February 18, 200422 yr Dean to End Campaign, Mobilize Supporters 13 minutes ago By RON FOURNIER and JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writers WASHINGTON - Howard Dean (news - web sites) will end his campaign for the presidential nomination and oversee a new effort to keep his issues alive and his supporters organized on behalf of Democratic causes, two party officials said Wednesday. Dean was to announce his plans at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The sources said the shape of the new effort is still to be determined but that Dean would eventually support the Democratic Party's nominee. One official said Dean would help elect Democrats to Congress in the fall. Dean was mulling whether to endorse one of his rivals. The former Vermont governor has been impressed with North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites), and grateful that he has not criticized Dean, the officials said. Dean spoke to both Edwards and front-runner John Kerry (news - web sites) on Tuesday night to congratulate them on their performances, and to inform them about his plans to help the party after leaving the race. Still, the officials cautioned, the chance for endorsement remained slim. Either way, an endorsement is not expected soon. Dean exits the active race certain in the knowledge that he will live on in the annals of U.S. politics for shattering Democratic fund-raising records with $41 million collected in a single year ? as well as on late-night television and Internet parodies for a high-octane concession speech on the night of the Iowa caucuses that he's likely never to live down. The former Vermont governor is the political equivalent of a supernova. Once a long-shot candidate, the Internet phenomenon filled his campaign coffers and attracted thousands of supporters through the spring and summer, pushing him to the head of the crowded Democratic field. The leader in national polls ? and more important state polls in the first states of Iowa and New Hampshire ? Dean seemed poised to win the nomination in a runaway. In the end, he never won a single state through 17 contests. Historians will judge, but Dean and his devoted supporters are convinced that they more than anyone else defined the Democratic debate through his unwavering criticism of President Bush (news - web sites), the Iraq (news - web sites) war and Democrats who helped Bush push his agenda through Congress. "Because of your work, we have already written the Democratic Party platform," Dean declared Monday night at an exuberant Madison rally that harkened to the heady days when he was more focused on a running mate than exiting the race. For that latter part of 2003 and the early days of this year, Dean seemed untouchable, emerging from miscues and gaffes with yet another fund-raising record or high-profile endorsement. Nothing could dissuade the 640,000 people who joined his campaign via his Web site. They contributed $41 million last year and then pumped millions more this year into a campaign that was faltering even before Iowans dealt the first blow. Dean was the most unlikely of heroes for this movement of liberals, disaffected voters and youth. Born to wealth on New York's Park Avenue, his Yale pedigree was much closer to Bush's than the working people to whom he said he was giving voice. As he left the Vermont governor's office in January 2003 after nearly 12 years, Dean had a presidential campaign staff of a half-dozen and about $157,000 in the bank. But one of those staffers had found a then-obscure Internet organizing site, known as MeetUp.com. Dean became the first political candidate to sign up for it and suddenly thousands of people were finding him, organizing local events and fund-raisers and slowly making him a force. His blunt speaking style and full-throated opposition to the Iraq war at a time when almost all of the other major contenders were trying to explain their support for it gave him an edge. Even then he was still little more than an afterthought, but he had raised enough money to begin competing and was relentless in appearing everywhere he could. By February last year, he had begun focusing his criticism not just on Bush but on his fellow Democrats, accusing them of being too timid in fighting for the party's core principles. "I'm Howard Dean and I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," Dean declared at a Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) meeting in Washington last year that caught everyone's attention. The line had been a staple of the late Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone. Dean tapped into Democrats' nagging belief that their national leaders had lost their way and were too blindly allowing Bush and the Republicans to set the agenda. But even at that early stage there were signs of Dean's penchant for speaking before all the facts were straight. He apologized to rival John Edwards for mischaracterizing the North Carolina senator's position on the Iraq war, and offered his regrets to foe Bob Graham for dismissing him as a second-tier candidate. Each misstep, though, seemed only to embolden Dean and his supporters. After Dean's performance on NBC's "Meet the Press" last June was widely panned, supporters decided to prove the establishment wrong, raising more than $3 million over the Internet in just a week. Suddenly, Dean appeared to be the man to beat. The "People-Powered Howard" movement had begun and the money kept rolling in. It got his opponents' attention, too, and they stepped up the criticism. Dean stirred controversy in November for saying he wanted "to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks," then quieted the uproar by winning the endorsement of two of the country's largest unions ? the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union. Dean then snagged one of the biggest prizes ? the backing of former Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites), the nominee in 2000. Days before the Iowa caucuses, four-year-old tapes surfaced of Dean telling Canadian television that caucuses are dominated by special interests. He doused that firestorm quickly by winning the endorsement of Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin. While it always appeared that Dean could emerge unscathed from the missteps, ultimately, it added up and voters decided to go with a familiar Washington face. By the time the Iowa votes were counted, Dean had finished a distant third behind Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Edwards. It was the first election loss of his 20-year career. Then Dean ended his full-throttle concession speech with a scream that has played endlessly on the Internet and late-night talk shows.
