"'The Scream'" - Commentary by Tony Seton

"The Scream"

Desperation paints an ugly face, and post-election most Democrats wore an expression that made "The Scream" look hopeful. They had lost the presidential race against such a deplorable incumbent it took one’s political breath away. They had also lost seats in both houses of Congress. What was left? Not much. Look forward to 2006? Um, okay, yeah, right. And 2008? Hillary? Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh. Munch was an optimist.

I was not a fan of Howard Dean. Even before his cataclysmic collapse in Iowa. I never felt that he was someone who could win; he seemed erratic and vulnerable. Kerry, I believed, though a plodder, could at least win. So much for my prognosticative abilities.

As the race ran down, I was thinking that Kerry could use some of Dean’s outrage and fury. Maybe Dean, for all his flaws, would have been a more productive candidate. Maybe the American public would have bought a frantic response to The Bush Boy. Or not.

In any event, I noted with interest that a speech by the Vermonter would be carried live on the net yesterday. The hype said, "Governor Dean will lay out a vision for the future of the Democratic Party." I thought maybe he was reborn, in the good sense. A lot of people probably were thinking the same thing because the lines were jammed. I tried to tune in but wasn’t able to link until the last two or three minutes.

I don’t know if Dean was rousing during the first part of his address, but he was fairly low-key at the end. He did make the point that with all the talk about moral values it was important to remember that the true foundation was deep conviction.

Checking the newswires, there wasn’t a single story about the Dean speech, which suggests that he couldn’t have said much at the beginning, or said anything in a news-making fashion. There was a story about The New Republic’s lead editorial decrying Dean’s bid to head the Democratic National Committee, saying America thinks of him as "an unhinged screamer, arrogant Northeasterner and anti-war activist."

Hmmm, Dean might be just what the DNC needs.

And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.