So, I'm watching the Jay Leno show waiting for my personal hero Lyle Lovett to make his announced appearance when Jay starts introducing Howard Dean. My first reaction was to turn it back to HBO2 so I could watch the end of Resident Evil, even though that was a horrible movie. But I decided to stick around and see how the appearance played out. So they chat, typical softball Leno questions. Exactly what you'd expect on a talk show of that ilk. But Dean was comfortable, well-spoken, etc. He came across as a regular guy, comfortable in his skin, etc. And as the interview goes on, I start thinking, hey, this guy ain't bad. Maybe he wouldn't be such a bad president (and I was also taking into account his history as Governor of Vermont and the other things I know about him from reading, etc.) As it goes on, I'm thinking, this guy could actually win. He's got some charisma... or at least as much charisma as a former governor of Vermont can have. I mean, he ain't Tom Cruise. But he's not bad. The man was getting close to getting me to consider thinking about casting my vote his way, and then he blew it right at the end. At the end of the show after Lyle Lovett's number, Dean comes over to the stage with Leno. Jay shakes Lyle's hand and thanks him for coming on the show, and Dean NEVER MAKES A MOVE TO SHAKE LYLE'S HAND. I'm telling you, that was the end of my potential support for Howard Dean. When you are in the presence of the Greatness that is Lyle Lovett, you make a beeline to shake that man's hand. So that was my brief flirtation with possibly voting for a Democrat for the first time in my life.
Maybe Dean didn't feel he was worthy or after the camera's cut off, he got an autograph and took pictures etc.
They had a good segment about him on 60 Minutes II last night, ya should have watched that instead. It was a good piece.
This is gonna sound like a Ferris Bueller story but... My brother dated a girl whose father married into the Klein family. (You know, as in Klein High School...) Lyle was at the wedding. He came into town and forgot to bring his shoes for the suit that he was wearing to the wedding (or left them somewhere else) so the only thing he could wear was the shoes that he happened to have with him before the wedding. Just prior to the wedding he went dirtbike riding on his motorcycle. He wore the muddy ass boots to the wedding with his suit. But it's Lyle, what are you gonna say. Haven't met him personally but my brother tells me he is a hell of a nice guy. BTW Dean always seems super stiff to me. Maybe he was intimidated by Lyle's greatness... Smile Howard.... I SAID SMILE DAMNIT!
That was a good piece, what was interesting was how he has used the internet to gather steam for his campaign and how he has really been the only candidate to take advantage of the internet. A real grass roots campaign.
The only thing I can say about Dean is that he wasn't the host, so he wasn't obligated to shake hands with Lyle. But he should have wanted to just because he had the opportunity.
The fundraising where you could pay money for a picture of him eating a turkey sandwich was hysterical. And very successful.
Hey, we had a whole Governor's race change momentum largely based on one candidate not shaking the other one's hand. But no, I don't make my voting decisions based on that. Honestly, seeing Dean on Leno surprised me because he didn't come across as stiff as he had previously seemed to me. Perhaps he's getting more comfortable with this running for President thing. But I was already considering voting for him based on his record as Governor and some of the ideas he's espoused in the past. And I did learn some things about him (I don't know why I never knew he was a Medical Doctor). But it is important to me that the President have some level of charisma because one of the biggest powers of the President is still the bully pulpit. I guess this was just the first time I saw Dean come across as a guy who seems like he could be President. Of course, given that the show was a rerun from a month ago, I guess I just haven't been paying attention (like a lot of people, I don't really start paying attention until the conventions... if then).
