High-strung
: I was beginning to wonder whether we all were overplaying the Dean Scream. Oh, he’s still high-strung and a little loopy. A friend’s wife asked with fear, “He’s not really going to be President, is he?” But I thought this meme might fade away after our customary overdose.
Doesn’t look that way.
Al Giordano reports:
Dick Bennett of ARG polling sent out this email alert today:
“It is becoming clear that Dean’s speech in Iowa is a very effective self-inflicted easy argument for likely Democratic primary voters not to vote for Dean both in New Hampshire and elsewhere.
“In reviewing the tracking from last night, Dean’s favorable rating is down dramatically (39% favorable, 30% unfavorable, 31% undecided last night compared to 57% favorable, 19% unfavorable, 24% undecided for the 3 nights ending Jan 19), which is the first step that voters take in moving away from a candidate. And as I have completed on-air drive-time interviews this morning on radio stations in South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and California, every radio station has played, some more creatively than others, parts of Dean’s speech in Iowa either while I was waiting to go on the air or during the interview….”
I don’t think it’s the scream in and of itself. The scream confirms a suspicion about this guy; he strung as tight as a 12-string. The scream merely gives voters the excuse they were looking for to vote against Dean, to find an alternative, to blow this race wide open.
He’s not finished screaming.
: UPDATE: Begging to Differ says NPR played the Lileks Dean Scream remix (without crediting him).
: A New Hampshire voter on WCBS just now called it Dean’s “I have a scream speech.”
