This time ten years ago, during the United States presidential election of 2004, Vermont Governor Howard Dean gave this infamous speech after finishing third in the Iowa Democratic Caucus:
At the time, Dean had been ill with the flu and the crowd was filled with highly enthusiastic and loud supporters. He had to bellow above the roar of the crowd in order to be heard; unfortunately for him, to those watching television, it appeared as though he were needlessly yelling at a quiet audience. Dean later confirmed that the "Yeah!" he screamed out at the end was due to his voice cracking.
Dean's speech and scream was highlighted as a major reason for his loss in the Democratic primaries to Senator John Kerry. The media subsequently overplayed and mocked his speech, which brought down his poll numbers: at the time of his speech, Dean had held a significant lead in the New Hampshire primary, but when it came to voting day in that state on January 27th, he came in second to Kerry. By the end of the Democratic primaries and caucuses, Dean had only won Vermont and Washington, D.C.
It's a shame, as back then I thought that Dean would have been a good Democratic candidate and president; I also thought that his scream speech was impressive. Fortunately, despite his defeat in the presidential primaries, Dean is far from being some forgotten politician: his 50-state strategy to help Democrats compete and win elections in heavily Republican areas and his campaign's use of the Internet to mobilize voters were used by President Barack Obama and other Democratic candidates in the 2008 and 2012 elections, and I'm sure that Democratic candidates will continue to use the Dean-Obama model for the foreseeable future.
I should also note that it was because of Dean that my brother and I became interested in politics. We might not have followed the 2004 election - and might have had less interest in subsequent elections - had it not been for him.
Showing posts with label Washington D.C.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington D.C.. Show all posts
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Monday, 5 August 2013
Walter Mondale's 50 state distinction
From 1977 to 1981, Walter Mondale served as the Vice President of the United States under President Jimmy Carter. In the 1980 United States presidential election, Carter and Mondale were defeated in a landslide, losing 44 of the 50 states; four years later, when Mondale ran for president against incumbent Ronald Reagan, Mondale lost 49 of the 50 states, barely carrying his home state of Minnesota while sweeping Washington D.C.
In 2002, Mondale ran for a Senate seat in Minnesota when the incumbent, Paul Wellstone, died; the seat that Wellstone occupied was the same one that Mondale held prior to becoming Carter's vice president. On election day, Norm Coleman narrowly defeated Mondale, achieving what Reagan had failed to do 22 years previous.
So, what's the 50 state distinction? Mondale's defeat in 2002 made him the first — and so far only — nominee of a major party to lose a statewide election in all 50 states. I doubt that it's a record that anyone would be proud of, but it's a small and notable piece of United States election trivia, nonetheless.
In 2002, Mondale ran for a Senate seat in Minnesota when the incumbent, Paul Wellstone, died; the seat that Wellstone occupied was the same one that Mondale held prior to becoming Carter's vice president. On election day, Norm Coleman narrowly defeated Mondale, achieving what Reagan had failed to do 22 years previous.
So, what's the 50 state distinction? Mondale's defeat in 2002 made him the first — and so far only — nominee of a major party to lose a statewide election in all 50 states. I doubt that it's a record that anyone would be proud of, but it's a small and notable piece of United States election trivia, nonetheless.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
September 11th, 2001
I may not have been anywhere near the attacks on September 11th, 2001, and the attacks occurred as I was getting up that morning, but I remember much of the day clearly.
My brother and I were at home that day. The phones were out, and we became aware of that because when Dad attempted to use the Internet that morning it refused to log on (we were on dial-up back then), and then when he picked up one of the phones there was not a dial tone present. He did not think to turn the television on to check the news because we sometimes would have the phones drop out for seemingly no reason at all; in addition, the channels on our TV were tuned to the Los Angeles feeds, so we could not watch the local news to see if there was a problem with the phones anyway.
Instead, Dad went on a drive, taking his cell phone with him to find out if there was anyone he could phone locally (his phone was out-of-range at our home). He had the radio on, and the closer he drove to town the clearer its signal became, and he managed to hear that aircraft had crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Guessing that the phones were out for a reason somehow related to what was going on, Dad turned around and came home.
My brother, mother, and I were all sat at the dining room table when he came back into the house: before he had returned the three of us had decided to do some math. When Mum asked what was going on, Dad repeated what he had heard on the radio; Mum asked something about how much damage the towers had sustained, and Dad said they had been destroyed, causing Mum to gasp. He subsequently turned the television on.
