The Scream Revisited

Anybody notice how victorious Connecticut primary winner Ned Lamont seemed almost to be screaming in his victory speech Tuesday night. Nothing unusual given the background noise he was having to shout over

Lamont is the former Cablevision exec who came out of nowhere to unseat Joe Lieberman by beating him over the head with his support of the Iraq war.

Flashback to another Democrat and another primary: Howard Dean, whose "scream," proved his undoing when it was thrust eagerly into the 24-hour cable news wheel, which then proceeded to run over him.

The difference between Dean and Lamont. The Dean "scream" had been captured by a noise-cancelling microphone that made him seem a bit looney. Of course, Dean had just come in third in Iowa, and Lamont had just won.

But Lieberman seemed pretty loud and enthusiastic last night, too, and he had just lost.

I would be interested in how Lamont's "scream," or Lieberman's enthusiams, would have sounded with a noise-canceling mike. Just a thought.

By John Eggerton