February 18, 200422 yr Updated February 17, 2004 Breaking News DEAN CLAIMS HE IS WINNING IN PARALLEL UNIVERSE Addresses Annual Sci-Fi Convention Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean gave his most detailed rationale for staying in the Democratic race for President today, telling a San Diego audience that he was close to clinching the nomination in a parallel world known as Earth II. ?Every media pundit on Earth says I?m crazy to stay in this race,? Mr. Dean said. ?But on Earth II it?s a whole different story.? Mr. Dean?s revelations about his Earth II electoral victories came in a keynote speech he delivered to the National Association of Science Fiction Fans, holding its annual convention in San Diego. According to Mr. Dean, yesterday he trounced Senator John Kerry (D-Mass) in Earth II?s version of the Wisconsin primary, and he is looking forward to racking up more big victories in next week?s contests, known on Earth II as ?Super Friday.? But Mr. Dean saved his most surprising news for last: that he expects his impressive string of victories in the parallel universe to translate eventually into victories here on Earth, or as he called it, ?Earth I.? ?As my margins of victory on Earth II approach 100% and my vote tallies on Earth I dwindle to 0%, there will be a crack in time and space and the two worlds will converge,? Mr. Dean told the sci-fi fans, who seemed receptive to such a scenario. Moments after Mr. Dean?s speech, however, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) served notice to the Dean camp that, in his words, ?A battle is underway for the delusional wing of the Democratic Party.? Mr. Dean then released his military service records to the press, showing that he won the Vietnam War in 1971.
February 18, 200422 yr Sadly, Bush will be president for another 4 years. But that happens when half the country listens to the Republican... I mean Fox News Channel.
February 18, 200422 yr Sadly, Bush will be president for another 4 years. But that happens when half the country listens to the Republican... I mean Fox News Channel. give me examples of Fox News being so Republican. Most of the press is liberal anyways.
February 18, 200422 yr it still all depends on voter turnout. if lots of people, particularily younger people turn out and vote, bush is in real trouble. else.... lord.
February 18, 200422 yr Sadly, Bush will be president for another 4 years. But that happens when half the country listens to the Republican... I mean Fox News Channel. give me examples of Fox News being so Republican. Most of the press is liberal anyways. Sean Hannity is one good example.
February 18, 200422 yr Sadly, Bush will be president for another 4 years. But that happens when half the country listens to the Republican... I mean Fox News Channel. give me examples of Fox News being so Republican. Most of the press is liberal anyways. Sean Hannity is one good example. Colmes is on the same show though. That is a balanced show.
February 18, 200422 yr Sadly, Bush will be president for another 4 years. But that happens when half the country listens to the Republican... I mean Fox News Channel. give me examples of Fox News being so Republican. Most of the press is liberal anyways. its pretty much known that fox news is THE channel for conservative talk.
February 18, 200422 yr Sadly, Bush will be president for another 4 years. But that happens when half the country listens to the Republican... I mean Fox News Channel. give me examples of Fox News being so Republican. Most of the press is liberal anyways. its pretty much known that fox news is THE channel for conservative talk. I know thats what people say but I don't believe it. I think that it looks conservative because all the other news coverage is liberal.
February 18, 200422 yr now that i've got cable tv, i watch a TON of fox news, msnbc, and cnn. fox news is clearly biased on the conservative side. i don't see them as impartial since so much of their coverage is so clearly spun for republicans. when facts are reported with sidebars, you can call it spin. that said, cnn is also clearly biased on the liberal side. they also enjoy the spin.
