Followup: Howard Done?

This post is a response to a question posed in the Twenty One Names For President post. Here's the comment: "what about howard dean? I'm not at all convinced he's politically dead." This publication has repeatedly remarked on Howard Dean; see Howard Dean's Fatuity for related articles.

To specifically address the comment, let's go over Mr. Dean's rise to prominence:

Mr. Dean was the only Democrat candidate who seem to be breathing on his own in 2004. Aside from Dick Gephardt's "miserable failure" rallying cry, congressional Democrats were handcuffed by their own political actions (think: 'I did vote for it, before I voted against it'). The establishment candidates were tedious and indistinguishable to casual observers.

That left two legitimate outsiders: Gen. Wesley Clark, a 1966 graduate of West Point (where he finished first in his class) and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, 1997-2000. Gen. Clark began behind the eight-ball; he announced his candidacy late and never had a coherent organizational structure to support his effort. Further, his political inexperience caused stumbles which stymied any momentum (he couldn't dance around a question).

That left Dr. Dean, a former Vermont governor who viciously denounced the Iraq war and those who supported it. He gathered a base of support from "the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party;" ideologues on the fringe left of the political spectrum. Mr. Dean's political power was derived from two things: demagoging Iraq after his party dropped the ball by supporting the invasion and by realizing small internet contributions were as fruitful as $1000/plate chicken dinners. His usage of the internet to collect funds was previously unparalleled in politics.

Eventually, the 04' campaign exposed both as political neophytes. Mr. Dean's supporters where placated after the election with his selection as DNC Chairman. It is my belief that Howard Dean's national political prospects lie between slim and none, though a congressional seat isn't totally out of the question.