Fiery Dean draw cheers over Kerry, Gephardt in Iowa

By Aziz P. -

Reuters has a report about the Iowa event this Saturday where Dean, Gephardt, and Kerry all presented themselves to Iowa democrats. By all accounts, Dean came across strong:

The standing-room-only dinner gave the candidates their first major showcase in Iowa, and they used it to take turns bashing Bush and offering their vision for the nation.
...
The fiery Dean earned the night's biggest cheers, drawing a huge roar when he hammered Bush for characterizing Michigan's college admissions policy a quota system and when he said Democrats have failed to stand up for their principles.

He won a partial standing ovation when he said he was the only Democrat in the presidential field to oppose the congressional resolution authorizing military action against Iraq. Kerry and Gephardt, who both voted for the resolution, sat quietly.

"I came here leaning toward Kerry and I still am," Genie Oster, a student at the University of Iowa, said after the speeches. "But I was really, really impressed with Dean. I didn't know anything about him before tonight."

Nick Maybanks, a prosecutor in Iowa City and head of the local Sierra Club (news - web sites) chapter, said he was inspired by the evening to "go out and spread the word about John Kerry." But he said he had not completely made up his mind, adding he would "leave a little space open for Howard Dean."

"I really enjoyed him, he got everyone psyched up," he said. "I'm going to have more chances to talk to him and I'm going to hear a lot more speeches. We have plenty of time."


If any readers of the DeanBlog can provide us a transcript of the event, we would be grateful. CSPAN carried Dean's speech but they do not yet have a video link up on their website. We will post more information as soon as we get any.

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