Didn’t Howard Dean perform a remarkable imitation of the classic Confederate “rebel yell”? That last link (a blog called “Rebel Yell”) links to an intriguing musical rendition of Dean’s “Rebel Yell” by Lileks. Here’s another blogger (from Vermont), who spoke of “Southern disComfort.”
But to be fair, Joshua Micah Marshall gave Ashcroft credit for the term a few years ago.
Beats me; I am only trying to be fair. And balanced.
Many bloggers (as well as innumerable commenters) have called Dean’s “Eaaggh” the Rebel Yell. I can’t possibly list them all, but I tend to agree with a sentiment repeated in that last blog:
As Dave Winer said to me earlier today on the phone, the media is trying to “delete” the Dean campaign.
Much as I personally enjoyed the Rebel Yell fun, I think Dean got a bum rap — and there was a good explanation (called “worth reading” by Glenn Reynolds) for the yell itself.
The contrarian in me (as well as the lover of lost causes) likes Howard Dean more and more. I particularly hated that sleazy New York Times smear against his wife. While not much of a Howard Dean supporter, I know a hit piece when I see it. And the Times article was a classic hit piece. Author Judi Wilgoren, by the way, is a past expert at hit pieces…. They had the bad camera angle, the nasty personal innuendo, and they made Dr. Steinberg (about whom I’ve heard nothing but good things) appear glum and aloof, if not weird. (You have to pay for the article now, unfortunately.)
What was she supposed to do? Abandon her practice and go to Iowa to smile at the cameras?
That the attack comes from the left made it far more hypocritical. I mean, I could have imagined certain Republicans complaining that Dr. Steinberg is not living up to someone’s idea of a “role model,” but this?
I doubt Abraham Lincoln could be elected president today — not if they decided to smear his wife. On top of that, there was also the cleverly timed, phony domestic abuse report about one of Dean’s state troopers. Why, they even used Watergate language to sex up the piece — “What Did He Know About Abuse Allegations; When Did He Know It?” (Via Andrew Sullivan.) Couldn’t they have used “Troopergate“? Or was that taken? And why did so many pundits keep making the Freudian slip (well, it is a form of sexual innuendo) of calling him John Dean? (Now there’s a real smear for you!)
This whole thing has been a lesson in the fickleness of voters. It shows how easily manipulated people can be.
That’s democracy, sometimes.
I think I’m gonna crash….. But before I do, here is something that I can identify with as a Californian “stuck” on the East Coast. (It’s worth streaming, most fun when opened in a new window to see it all…. and reminds me of close calls around here, and my frustration when cars fail to behave in a logical manner because of frozen water.)
The streaming link was sent to me in an email along with a caption titled “Union Civil Engineers should never impersonate mechanical engineers…”
Well, so much for the North, and for Union Civil Engineers. But what about impersonating Confederate Civil Engineers?
I think some of them may be on thin ice down there….
I’ll thaw, chill out, and take a “break” while I read up on the latest Carnival of the Vanities.
And anyone who wants to hear an actual rebel yell (recorded in 1935 by a 90 year old Confederate vet) can stream it at this link.
Comments
3 responses to “Yeeeaaagh! Time to crash?”
When Howard Dean became the frontrunner, I worried that conservatives would tear apart his wife for being Jewish and for their children being raised Jewish (since anti-Semitism is still alive and well in some parts). Instead, most conservative commentators have given Judith Steinberg glowing reviews, while so-called “feminists” and “liberal” female commentators have torn her to pieces. Maureen Dowd and the shrew crew managed to make Ann Coulter appear moderate for a few seconds there.
I like Dean more than ever now. The more the media tell my I’m supposed to hate somebody, the more I’m inclined to like him or her. And, conversely, the more they pump somebody up as a “saint” (such as that fake, phony, fraud “Mother Teresa”), the more I’m inclined to dislike or detest that person.
I probably said this before but, seeing those pictures of “Wildman” Dean on Dean Esmay’s blog makes me wish I was a man’s man so I could really go for him. What a MAN!
Speaking of Dean, I’ve just _got_ to tell you this story I once read back in the early 1970’s:
When General William F. Dean was being released from a Communist prison camp in Korea, the Chinese Communist psychologist who had been trying to break him said to him:
“General, do not feel too bad about leaving us. You know, we will soon be with you. We will destroy the moral character of your young Americans, and then, when we have finished, you will have nothing left with which to defend yourselves against us Communists.”
Dean. Howard Roark asked: “What is the principle behind the Dean?” Howard Dean. Dean Esmay. John Dean. General William F. Dean. “The Gloomy Dean” (Dean Inge of Canterbury, G. K. Chesterton often fisked him). Dean Freeborn (kid I knew in high school, he’s a farmer).