Perpetuating an Insult

If you read my blog back in 2003, you'll know I wasn't a huge fan of Howard Dean's. His anti-war stance was so specific and qualified that it didn't mean much, and beyond that he seemed pretty much like the "mainstream" Dems like Kerry and Gephardt. But he was a serious candidate who attracted some serious support and serious money, and by October 2003 he looked to be a shoe-in for the nomination. Then the media went to work on him, repeatedly suggesting that he was "un-electable" and "out of the mainstream." This resulted in the media's triumph in derailing Dean's candidacy in the largely-opaque Iowa caucuses, which they then topped off by replaying the "Dean scream" a few million times.

And now that Dean has become chairman of the DNC, the common consensus among the media seems to be just to perpetuate the idea that Dean is just a joke. As you know, I like to review the political cartoons frequently, usually through Slate's cartoon page. And I think, without exception, that every cartoon that I have seen about Dean heading the DNC has been to suggest that he's just a big joke, and that elephants are dancing and donkeys are crying because of Dean. That's from right-wing and left-wing cartoonists alike. Dean apparently scared the establishment so much that they are still intent on making everyone think he's crazy. Dean could have beaten Bush in 2004--and that's why they had to destroy him.