Dean Tries to Summon Spirit of the 1960s

Washington Post ^ | December 28, 2003 | Paul Farhi

[nwrep]

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has a vision of where he'd like to take the nation. It turns out to be the 1960s.

In campaign stop after campaign stop, in overheated high school gyms and smoky union halls, Dean repeatedly offers this misty-eyed homage to that turbulent decade:

"When I was 21 years old," he says, "it was the end of the civil rights era, and America had paid an enormous price. Martin Luther King had been killed. Bobby Kennedy was dead. A lot of other people who are less well-known, including four little girls in a Birmingham church, had died so that we could have equal rights under the law for all Americans.

"But it was also a time of great hope. Medicare had passed. Head Start had passed. The Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the first African American justice [was appointed to] the United States Supreme Court. We felt like we were all in it together, that we all had responsibility for this country. . . . That [strong schools and communities were] everybody's responsibility. That if one person was left behind, then America wasn't as strong or as good as it could be or as it should be. That's the kind of country that I want back."

It is a stirring piece of rhetoric, and one that inevitably draws cheers and sustained applause for the former Vermont governor as he campaigns through this state, which holds its first-in-the-nation Democratic caucus in three weeks. In this part of the farm belt last week, Dean used it as his closer almost every place he spoke.

His references to the '60s, Dean makes clear in an interview, are something personal. "We felt the possibilities were unlimited then," he said last week. "We were making such enormous progress. It resonates with a lot of people my age. People my age really felt that way."

As history, however, Dean's memories of the era are selective. Rather than the time of great national unity and purpose he describes, the 1960s were a period of great upheaval, and surely rank among the most divisive for America in the 20th century.

[mindspy]

And then the Lefty Boomers took over, and their generation has been dragging America down ever since.
Revised. I too loathe the boomers. I grew up at the tail end of the privileged ones and it seems my whole life I have to wade through the knee deep, sometimes shoulder deep, manure left by these jackasses.

[foreverfree]

bump

[Zechariah11]

LOL!

[Zechariah11]

LOL!

[Zechariah11]

Dean supporters are not too happy about these stories from the Washington Post. One writer at Blog for America posts:

Just logging on for a second to say that I am sick to death of the Washington Post's constant haranguing of Dr. Dean (whom they refer to as "Mr. Dean."). They misrepresent his positions and put far too much emphasis on small matters -- those which, if they were a quarter as hard on our President would, by their own standards, disqualify him for the office he holds. And James Carville, since you're a pundit I don't have to be quite so polite: Kiss. My. Ass. On Tim Russert last night you denigrated Dr. Dean and then proceeded to list things you want the candidates to say -- EVERY SINGLE ONE of those things was a position of Dr. Deans; in fact, you could have been quoting from his policy papers. Sheesh. I was at a dinner party last night at which the host told me that the Dean campaign is "a children's crusade." In other words, we're all enthusiastic children who have no idea what damage we're doing. I thanked him for his point of view, but I look forward to the next dinner party at which he can eat his words. Fight the good fight, people! We need every bit of energy, every dollar. The tea is in the harbor. Posted by Betsey at December 28, 2003 11:37 AM

[woofie]

(I was trying to be funny too... Let's not quit our day jobs.) :)



Yep...and lets try workin the night shift at WalMart

[Tijeras_Slim]

As long as it isn't that one at the corner of 40 and Eubank, what a zoo!

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Interesting contrast bwteen the Democrat Party of JFK vs that of Clinton(s)-Dean, eh? IMO the complete commandeering of the Democrat Party by the radical left is one of the biggest unreported storeis of the past 10 years. I guess the Leftist media sees nothing wrong there, while they're busy reporting on GW's failures and the nefarious activities of the VRWC.

[Polybius]

One writer at Blog for America posts: Just logging on for a second to say that I am sick to death of the Washington Post's constant haranguing of Dr. Dean (whom they refer to as "Mr. Dean.").

We at FreeRepublic, on the other hand, would not be so disrespectful as address him as "Mister". There is always.......

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Spirit of the Sixties, Executive Summary:

Moronic Sixties Pothead: "Bring it all down, man!"

Rational Citizen: "If you do that, what will you replace it with?"

Moronic Sixties Pothead: "Er, Uh...Hey, pass the joint, man."

[Rhetorical pi2]

And wasn't the clarion call of the 60ties this phrase from JFK's inauguration speech:

"...Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

So Doctor "Strangelove" Dean dashes hither and yon promising more "what can our government do for you?" programs. This sixties speech - contractdicting his policy statements - is more grasping at straws by a man who is in over his head.

But to help him return to his good ol' days, lets all hold hands and sing together: "Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya. Kumbaya..." :o)

[Heatseeker]

Go to the Dean site (have a barf bag handy) and scroll down the front page to the pink shaded area (gee, I wonder why that color?) on the right side of the page, for the "Featured Dean Team Leader".

Right now it's "Mrs. Selena Paulsen". :)

[Alouette]

Summon Spirit of the 1960s"

"Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme"

[VOA]

"Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme"

LOL! Touche' and well done!

[Chad Fairbanks]

He can try to summon the Spirit of the 60s, but it'll be awhile before it responds. First, it has to get the energy to actually get up off it's but and get off the commune, and if it can stop smoking weed long enough to actually find the highway, then it has to hitchhike to wherever Dean is...

Could be problematic..

[Erik Latranyi]

I do not relish the day when these baby-boomer, '60s rejects start to retire and demand more and more services because they were irresponsible with their lives and money.

I hope we can use Dr. Deanmento to finish these whackos off, once and for all time!

[clamper1797]

Actually I hear it was fun ... Unfortunately I was to far away (Southeast Asia) to enjoy it