Dean, Howard (1948–)

Howard Dean was a candidate in the 2004 presidential election and currently serves as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Dean was born in New York and studied at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine before moving to Vermont and establishing a medical practice. He began his political career as a state representative in the Vermont House and was then elected as lieutenant governor in 1986. Dean became Vermont's governor on August 14, 1991. He served as governor for 11 years, during which time he achieved a balanced budget and implemented a program that provided universal health care for children and pregnant women in the state.

On June 23, 2003, Dean officially announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the presidential election of 2004. He was the first officially declared candidate against incumbent president George W. Bush. Dean had already been unofficially campaigning for 2 years, after his decision not to run for another term as governor. The Dean campaign firmly committed to the issues of health care, a balanced budget, and a restructuring of the war in Iraq. In fact, Dean was the only Democratic candidate to oppose the war in Iraq from the outset of his campaign.

Dean also stressed the importance of the Democratic Party maintaining its core beliefs and not moving to the right to secure more votes. One of the speech modules that he used in almost every campaign speech was that he represented the “Democratic wing of the Democratic party,” and he often discussed how centralizing the party's beliefs could be dangerous and ineffective. This message resonated with some Democratic voters who were seeking a candidate outside the influence of the Washington beltway.

Though Dean was initially dismissed by political pundits, his ability to fundraise and mobilize loyal constituents helped him gain recognition in the surfacing (preprimary) stage. Much of his initial success came from his unequaled ability to utilize the Internet. Dean exploited the full potential of the Internet, harnessing its power to present the issues, collect donations, and most importantly, to dispense information to constituents. Despite his early success in surfacing, victory in the primary eluded him. His zeal and excitement ultimately resulted in a notorious scream at a campaign speech following his devastating primary loss in Iowa. John Kerry soon clenched the Democratic nomination, although he [Page 159]eventually lost the 2004 election to the incumbent, George W. Bush.

Subsequent to his attempt at the presidency, Dean continued his grassroots approach to political organizing with the establishment of Democracy for America. This political action committee's mission is to rebuild the Democratic Party from the ground up. In February 2005, Dean was nominated to be the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, where he is currently fostering Democratic competitiveness in all 50 states and refocusing the party on traditional Democratic values.