I don’t dismiss pathos. It is, among the three major appeals, by far the strongest and, in that regard, the most important. But that doesn’t mean I have to accept that appeal as the most effective in all rhetorical situations. It’s employment is a kairotic choice that may be judged as effective or not as the case may be. In this case, I’m going with “not”

The press master narrative of an angry, leftist Dean is out of whack, in my opinion (but, then, most of their narratives about the candidates–even Bush–are out of whack). While he certainly gets some mileage out of “anger” (nothing new in campaign politics), his record on the trail seems to me just as centrist as his record as governor. I think many pundits want to pigeon-hole his war stance as leftist–indeed any opposition as leftist, which I consider merely pejorative nonsense.