transcript: Judy and Howard on Primetime with Diane Sawyer

See post below for video. Click to read the whole thing, but I was most interested in this exchange on the subject of temper (emphasis mine):

Diane Sawyer: And, some of the political analysts have said that the real problem is that it tapped into another concern, it seemed to re-enforce the concern that had been brought up before about your pressure gauge. And, how you control it. And, specifically the whole issue of temper. So, can I ask you Mrs. Dean, does your husband have a temper?

Judy Dean: Not much. I mean, you know … we've been married for 23 years, and uh, he … he … he is very easy to get along with…

Diane Sawyer: Ever seen … temper, how often does he lose his temper around you?

Judy Dean: I can't remember the last time. He just doesn't get that angry. I mean, he doesn't. You know, he just … he's very kind, very considerate, and uh … it just doesn't happen.

Diane Sawyer: A couple of things on the campaign trail I want to let you address here. Uh, we saw the instance where a Republican, admittedly combative Republican, in one of the town halls asked you a question, and you had a splash (?) point, you reacted …

Howard Dean: You know, I'm not going to say what I, what the guy did, or what he didn't do, or anything like that. My attitude is this basically, uh, I believe people ought to respect each other. And, I want to hold everybody to those standards. I want to hold myself to those standards. And, I want to hold everybody else to those standards. People, you know, this anger stuff, which is, essentially (?) began last March when other campaigns started to spin it, because of the passion of the campaign, I don't really react to that, because I'm not particularly an angry person. And … but I do stand up for people's rights. There was … there was an incident where uh, I think it was an ABC camera person …

Diane Sawyer: Right.

Howard Dean: Uh, was interviewing me, and another cameraman from another station hit her on the head on purpose with his camera, because he wanted to get a better shot. I stopped the interview. I told him to behave himself, uh, and … and to knock it off, and that wasn't the way people treat each other.

Diane Sawyer: And, was there an event where you showed up and then walked out because …

Howard Dean: That's not true. Uh, what happened there, that was a Martin Luther King event. And, uh, one thing we find is that often events like this, including this tape, sort of has a life of its own, when they get in the … in the Beltway (Inaudible) What happened in that event was that 200 people, media people jumped after me. They knocked down one of the congressmen from Iowa, knocked down an aide. Uh, I was supposed to go to a Martin Luther King ceremony. When they got there, the press was so unruly, that I realized I was going to disrupt the ceremony, so we just left. Uh, you know, I do have standards for respect, and I think it's important for people to respect each other, regardless of whether they're media, or whether they're politicians, or whether they're ordinary people, and I do expect people to show respect for others.

Diane Sawyer: But it isn't the first incident in which temper has come into question, and recently a story has been circulating now about the mid-'90s, at a hockey game for your son, which ended in the police being called, and that you were one of the parents there, and then … then you apologized. You called and apologized.

Howard Dean: That (?) didn't (?) happen (?) either (?) A lot of this stuff is urban legend. Uh, there was a hockey game where there was an incident on the ice. Uh, the team was suspended because the coaches threw sticks out on the ice. Don't forget, wherever I traveled as governor, I had a police esc … a police escort. Uh, so I think that if there had been a problem, that I would have been taken out by my own police guys for my safety. A lot of this stuff is about urban legend. And, it happens because uh, other people have observed (?) uh, some of the things I do as anger. I will stand up for what I believe in, and I will stand up to protect weaker people, uh, but I don't often blow up. I think I did not yell at a staff member in 12 years when I was governor. That's just not what I do.

Diane Sawyer: So did you lose your temper at the hockey …

Howard Dean: I never, there certainly was no fighting, there was no … it was nothing of that sort. I don't … I don't remember exactly what this is talking about, but I've never … never been kicked out of a game, I never have uh, you know, been uh, escorted out by any police or anything like that. I had my own police to follow me around in case there were any problems with other people attacking me. There have never been any fights. So, I'm not sure exactly what the …

Diane Sawyer: You don't remember if you blew?

Howard Dean: I don't remember any, uh, blowing up, no.

Diane Sawyer: Because … I looked as far back as what (?), St. George boarding school …

Howard Dean: Uh-huh.

Diane Sawyer: And, I'm looking at something you wrote about yourself at St. George boarding school. And, you said, if you want to get to know me, you should be the curious type who can put up with a temper.

Howard Dean: I think if you have a temper when you're 16, that's not saying anything about (Inaudible) when you're 50.

Diane Sawyer: And, you wouldn't consider a person who then (?) has had a lifelong, uh, what expression of temper?

Howard Dean: Well, let's look at what you're saying. You're talking about a hockey game that may or may not have uh, happened. You're talking about a tape in which I was exuberant. And, what else are you talking about?

Diane Sawyer: (Sighs)

Howard Dean: I mean, you're making the case …

Diane Sawyer: Well, no let me ask you …

Howard Dean: And I'm saying, you know, have I ever blown up? Yes. Did I blow up once at a staff member in 12 years? Not ever. So, I mean, I understand your desire to make the case, as … as the all the other campaigns would like to, but the fact is, that it's what always happened. It's a small modicum of truth, and then it gets … grown (?)

It's frustrating to read, but I think it comes across better in the actual video. It's good that Sawyer is rehashing all the idiotic accusations of temper - including dredging up his St. George's statement - because now it's been dealt with, and shown to be without merit.