Reply #7: No, I think here he's right on the money

[jpgray]

For example, Dean's Iowa speech was a huge rookie mistake. He gave the media something to justify their nonsensical "angry liberal" script with. I've heard all the excuses--the crowd noise was filtered, people were excited, he was cheering up his supporters, etc--but none of that takes away from the fact that it was simply a bad decision. Your first major televised speech should not include you yelling like a pro wrestler.

Now I have to qualify this to hopefully forestall the inevitable knee-jerk responses, and that is a hassle I hate dealing with. Here goes anyway:

Yes, Kerry did a pretty crap job avoiding similar media pitfalls. Yes, Dean was a good candidate and is a fine Democrat. And yes, it is possible to support a politician while at the same time recognizing his/her mistakes.