean faced off against a clearly combative host, Tim Russert, who prepared for the interview, in part, by asking the Bush Treasury Department to produce what the Washington Post called a “highly selective” analysis of the Democratic tax program, including rolling back scheduled tax cuts. Later in the program came a pop-quiz question about how many men and women currently serve in the military. When Dean said he didn’t know the exact number and complained it was like asking him “who the ambassador to Rwanda is,” Russert shot back: “As commander in chief, you should know that.” Dean estimated there were between 1 and 2 million men and women in active duty; according to the Pentagon, there are 1.4 million.

What a sharp contrast to ’99, when Russert had a warm, respectful one-on-one with then-candidate Bush. When the host sprang a specific policy question on Bush about how many missiles would still be in place if a new START II nuclear weapons treaty were signed, Bush answered: “I can’t remember the exact number.” But unlike his session with Dean, Russert dropped the topic without lecturing Bush that “as commander in chief, you should know that.”

Beltway insiders clucked over Dean’s June appearance on NBC’s mighty “Meet the Press,” labeling him evasive and unprepared. But lots of party faithful saw something else — a candidate who would stand up to biased, big-foot pundits — and flooded the campaign with contributions that day. Instead of marking Dean’s leveling-off point, “Meet the Press” marked the beginning of his ascent to undisputed front-runner status.