I finally watched the infamous Dean speech and I have to say, I just don't get it. It really doesn't seem awful to me at all. Alright, it's a little weird to name so many states, but hey, it's kind of cool too. We are the United STATES of America. I mean, you'd expect presidential material to be kind of excited about a bunch of 'em. I mean, it is pretty wonderful that we've got 50 great states and they're all a bit different.
The gristle in his voice just seems like he's trying to match the energy of the crowd. The elderly statesman behind him (Harkin?) on his right (left of the screen) in the Mister Rogers outfit seems to be digging it.
I'm starting to think journalists just wanted to something to get all worked up about. Like Slate's Timothy Noah, I also rather wish Dean hadn't given in on it.