Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Howard Dean Speaks--So Does The Audience. Dean Tells a Whopper.













The audience, more hostile than not, seems to be trying to chant its way through Dean's talk. If I didn't know better, I would say that the chanters are trying make Howard Dean lose his cool.

There's a ruckus on the floor. I think it's Randall Terry, the anti-abortion activist. Dean just sat down, and Jim Moran is back at the podium.

Then the crowd quieted down, and Dean finished talking. That's him, above, next to the red arrow.

Now it's time for Q's and A's. In his first answer, Dean committed something of a howler. He said that the British National Health Service was established by "one of the most conservative leaders, Winston Churchill." Well, no, Dr. Dean, that's simply not a true statement.

The NHS began operations in 1948, when Clement Attlee, prime minister from 1945 to 1951, was firmly ensconced at 10 Downing Street. It is true, of course, that the Tories in Britain have mostly defended the NHS, but that's not the same thing as saying that Churchill started.