I remember seeing the footage of the planes crashing into the twin towers and the buildings falling down as it was being played repeatedly on the television. I also remember the reports of Flight 93 with its crash in Pennsylvania, though I do not recall seeing as much video of the Pentagon being attacked as I did the World Trade Center. When I watched the buildings fall, a part of me hoped that the worst that had happened to the towers was not a collapse, but rather, just their outer walls had come down, and once the dust had settled the towers would still be standing. Sadly, I was soon forced to realize that this was not the case. The phones were then restored sometime before lunch, as we had a call from one of my uncles asking us if we were okay after what had transpired.
After lunch we continued to watch television, then my brother and I went outside for some of the afternoon, although I cannot remember if we went out on our own volition or if Mum decided to send us out. The weather was cloudy and humid, and we mainly spent our time out just walking around and talking. The television was still on when we came back inside, making the day one of the longest times we have ever had a television on consistently. Mum ensured that my brother and I were calm and all right before we went to bed; however, we were both holding up well from the day's events.
I cannot imagine how people felt in New York City and Washington D.C. that day, especially those within the twin towers when they knew there was no escape. I cannot imagine how Todd Beamer and the other heroes who prevented Flight 93 from hitting whatever its target was felt either. The events were alarming and deeply upsetting for us, to say the least, and we were living in a quiet part of the west coast of the United States.
September 11th, 2001 was a tragic day, and one that none of us will ever forget. It is important to note that the vast majority of the world's population stood with the United States and rejected the acts of those responsible for the atrocities: I believe that more education, caring, and understanding in the world will permanently prevent something on this scale from happening again.
My brother and I were at home that day. The phones were out, and we became aware of that because when Dad attempted to use the Internet that morning it refused to log on (we were on dial-up back then), and then when he picked up one of the phones there was not a dial tone present. He did not think to turn the television on to check the news because we sometimes would have the phones drop out for seemingly no reason at all; in addition, the channels on our TV were tuned to the Los Angeles feeds, so we could not watch the local news to see if there was a problem with the phones anyway.
Instead, Dad went on a drive, taking his cell phone with him to find out if there was anyone he could phone locally (his phone was out-of-range at our home). He had the radio on, and the closer he drove to town the clearer its signal became, and he managed to hear that aircraft had crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Guessing that the phones were out for a reason somehow related to what was going on, Dad turned around and came home.
My brother, mother, and I were all sat at the dining room table when he came back into the house: before he had returned the three of us had decided to do some math. When Mum asked what was going on, Dad repeated what he had heard on the radio; Mum asked something about how much damage the towers had sustained, and Dad said they had been destroyed, causing Mum to gasp. He subsequently turned the television on.
I remember seeing the footage of the planes crashing into the twin towers and the buildings falling down as it was being played repeatedly on the television. I also remember the reports of Flight 93 with its crash in Pennsylvania, though I do not recall seeing as much video of the Pentagon being attacked as I did the World Trade Center. When I watched the buildings fall, a part of me hoped that the worst that had happened to the towers was not a collapse, but rather, just their outer walls had come down, and once the dust had settled the towers would still be standing. Sadly, I was soon forced to realize that this was not the case. The phones were then restored sometime before lunch, as we had a call from one of my uncles asking us if we were okay after what had transpired.
After lunch we continued to watch television, then my brother and I went outside for some of the afternoon, although I cannot remember if we went out on our own volition or if Mum decided to send us out. The weather was cloudy and humid, and we mainly spent our time out just walking around and talking. The television was still on when we came back inside, making the day one of the longest times we have ever had a television on consistently. Mum ensured that my brother and I were calm and all right before we went to bed; however, we were both holding up well from the day's events.
I cannot imagine how people felt in New York City and Washington D.C. that day, especially those within the twin towers when they knew there was no escape. I cannot imagine how Todd Beamer and the other heroes who prevented Flight 93 from hitting whatever its target was felt either. The events were alarming and deeply upsetting for us, to say the least, and we were living in a quiet part of the west coast of the United States.
September 11th, 2001 was a tragic day, and one that none of us will ever forget. It is important to note that the vast majority of the world's population stood with the United States and rejected the acts of those responsible for the atrocities: I believe that more education, caring, and understanding in the world will permanently prevent something on this scale from happening again.
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