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Howard Dean's fatal echo chamber.
By William Saletan
Posted Monday, Jan. 26, 2004
MANCHESTER, N.H.—The crowd in the Palace Theater in Manchester has come to see a live performance by Howard Dean. But the theater also shows movies, and that's how today's "town hall meeting" begins. From every corner of the auditorium, people with Dean shirts, Dean stickers, and Dean posters cheer and clap as they watch a film about people with Dean shirts, Dean stickers, and Dean posters. If you want to understand why Dean has gotten where he is, for good and ill, here's your answer: a campaign about itself.
The Internet helped Deaniacs find, organize, and fortify each other. Together, they built confidence and strength. They spent hours discussing topics such as "Why I love Howard Dean," "When did you fall in love with Howard Dean," and "Enough about Howard Dean—what do you love about Howard Dean?" But the more they affirmed each other, the more they lost touch with the rest of us. Even their first taste of reality, a third-place finish in Iowa, couldn't shake them. The movie they're watching now shows Dean shouting in a speech weeks ago, "Let's win in New Hampshire!" As Dean continues speaking, the soundtrack mysteriously goes silent for a moment, just long enough to make his next sentence inaudible. Reading his lips, I could swear the bleeped-out sentence is, "Let's win in Iowa!"
The airbrushed, self-validating fantasy goes on as actor Martin Sheen takes the stage to introduce Dean. Sheen plays President Josiah Bartlet on NBC's The West Wing, which the Dean campaign has adopted as its model. Bartlet was a brainy, hard-nosed governor of New Hampshire; Dean was a brainy, hard-nosed governor of Vermont. Bartlet's campaign called itself "Barlet for America." Dean's campaign calls itself "Dean for America." Lately, Sheen has been stumping for Dean, as though Bartlet's imaginary presidential authority should carry weight in the real world. "As the acting president of the United States," Sheen begins, and the crowd whoops with delight. Sheen goes on to talk about his role in Gandhi. "Nowhere was that film more successful than in my own community of Hollywood," says Sheen, without a trace of irony.
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By William Saletan
Posted Monday, Jan. 26, 2004
MANCHESTER, N.H.—The crowd in the Palace Theater in Manchester has come to see a live performance by Howard Dean. But the theater also shows movies, and that's how today's "town hall meeting" begins. From every corner of the auditorium, people with Dean shirts, Dean stickers, and Dean posters cheer and clap as they watch a film about people with Dean shirts, Dean stickers, and Dean posters. If you want to understand why Dean has gotten where he is, for good and ill, here's your answer: a campaign about itself.
The Internet helped Deaniacs find, organize, and fortify each other. Together, they built confidence and strength. They spent hours discussing topics such as "Why I love Howard Dean," "When did you fall in love with Howard Dean," and "Enough about Howard Dean—what do you love about Howard Dean?" But the more they affirmed each other, the more they lost touch with the rest of us. Even their first taste of reality, a third-place finish in Iowa, couldn't shake them. The movie they're watching now shows Dean shouting in a speech weeks ago, "Let's win in New Hampshire!" As Dean continues speaking, the soundtrack mysteriously goes silent for a moment, just long enough to make his next sentence inaudible. Reading his lips, I could swear the bleeped-out sentence is, "Let's win in Iowa!"
The airbrushed, self-validating fantasy goes on as actor Martin Sheen takes the stage to introduce Dean. Sheen plays President Josiah Bartlet on NBC's The West Wing, which the Dean campaign has adopted as its model. Bartlet was a brainy, hard-nosed governor of New Hampshire; Dean was a brainy, hard-nosed governor of Vermont. Bartlet's campaign called itself "Barlet for America." Dean's campaign calls itself "Dean for America." Lately, Sheen has been stumping for Dean, as though Bartlet's imaginary presidential authority should carry weight in the real world. "As the acting president of the United States," Sheen begins, and the crowd whoops with delight. Sheen goes on to talk about his role in Gandhi. "Nowhere was that film more successful than in my own community of Hollywood," says Sheen, without a trace of irony.
:p
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