Dean is now the assumed candidate
Gore ‘backs Dean for Democrats’. The former vice president is to endorse Howard Dean as the US Democrats’ best choice to run in 2004.
This endorsement by Gore signifies that Howard Dean now has the support of large portions of the Democratic establishment, the same establishment that mocked and ignored Dean for months.
The Hartford (CT) Courant reports this morning that the endorsement is a serious slap in the face to Joe Lieberman, Gores’s running mate in 2000, who apparently learned the news from press reports and who was not notified in advance. Dean is now polling ahead of Kerry in Massachusetts, which is Kerry’s home state.
I’ve been following the Dean campaign for months. It’s been fascinating to watch him emerge out of nowhere to become the front runner, and his use of the Internet has been innovative and groundbreaking.
A Presidential campaign race between Bush and Dean will, among others things, be a battle between a traditional hierarchical campaign and a modern networked campaign. There have been books written on hierarchies vs. networks, ans the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. One major point to remember is that hierarchies have a difficult time understanding how networks operate, something which becomes a major advantage to networks.
Can Dean win? Yes, I absolutely think he has a serious chance of becoming President. as more and more people become repulsed by the extremism of George Bush. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines, now is the time to get involved.