AOL had an entire section on the Dean speech today with a
cover photo of Michael Dukakis riding in the tank with a story
underneath "Dean Says He Leads With His Heart".
The section was seen by many of the tens of millions of AOL users
as they signed on to their accounts. It allowed AOL users to
compare the Dean speech to some of the legendary moments of
American political history including Ed Muskie crying in 1972,
Michael Dukakis riding in the tank in 1988, Dan Quayle in the
1988 VP debate, James Stockdale in the 1992 debate, and Ronald
Reagan in New Hampshire in 1980. It allowed AOL users to vote on
whether Dean's speech would hurt his campaign and 63% voted his
campaign was finished.
Screen capture of AOL section on Dean
Will Dean's Iowa speech hurt his candidacy?
Hurt? He's done 63%
A little, but the comedy cycle will soon move on 23%
No, it won't cause long-term damage 15%
Will it become a lasting political legend?
Yes 63%
No 37%
Total Votes: 112,553
Michael Dukakis, 1988 presidential campaign
Riding around in a tank
Ronald Reagan, 1980 New Hampshire debate
Moment: "I paid for this microphone..."
Adm. James Stockdale, 1992 debate
"Who am I? Why am I here?"
Edmund Muskie, 1972 presidential campaign
An emotional reply to an attack on his family
Lloyd Bentsen, 1988 vice presidential debate Moment: Said to Dan
Quayle, "You're no Jack Kennedy."
Rob is the
founder and editor of the progressive news site robwire.com and is a
frequent contributor to rob.dailykos.com