When Howard Dean’s presidential campaign floundered in 2004, many thought his days as a major player in politics were over. Four years later, Dean is credited for having rejuvenated not only his own political reputation, but also for contributing to the Democrats recent takeover of Washington.

It was more than four years ago that Howard Dean put an exclamation point of his sinking presidential campaign, with his now infamous “scream speech” after the New Hampshire primary in 2004. The speech featured a dejected Dean, coming off of a crippling second-place finish, screaming something along the lines of “yeeaargh” as he listed off a large chunk of the remaining states in the union that he was hoping to win.

Contrary to the ruminations of many pundits, the scream is not what did Dean in. The New Hampshire primary effectively ended his hopes for the nomination. Nonetheless, it was this speech that came to define Dean and his campaign.

But now, in the wake of an historic election which saw President-elect Barack Obama pull out a blowout win that included victories in traditionally red states, Howard Dean seems to have found redemption -amongst his party, its supporters and, in some instances, the media.

Earlier this week, as expected, Dean stepped down from his post as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As speculation abounds over Dean’s future and his prospects for a cabinet level position in an Obama administration, it is worth looking into his role in this presidential election and in the Democratic Party’s campaign apparatus. Dean, by many accounts, deserves credit for two major elements of the Obama campaign and the Democratic domination of Congress: the implementation of the 50-state-strategy and his role in the growth of the “Netroots” which has grown into a crucial fundraising tool for the party establishment.

The road to the chairmanship

When Dean took the chairman job in 2005 it was viewed as a fairly benign post that provided little opportunities for its holder to shape the direction of the Democratic Party in any
meaningful way. The Party was coming off an embarrassing presidential loss to President Bush, after a lackluster campaign led by John Kerry that failed to take advantage of growing anti-war sentiment that had been fostering among the country, and would eventually catapult the Democrats into power in the legislative branch during the 2006 mid-term elections.

Dean had previously attempted to harness this energy into his presidential campaign, and for a while was quite successful. Weeks before the New Hampshire primary, Dean was leading in the polls. But, in the days before the primary, his stock started plummeting dramatically. Democrats feared Dean would be unelectable in the general election and members of the democratic establishment were resistant to Dean and went on the attack.

While Dean’s liberalism was often overstated (he is actually a fiscal conservative and a staunch drug warrior), he and his supporters represented something of a shift from the centrist, pro-business wing of the party that had dominated it for much of the 1990s and early 2000s.

Channeling the words of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, Dean would argue that he was “from the Democratic wing of the Democratic party.”

But this line of thought did not sit well with the party establishment, the most powerful of whom (Bill and Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, Joe Lieberman etc …) had aligned themselves with the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), a group which was started in 1984 in reaction to Ronald Reagan’s blowout win over George McGovern in the 1984 presidential election. The basic goal of the DLC was to move the party to the right, especially on matters of economics and foreign policy, under the theory that this was the only way to curb Republican dominance of the federal government.

The DLC sharply attacked Dean, saying he was from “The McGovern-Mondale wing” of the Party, defined “principally by weakness abroad and elitist, interest group liberalism at home.”
In July of that year, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, then- chairman of the DLC, said “The [Bush] Administration is being run by the far-right. The Democratic Party is in danger of being taken over by the far left.” They also joked about Dean’s web site following by asking: “Will he be the next dot com bust?”

Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, gave the Democratic radio address to the nation this week. He used it to come out strongly against Senator John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential candidate.

“Citing Senator John McCain’s belief that the country is better off, when more than a quarter of a million jobs have been lost this year and many people are struggling to make ends met, Dean noted how out of touch McCain is with the challenges facing American families,” the DNC said in a statement Saturday. “Despite his talk about fiscal discipline, Senator McCain has failed to account for the costs of a long-term engagement in Iraq, making the Bush tax cuts permanent, and giving additional tax cuts to billionaires.”

Transcript:

Good morning. I’m Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. I want to start by offering Pope Benedict XVI the warmest welcome as he travels here in the United States. He is in our thoughts and prayers while he visits America.

His visit reminds us of the Catholic values of social justice, working for the common good, and caring for those most in need.

These are also the values of the Democratic Party.

We face challenging times in our country and our world. Our troops are in Iraq – many on their second or even third tour of duty. The gap between the most fortunate and everyone else is widening. As we elect our nation’s next leader it’s important that we choose someone who understands the struggles that so many families here at home face as they try to make ends meet.

As I listened to Senator John McCain’s remarks about the economy this week, I heard more of the same Republican policies that George Bush has brought us for the last eight years.

This year, more than a quarter of a million Americans have already lost their jobs. Since the Republicans have occupied the White House, seven million more Americans have lost their health insurance. Wages have fallen. Gas prices are at record highs. And even groceries cost more than they have in the past 17 years. And America has the largest deficits in our history.

Senator McCain believes we are better off.

On the campaign trail, Senator McCain talks about spending American tax dollars responsibly. But how can he think he’ll pay for a $12 billion a month war in Iraq, make the Bush tax cuts permanent, and give additional tax cuts to billionaires without making our deficits even bigger?

So far in this campaign we have heard very little “straight talk” from John McCain.

He was against the Bush tax cuts before he was for them. He was for comprehensive immigration reform before he was against it. He was for campaign finance reform before he said it didn’t apply to him.

Next week, Senator McCain will embark on what he’s calling a compassion tour. We haven’t seen much compassion from George Bush and I don’t think we are going to see any more from John McCain: privatizing social security, denying our children health care, adding eight trillion in new deficits, no plan to turn our economy around, or help people keep their homes.

We honor John McCain’s service to our country, but John McCain is not the right choice for America’s future. This November, voters do have a choice. If you want to see more of this Bush economy, if you want to see our troops in Iraq for a long period of time, we can stay the course with Senator McCain.

But the Democrats have a different vision for America’s future. Both of our candidates for president have a plan to get us out of Iraq responsibly so that we can invest in the American people and American jobs.

We have a history of balancing budgets, the only party to do so in the past 40 years. Both of our candidates will turn our economy around with fair and honest tax policies, will help people keep their homes, and finally have a health care system that makes sense for all of us.

But most importantly, both of our candidates will restore America’s moral leadership at home and around the world.

I’m Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Thanks so much for listening.