February 18, 200422 yr lol, well damn, 1 frickin channel is conservative, and the television as a whole is contaminated. lol. People act like they are getting duped into believing conservative stuff. If one is watching Fox News and understanding whats going on (i.e. voters), then they understand its conservative (and that's why they watch it. If not, they'll turn it to CNN or somethin else.
February 18, 200422 yr Colmes is on the same show though. That is a balanced show. Oh, man, you need to read Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right by Al Franken. The working title for the "Hannity and Colmes Show" was "Hannity and Liberal to be Named Later." It's a joke. BTW, opinion surveys of news reporters do show a slight liberal bias. But opinion surveys conducted just with NEWS EDITORS show an overwhelming conservative bias. The people who CONTROL the news lean right.
February 18, 200422 yr when facts are reported with sidebars, you can call it spin. Good point. I loved the caption Fox kept showing on a recent "fair and balanced" discussion: PROOF KERRY PRESIDENCY WOULD CAUSE STOCK VALUES TO FALL
February 18, 200422 yr Sadly, Bush will be president for another 4 years. But that happens when half the country listens to the Republican... I mean Fox News Channel. give me examples of Fox News being so Republican. Most of the press is liberal anyways. Sean Hannity is one good example. Alan colmes= counter example. The press in america is DEFINITELY socially liberal and a bit economically, with conservative blood lust. The media is also pretty pro life at times. BTW, Colmes makes an idiot out of hannity because he's a smarter and better arguer. I can disagree with him and he easily defeats hannity. wouldn't the show be more liberal then, because the conservative dinosaur constantly gets slayed?
February 18, 200422 yr BTW, opinion surveys of news reporters do show a slight liberal bias. But opinion surveys conducted just with NEWS EDITORS show an overwhelming conservative bias. The people who CONTROL the news lean right. :banghead :banghead
February 19, 200422 yr Anyone notice that everything on the "dean machine" started falling apart after gore endorsed him? "WHERE GOING TO LOSE IN NORTH DAKOTA, AND SOUTH DAKOTA, AND CALIFORNIA, AND NEW YORK, AND MICHIGAN..... YYYEEEAAAHHHH!!!!!" :jackass
February 19, 200422 yr Reminder to all. most people I know and it has been surveyed that major in journalism are more leftist than conservative. A bias is to be expected.
February 19, 200422 yr I avoid watching Fox News because I know they are conservatives. i myself am an independent liberal. Hell even Reagan's son os a liberal.
February 19, 200422 yr Sadly, Bush will be president for another 4 years. But that happens when half the country listens to the Republican... I mean Fox News Channel. give me examples of Fox News being so Republican. Most of the press is liberal anyways. Sean Hannity is one good example. Colmes is on the same show though. That is a balanced show. Bwah! Colmes couldn't hold his own against a 4-year old girl.
February 19, 200422 yr yeah... i actually enjoy watching fox news, but their debate shows are not exactly balanced. they'll pair an outspoken, biting, very conservative commentator like sean hannity with a soft-spoken, conciliatory pushover of a liberal like alan colmes. or they'll pair fred barnes--a super conservative republican--with mort kondracke--a super conservative democrat--in the beltway boys. the whole charade is a little amusing, but i still enjoy watching it.
February 19, 200422 yr pushover my ass, colmes always wins, because he's actually smart unlike Hannity, who's response to every argument is "america saved the world from facism, nazism, and communism." I can beat that. Colmes: Hannity, there weren't any weapons in Iraq! Hannity: america saved the world from facism, nazism, and communism Colmes: This new budget is really bad! Hannity: america saved the world from facism, nazism, and communism Colmes: Are you some sort of robot that repeats the same thing that has nothing to do with the argument? Hannity: america saved the world from facism, nazism, and communism It's the same crap from hannity, he sounds like an idiot when someone with half a brain listens to him. I do like it when colmes and hannity agree on an issue and they doubleteam against the guest on the show.
February 19, 200422 yr All I can say is, "What took him so long?" Now Kerry can concentrate on kicking Bush's butt in November. You people thinking Dean honestly had a shot at beating Bush were off your rockers. Dean had no shot, that's why he got beat in Iowa and NH despite all of his money and supporters. Bush would've had a field day raking Dean over the coals on his gay rights stances and lack of military experience.
February 19, 200422 yr bush is going to get raked over the coals for his pushing of a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriages.
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