cross posted from BFA: a technological fix to combat anti-defamation towards Dean
Dean Defense: The Anti-Pincushion
i'm reading Eric Boelert's Salon article on media myths about dean ("The Media Vs. Howard Dean") and it gave me an idea for a tactic-an "anti pincusion"--to fight the "Dean is prone to gaffes" meme:
since most of his "gaffes" actually aren't [gaffes] but, rather, conservative spin (a la the "gore claimed to invent the internet" canard), dean can best exonerate himself by simply showing the source of the alleged "gaffe".
eg, when someone attacks him for "claiming the saudis warned bush", the best defense is to show the original footage; completely discrediting the attacker--here's the acct from the (favorable) salon article:
"When [radio host] Rehm asked Dean in a Dec. 1 interview why he thought Bush wasn't more forthcoming with the commission investigating the terrorist attacks, Dean replied, 'The most interesting theory that I've heard so far -- which is nothing more than a theory, it can't be proved -- is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis.'"
Dean made it COMPLETELY clear that he's not part of the tinfoil-hat wearing crowd when he made the statement. Its only when the conservatives cherry-pick parts of the sentance that he seems sinister.
so here's my (admittedly geeky) suggestion: get howard a tablet PC (a computer that looks like a laptop w/o a keyboard). load very short clips of the original interviews/statements that the "gaffes" originate from. let Dean have it with him at all times, and at a moment's notice, as soon as someone starts telling these lies about him, he can reply "actually, that's not what happened", whip out the tablet and show the footage; his response will be instantaneous and airtight, and make the attacker look foolish. a normal sized screen is big enough so that even on a TV interview, he'd be able to hold it up in front of him and the camera would catch it for the viewers at home. leave the attacker bumbling and discredited.
anyway, that's my idea. any thoughts?
Posted by jb in nyc at January 13, 2004 12:24 PM