Ever heard of caller ID?
Howard Dean may understand the virtues of the Internet for fundraising, but he doesn't seem to have mastered the basic etiquette of another high-tech gadget -- the cellphone. The Associated Press reports that Dean was addressing about two dozen voters gathered in a supporter's living room last night when his unmuted phone started to ring. He pulled it from his jacket and announced, "This one I'm going to get." After greeting the caller, Dean told the crowd it was former Vice President Al Gore. The crowd cheered and Dean put the phone back to his ear and said, "You're just as popular in Iowa as you were here before." Dean then asked Gore if he could call him later and passed the phone to a staffer with instructions to take down Gore's home number.
-CQ Today Midday Update [1/7/2004]