Rolled-up sleeves – LA Times review of Dean's House of Blues event

[pruner]

The mostly leather-jacket-and-denim crowd huddled around the amplifiers, beers in hand, shouting over the opening acts about their first time seeing the headliner. They had memorized his favorite one-liners and quoted him reverently. Some carried business cards identifying themselves as loyalists. On the surface, they were a mild-mannered bunch of boomers.

But when their leader — Howard Dean — took the House of Blues stage on Monday night, their fervor erupted into a deafening roar, and suddenly the sold-out room felt more like a motivational seminar than a political fundraiser.

"This is like the Clinton campaign on steroids," said L.A. for Dean volunteer Michael Meurer, who volunteered for both Clinton-Gore campaigns.

While the capture of Saddam Hussein got Dean bumped from the cover of Newsweek and had his Democratic rivals moving in for the kill, the fact that the House of Blues event sold out that morning impressed everyone.

"To have a party like this feels like we've come a long way," said volunteer Jon Felson, a screenwriter from Santa Monica. "When people underestimate Dean, he just rises above it, and I think he did that today. It really feels like this is it!"

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-et-piccalo17dec17,1,6047860.story?coll=la-home-politics

[VOX]

1. Excellent and upbeat article!

Thanks for posting, pruner --

:toast:

[slinkerwink]

2. great article!

[caledesi]

3. I like Dean! The enthusiasm he brings to a crowd is unreal. eom

[izzie]

4. Nice. I think this man has a lot of the 'grass roots'

I still think the party should stick with its base.