US election: Convention puts Dean's revolutionary credentials to the test

[cal04]

Meeting of Clinton and Obama factions is defining moment for chairman's grand plan
Michael Tomasky
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/23/democrats2008.uselections2008

As almost everyone in at least two hemispheres knows, next week's Democratic party convention will be the most important four days so far in the life of Barack Obama. Having just barely regained some footing after two disastrous weeks in which he took a beach holiday while enduring a barrage of Republican attacks and saw his lead over John McCain vaporise, Obama arrives in Denver with his future on the line.

But another prominent figure has a lot at stake, too. For Howard Dean, the Democratic party chairman who will oversee the proceedings in the Rocky mountain city, it's not so much about his own future, but his party's future and his legacy as a political leader.

(snip)
"I hope we've changed the way we do Democratic politics in this country," Dean told the Guardian. "And I think it will lead to the election of Barack Obama as president." If it does, Dean will have to go down as one of the most innovative and successful Democratic chairmen of the last 50 years.

(snip)
He has made important converts. "As many people know, Governor Dean was not my first choice to become head of the DNC, nor was he necessarily my second choice," said Harry Reid. "But the success of his 50-state strategy has made a big believer out of me." Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Nancy Pelosi, said: "The 50-state strategy has helped bring more people into the process. Democrats from Barack Obama to House candidates across the country are competing in even bright red states. This will be a great Democratic year."