Empower Play: The Pitch That Works for Dean

[DoveTurnedHawk]

<...>

The empowerment approach also can backfire with people who don't feel disempowered. At St. Anselm College in Manchester, Dean addressed students and local residents.

"If you stand up and you're proud of who you are -- guess what? People start to listen to you. Stand up for what you believe in," said Dean, an excited flush creeping up his neck.

Only half the people in the room stood up.

"You have the power . . . "

In the back of the room, a waitress named Mary Casey, 48, rose to her feet, applauding. "Yes, this is the man," she said.

Two seats away, a college sophomore, Jessica Foster, 19, stayed in her chair, her mouth slack. She had been curious about Dean, but now she felt put off. He came off as untrustworthy, she said. Foster wrote about it in an essay for her public speaking class:

"Dean ended his speech with a clincher, appealing to the patriotic side of the crowd," she wrote. "He attempted to rouse the crowd by telling them to stand up for what they believed in and to stand up for America. The only time I stood up for Dean was when I got up to walk out the door."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25308-2003Sep30.html

DTH

[dean4america]

1. aside from the last para...

extremely positive article on the Dean movement. You all should give it a read.

[Cha]

2. Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=51505

[DoveTurnedHawk]

5. Actually, It's LBN

It belongs here, even though the P/C thread came first.

DTH

[w13rd0]

3. Jessica missed the point...

...it's not "standing up for Dean", it's standing up to Bush, standing up for our principles, our Constitution. Dean is just calling on people to do that...

[Cha]

4. Yeah! she Totally "missed the point"!

[Rose Siding]

6. Read the whole article!

It's great. There is so much hope in ALL the other stories. The reporter (accidentally?) relayed many of the winning qualities of Dean's run.

And then found one Jessica.

[Born Free]

7. Perhaps Jessica already had her mind made up..

Perhaps she already knew she didn't want to like Dean or any democrat, just wanted to be there so she could and give her negative opinon late and back it up with "I was there".
Over all the article implied there were many people that did like Dean's message.

[ozone_man]

8. A great article.

I wouldn't have known that by the clips that you chose. But, yes, these things don't always go the right way.

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

9. Some cool snips

Yet half an hour later, as Dean finished his stump speech, Pierce stood up, joining the crowd in a hooting ovation. The Democratic presidential hopeful had moved her, she said, made her feel like recruiting friends to vote for him. As she reached for Dean's hand, her eyes lit up. "He inspired me," she said.

snip

While the other candidates focus on their humble roots or heroic feats, Dean inverts the telescope: He talks about the voters. He tells them they're okay. Instead of trying to get them to love him, he tells them to love themselves. A doctor by training, he injects psychology into politics.



Lots of good stuff here. Thanks for posting this article (even though you weren't trying to show off Dean's good side). :)

[VolcanoJen]

10. Kick!

:dem:

[w4rma]

11. What a bullshit anti-Dean excerpt from this article (here is the 1st part)

By Laura Blumenfeld
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 1, 2003; Page A01

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- The candidate walked into a party with shaving nicks on his neck, uneven fingernails and wrinkles from a hanger creasing his suit at the knees. He has been known to stuff pretzels into his pockets. On this night, he was shaking hands: "Hi, I'm Howard Dean."

"He's short," said Teresa Pierce, 40.

"Reminds me of someone my mother might date," muttered Denise Mallett, 33.

Yet half an hour later, as Dean finished his stump speech, Pierce stood up, joining the crowd in a hooting ovation. The Democratic presidential hopeful had moved her, she said, made her feel like recruiting friends to vote for him. As she reached for Dean's hand, her eyes lit up. "He inspired me," she said.

The question is: How? What did Dean do to enchant Pierce, and to stir up thousands of avid supporters? Despite the buzz surrounding retired Gen. Wesley Clark's late entry into the campaign, and mounting attacks from some of his other eight rivals, Dean has raised the most money and leads the polls in New Hampshire and Iowa. Conventional wisdom credits Dean's Bush-bashing and his stoking of Democratic anger. But to follow Dean on the stump is to see something more subtle at work.

While the other candidates focus on their humble roots or heroic feats, Dean inverts the telescope: He talks about the voters. He tells them they're okay. Instead of trying to get them to love him, he tells them to love themselves. A doctor by training, he injects psychology into politics.

"I liked it when he said the election wasn't about him, it was about us," said Pierce. "He's empowering me."

This is the intended effect, the candidate said in an interview. "People feel horribly disempowered by George Bush," he said. "I'm about trying to give them control back. This is not just a 'campaign,' it's a movement to empower ordinary people. I don't say, 'Elect me.'"

Instead, Dean says the election is in their hands. Delivering a series of exhortations, he'll turn a garden party into political group therapy:

"Stop being ashamed."

"Stand up and say what you think."

"You ought to be proud."

"The power to change this country is in your hands."

"You have the power."

"You have the power."
…