Howard Dean needs to give Dems in Senate a seminar on how to talk

[yurbud]

These guys are fucking boring and obtuse even when they have good points.

I doubt that they talk like this in their private life.

[iconoclastNYC]

1. I agree.

There is this disease, you see it in academia alot as well in politics, sort of like groupthink, call it grouptalk, where everyone is trying to sound like everyone else -- sort of learned, or intellectual, wonky.... very few people can do it well...so they all end up sounding robotic and boring.

They need to realize they aren't there to impress one another, they are there to impress the VOTERS and the TV Viewers.

Check out Lakoff and the Rockridge Institute.

[FreedomAngel82]

17. They just need to be themselves

Stop trying to be a politician and be themselves. Just talk to the people and level with the person watching. Act like you're talking with friends about an issue and they've asked you about it. That's all they need to do.
That's why Howard Dean does so well. He just is himself and addresses the issue without fancy talk.

[eridani]

28. There must be some special school somewhere--

--where they teach you how to call a spade a leveraged tactile-feedback geomass delivery system.a

[Greeby]

2. They should be made to read/watch Kucinich's speeches

They're like him: short and fired up ;)

[yurbud]

15. I agree with just about everything he said. I just wish he wasn't a

vegetarian who looks like a smurf.

Some image problems are tough to overcome.

[Greeby]

19. Just go out and about with his new wife

http://kucinich.us/messages/dk2005071601.php

Problem solved :loveya:

[yurbud]

20. okay, she's a hottie. Whenever he talks, she should stand next to him...

in a bikini.

[eridani]

29. According to her--

--he has "the wisdom of age and the vigor of youth." Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

That said, he is pretty charismatic in person regardless of the non-photogenic thing.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Stephanie Miller played Dean's interview with Wolf Blitzer

at least parts of it; after she did it, she played, "Let's Hear it for the Boy". I thought Dean was sharp, to the point, telling it like it is.

[eridani]

30. Looking forward to that

I downloaded it for later viewing. I understand he really went off! Waiting for the DLC jackasses to say that he doesn't speak for the Democrats.

[napi21]

4. I've been asking Dean to do that since he became Chairman!

I've sent several emails to the DNC. "Please Howard, hold some seminars to teach our (supposed to be) leaders how to speak to people in language everyone can understand!

I'm really tired of having people some on AFTER SOME SPEACH and explain "what he MEANT to say!"

Hell, they had to do that for Kerry during the whole campaign!

[yurbud]

5. part of the problem is they are trying NOT to say things...

especially not to offend corporate donors.

Actually, it would be corporations, financial institutions, and insurance companies.

It's a little like running for office and trying to appeal to blacks and the Ku Klux Klan at the same time. You'd end up saying pretty vacuous stuff.

[napi21]

7. Yea, I know. I wish I had the answer to getting around that.

The money required in our elections now is obcene! I hate the way the politicians try not to offend anyone, but I have to admit, if you pi** off your money supply, you can't win.

I really don't know the answer!

[yurbud]

8. cut corporate and big donors out of loop with public financing of campaign

[napi21]

11. How the hell can we do that? The treasury has NO money!

Even if there was money available, look at what happened in the last election. Neither candidate accepted the matching funds because it would have constrained additional spending.

I'd like to tak out all the stops to what can be said, true or not, and put strict limits on the amount of $$ and air time any candidate can get. That would force all of them to use their time and $$ as wisely as possible..'cause they couldn't BUY more! Unfortunately, the SCOTUS said you can't do that! Restriction of free speech!

[LSK]

12. the networks should give airtime to candidates for FREE

[yurbud]

14. that was the original idea with granting broadcast licenses

but no one is enforcing it anymore.

[yurbud]

13. has supreme court ever revisited corporate personhood?

[AntiCoup2K4]

24. Why do you think Chimpy put Roberts in as Chief Justice?

Certainly wasn't his (non-existent) legal qualifications. It was so a corporatist court could exist for decades and there would be no risk of reversing the conditions which allowed America to become a fascist state.

