“Step up, step up. No pushing, people. The Fires of Hell(R) are here today! That’s right, there is no awaiting the afterlife. You can get your damnation right here, right now - for free! People are awaiting your call for eternal damnation right here on earth.”
No waiting. One size fits all!
I ponder the Howard Dean thing. Here’s a guy that prides himself on being a loose cannon. The DNC put him in the driver’s seat, and - no surprise to anyone - he blasts his cannon balls at random. I like the guy, more power to him, but even I’m embarrassed at some of his gaffs. Still, I wonder if they’re not as off-the-cuff as they seem.
Perhaps I give the DNC too much credit. Putting Howard out in front is like how school bus drivers deal with the known trouble makers - no better way to keep an eye (or many, many eyes) on the bad kid than setting him in the front seat. Besides, one thing he can’t do from his current position is run again for president. Returning to the cannon metaphor, the best place to stand near one is behind, no?
This I see: Let Howard enrage the left and right alike. The right already hates him, they’ll enjoy bashing him as always. It’ll keep them occupied. Those on the left whom are ambivalent to his message will find solace when (dare I say if) the DNC trot our their 2007 line-up of potentiates who, by contrast, will seem oh-so-reasonable.
Win-win? We’ll see.