Howard Dean: Already National Punchline?

I won't be foolish enough to declare this means he's dead in the water or anything, but in seven minutes of driving this morning I heard Dean's heated shoutouts to American states after his earning that coveted third ticket out of Iowa being used both as a comedic bumper on a new oldies alternative station in L.A. and parodied by Howard Stern (in a gag that must be really obvious, because I thought of it while watching Dean's speech live) by playing the verses of Steve Miller's "Rockin' Me Baby" behind it. (Sing along, now: "I went from Phoenix, Arizona, all the way to Tacoma, Philiadelphia, Atlanta, L.A….")

"Keep 'em laughing"--that's what they teach you at the Kennedy School of Government, right? Or is that Clown College?

Comments

[Jimmy Dean, Pure Pork]

The clich? goes something like this:
"One week is an eternity in politics."
Maybe it isn't such a clich?...

[Douglas Fletcher]

I just wish he could have morphed himself into some kind of weird Jerry Lewis impression and started screaming 'Hey Dean!'

I really do.

[Scott Harris]

I think our hyperbolic bipolar press has infected us all. Dean lost in Iowa, therefore Dean is DEAD! Yeah, well, maybe.

If Dean had won in Iowa he would be UNSTOPPABLE!! Yeah, well, maybe.

Who won in Iowa in 2000? Yeah, well, there you go.

[Andy D.]

With all that arm swinging and empashioned yelling, Dean reminded me of Hitler.

[Jimmy Dean, Pure Pork]

Ay Carramba!

[Andy D.]

In my haste, I neglected to include a 🙂 and I spelled empassioned a little too phonetically.

[H. Goering]

All is forgiven.

[Dave Weigel]

Scott - Bradley and Bush did not follow their Iowa losses with insane, hyperbolic concession speeches. Dean did, and his popularity in New Hampshire dropped from 57-19 to 39-30.

[Andrew]

Dean's support base is more volatile than that of other candidates. He appeared so formidible because he had so much money, and a corps of willing volunteers...and a pitch to marginal voters who can't always be expected to show.
But a lot of that is rooted in the high-speed world of the internet. THAT kind of support can disappear in a puff of smoke. A bad week for Dean is a lot different than a bad month or two for John Kerry.

Yes, Dean is probably done. And Clark may have been wise to eschew the "net.

[Douglas Fletcher]

Eschew it, he probably barely knows what it is.

[twistedmerkin]

It's way too early to count Dean out. It has become clear to me, from watching his facial expressions, that Dean has been hiding Osama bin Laden up his ass. Whipping him out and handing him over to the authorities on national television is a trump card that no one will be able to beat.

[Jim Walsh]

Ever see "A Face In The Crowd?"

"LONESOME RHODES IS THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE...THE PEOPLE ARE LONESOME RHODES"

That's what it reminded me of...

[dj of raleigh]

IMUS show had Dean's screaming victory of defeat turning into a "go to your windows and scream out I'm mad as hell and won't take it anymore..."

Dean needs to go on a boat ride with a young girl and end his race with dignity...

[kevrob]

Miller is cool. You could also do versions with Martha & The Vandellas' "Dancing In the Streets" or Chuck Berry's "Living In The USA."

Of course, there is the great Wakko Warner:

Concord, New Hampshire, just a quick jaunt
To Montpelier, which is up in Vermont
Hartford's in Connecticut, so pretty in the fall
And Kansas has Topeka; Minnesota has St Paul.

(From Wakko's America by Randy Rogel)

Of course, the Anamaniac that Dean most resembled on Monday night was Katie Kaboom!

Kevin

[joe]

The Secretary of Homeland Defense is...a CHICKEN!

He's not a chicken, he's standing up to Osama Bin Laden.

Yeah, but...he's a chicken!

Bwaaak?

[Chris Puzak]

Hardcore Dean is also making the rounds -

http://home.frognet.net/~barrycar/zzz/hardcoredean.mp3

[Argyles]

Letterman and Kimmel used the same gag on their respective late-night shows Tuesday (the video clip of Dean, increasingly fervid and pumped-up, ending with his head vaporizing in a puff of smoke).

[Lakeside104]

I just heard the audio clip on NPR during my morning commute. Dean is a loose cannon. I can't imagine him as a president, too unstable... I'd rather have a stoner than a drunk.

Plus he constantly talks about Bush's "far right agenda"... HUH??? Bush far right??? PUULEEESSSEE!!!!

Lakeside104

[joe]

I didn't actually get to see the clip until I'd already seen and read a day's worth of blogging and nooz about it. When I did, I was left thinking, "That's it?" Based on what's been written here about the speech, I expected him to spit on somebody and collapse into convulsions.

It looked to me like he was trying to give a "once more into the breach," half time locker room speech to fire up the troops, and wasn't very comfortable at it, so he adopted a pose, and overacted. The best way to describe it is transparent and amateurish.

But yes, the finger waving yelling thing did remind me of Hitler.

[he_hate_me]

The last time I saw footage of someone that wound up, it was Berlin, 1939. Zieg Heil, herr Dean, Zieg Heil.