and the iron rice bowl of guaranteed employment and steady income was dismantled due to its general impracticality . I don ' t think this was a problem in 1989 yet , the smashing of the iron rice bowl and the sentdownharbor workers were a phenomenon of the 1990 s rather than the 1980 s . The economic crisis that was hitting urban China in 1989 was inflation up to 25 % annually in Beijing due to price liberalization which was devastating to a population largely earning a fixed income from the state . <| sep |> HE WAS NEVER WINNING EVER . Fuck . He made this infamous sound after finishing THIRD in a caucus he was supposed to WIN . Let me say this again , for all the thick skulls here , Howard Dean , was never ever going to win US Democrat nomination and this sound clip did not sink him at all . Polling throughout the primary campaign consistently showed Dean either in first place , or second behind Dick Gephardt . However , last minute surges by rivals John Kerry and John Edwards as well as negative campaigning between the Dean and Gephardt campaigns resulted in an 11 th hour slump for both campaigns . In a poll released by the Des Moines Register just before Caucus Day , Dean registered in third place with 20 %, behind Kerry with 26 %, and Edwards with 23 %, but ahead of Dick Gephardt with 18 %. Throughout Caucus night , Dean was in a fight with Gephardt for third place in Iowa behind Kerry and Edwards . With 100 % of precincts reporting , Kerry received 38 %, Edwards received 32 %, and Dean came in third with 18 % while Gephardt finished in fourth with just 11 % of caucus support . , 2004