January 22, 2004
The Unhinging of the Candidate 2004: Part 2
I think I've figured out Howard Dean's strategy based on that Monday night outburst. As Rod Serling used to say "Submitted for your approval".
Consider:
1. Dean's statements on guns "And on gun control, for example, I do not believe in gun control…" Times of London, 18 December 2002 (pdf).
2. The ferocity of the attacks on him in Iowa: Dean under fire at Iowa Debate.
3. His general demeanor of channeling Howard Beale.
4. His wigged-out Iowa performance (RealPlayer Video).
Put it all together and it looks like a ploy to psych-out his debate opponents. Dean has put them on notice: "fear my inner psycho."
They're going to have to wonder "If I say something a little too tough, is this guy going postal?" "How good is the security at these events anyway? Did someone frisk him or run a metal detector over him" "What's that bulge up under his left arm?"
Gotta make them think.