I was relaxing on the couch after Torts got out tonight when my wife came home and told me that Howard Dean and Richard Perle were holding a debate right here in Portland, OR. I was pretty annoyed at myself for not knowing about this earlier -- I guess that's what I get for not reading the
daily fish wrap. The whole show was to start in two hours!
To a political junkie like me, it didn't seem possible that there might still be tickets available. I mean, this is like the superbowl for a news nerd. My wife and I, however, valiantly headed for the box office to try for some tickets. Long story short, there were still seats -- in the extreme nosebleed section, that is. But seats they were and seats we bought. I'm glad I did.
(Amusing stories involving Dean, pop-culture references, and glaring at Perle below the fold.)
Dean was introduced to a huge cheer, Perle not so much. The debate, centered on foreign policy after 9/11 was great. Dean refused to admit that the Democrats were weak on national security despite Perle politely asking him to do so. The nerve.
Perle defended the Iraq war with a tired line about the intelligence being the best available blah blah blah that even he didn't sound like he believed. Of course, it's hard to sound too convincing when you're dodging a shoe thrown at you by an audience member screaming "Motherfucking liar."
The "motherfucking liar guy", or MFLG, kinda stole the show for a while. Remember that part in Austin Powers when Dr. Evil dumps Will Ferrell into his trap oven chamber thingy and then can't get on with his evil meeting because you here Will Ferrell screaming for the next several minutes -- think that. Perle kept trying to continue, and although the MFLG had been removed from the main theatre area, one could hear him screaming his signature line, with a few "Let me go, motherfuckers" thrown in.
The highlight of the night came in the phase of the debate when panelists were invited to ask questions. Perle had just spoken for a while, trashing the Dems on national security as usual. The panel then asked Dean an unrelated question. Before responding to that question, the Good Doctor said to Perle something like "Before I respond I want to say that Richard has attempted to do something that I'm not going to let him get away with, and that is frame the debate. As chairman I don't intend to let them continue to frame the debate." Be still my beating heart. You could almost hear Luntz sighing in dismay and Lakoff sighing in relief.
The highlight of the night for me came in the form of two incidents right after the event. As my wife and I left the theater we rounded the block to head to our car and came upon Richard Perle. He was with only one other person and I made eye-contact and scowled at him. I scowled at Richard Perle! Whoopee! (I resisted the urge to ask, "How's your lawsuit against Seymour Hersh going?"
Then, even better, only a few feet further on I came across the Doctor surrounded by a small crowd of well-wishers. I said "Governor, may I shake your hand," rendered the question moot by sticking my hand out at him, and received a firm handshake for my troubles. Chairman Dean looked right at me and said "Thank you." No, thank you.