US Democratic presidential hopeful Mr Howard Dean has struggled to explain his nationally televised outburst after a stunning loss in Iowa, putting the "whooping and hollering" down to emotion and fallibility.
"I am who I am," Mr Dean told reporters while campaigning for next Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. "I don't claim to be perfect. I have warts, sometimes I get passionate."
The former Vermont governor chose to address his shrieking, fist-pumping performance after his poor showing in Iowa at his first opportunity in a debate among the seven Democrats vying for the right to challenge President George W. Bush on November 2nd.
"You may notice that my voice is a little hoarse," Mr Dean said last night. "It's not because I was whooping and hollering at my third-place finish in Iowa. It's because I have cold."
"We did have a little fun in Iowa," he said. "I thought I owed it to the 3,500 kids that came out and worked for us."
But civil rights activist Mr Al Sharpton used the explanation to remind Mr Dean of his paltry numbers in Iowa.
"I wanted to say to Gov. Dean, don't be hard on yourself about hooting and hollering," Mr Sharpton said. "If I spent the money you did and got 18 per cent, I'd still be hollering."
Mr Dean is trying to get past the arm-waving hysteria of his Iowa concession speech. Despite being the front-runner for weeks, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry beat him by 20 points. Senator John Edwards of North Carolina came in second.
His in-your-face appearance has been widely lampooned on the Internet and late-night talk shows, but it also has become a distraction and a problem for his campaign, reinforcing Mr Dean's image among some as an "angry" candidate who does not have the temperament to be president.
Many of his advisers were dismayed when they saw replays of his caucus-night eruption and Mr Dean, appearing on ABC News "Prime Time" with his wife on last night, conceded it was unpresidential.