[yurbud]

26. somebody should come up with a case to challenge it...

just to draw attention to the issue and embarass them by forcing them to affirm it.

[iconoclastNYC]

22. Hear Hear.

I don't know why Democrats don't run on this.

[Democrats_win]

6. Dean is gr8 in person too. Senators don´t win: support Dean for Prez.

[napi21]

9. There are 2 problems with that.

ONE: Dean promised, if he was elected Chairman of the DNC, he wouldn't run for Pres. Dean doesn't go back on his word!

TWO: Any candidate who doesn't get the Party support CAN'T WIN! There's just too much power and money for one person to fight off!

[yurbud]

10. only 2 is a real constraint but is probably why he made 1--he knew

the business interests that offed him with a character assassination (the lamest in history that actually worked)in 2004 would do so again if he ran again. And if the character assassination didn't work, the other kind would be used.

Instead, I think he's working on fixing the system as a technician and metaphorical bomb-thrower.

He and Dennis Kucinich got a far higher percentage of their donations from small donors, showing a broader base of support, and a way for the Dems to get off the corporate teat. That's the start of breaking the Chamber of Commerce hold on both parties.

[ladjf]

16. And he needs to stop dissing Chavez.

[yurbud]

21. if he's doing it, I agree. do you have a source?

[ladjf]

25. I've seen it stated on DU with sources. I don't have them.

[yurbud]

27. I'll google chavez and howard dean

[madfloridian]

32. Not true. Two people took a sentence and twisted it.

There is a huge thread going right now in GDP. Read it and be honest.

[madfloridian]

31. He did not mention Chavez at all.

Find the transcript from Sunday at CNN Late Edition. He said Bush had antagonized the leaders in Latin America. Be honest.

[SeattleRob]

18. Not just Dems in the Senate

All Dems who make the rounds on news programs, need to stand up the the barrage of RNC talking
points that all the hosts love to recite.

As for Howard's performance, I thought he did great standing up to Leslie!

[yurbud]

23. they haven't noticed that GOP doesn't practice collegiality outside

Congress, and less and less INSIDE.

They need to learn to get to the fucking point, say it simply, then don't back down or apologize unless you actually said or did something wrong.

[oasis]

33. On Imus show, Paul Begala praised Dean for his Wolf Blitzer smackdown.

:bounce:

[KharmaTrain]

34. Dean's Learning Curve

I was glad to see Dr. Dean smack Wolfie onto Channel 900 the other day. And looking at that cat-that-ate-the-canary look on Dr. Dean's face, I think he felt he got some sweet revenge as well. Howard Dean hasn't played the game by the corporate media's rules and he's had to overcome a lot of handicaps. Some of these problems were of his own making...others piled on after the original mistakes were made.

Unlike the favorable and manageable media he had in Vermont and New England, Dr. Dean ran into a buzzsaw in the corporate Washington world. He was not only an outsider, but a threat as well. He wasn't under anyone's control and that's why the image of him being "out of control" was created. It was supposed to either "rein him in" or knock him out. Neither happened and I salute him for holding his ground amidst such powerful forces...and now he's starting to get ahead of the game.

I'm glad to see Dr. Dean now refuses taped interviews and only wants to appear alone. He can now control where the interview goes and stop the corporate media lies in their tracks. The downside is this just creates a greater adversarial role that will keep him on the defensive. He still hasn't either learned or decided to pop out a message that he can take on the media and get any traction with. Maybe it's because he's too busy with local and state matters or letting Repugnicans hang themselves a bit longer with their own rope...but now the next step he must take is to be able to create his own headlines...he own message and have it heard.

Democrats have a lot of positive things to offer this November, the toughest challenge will be to overcome a perception (including among Democrats themselves) that they aren't as strong as they are. This is where Dr. Dean's greatest challenge lies. I'll be supporting him every step of the way.