Dean scream

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The Howard Dean scream happened on January 19, 2004, in West Des Moines, Iowa. After losing the Iowa caucus to John Kerry, Dean gave a rally at the Val-Air Ballroom and tried to rally his supporters by naming states he would win. The crowd was loud, and when he shouted “Yeah!” and let out a big scream, the moment was captured on video.

The clip spread quickly. In just four days it was shown 633 times on national news networks and cable channels, and it was replayed 937 times in one week. The moment came to be known as the Dean scream or the I Have a Scream. It became a viral image, with fans remixing the moment into songs and memes, and it was even referenced in pop culture.

Context matters. Dean had been leading in polls during much of 2003 with strong support for his antiwar stance, but his campaign faced serious organizational problems. His team’s outreach was inconsistent, and the press focused a lot on his fiery, sometimes hot-tempered image. As Iowa approached, insiders and analysts questioned whether he could build the kind of coalition needed to win the nomination. The Iowa loss and the way Dean was portrayed by the media hurt his standing, and many believed his campaign was already vulnerable.

After the scream, Dean and his team tried to regain momentum. He appeared on various talk shows and sent out videos to supporters in New Hampshire, but the effort didn’t turn the tide. He finished third in New Hampshire and lost other primaries, and he suspended his campaign after finishing a distant third in Wisconsin in February 2004.

Debate continues about how much the scream mattered. Some say the moment destroyed his chances, while others argue the campaign’s problems started before the rally and that the moment simply highlighted them. Some scholars and observers note that if the same moment happened in a different year, with different media dynamics, it might have had a different effect.

Over time the Dean scream became a lasting cultural moment. It was imitated by other politicians and referenced in comedy and television. Dean himself has said he looks back on it with amusement and still receives autograph requests related to it.