The unsung hero of Obama

By
Bill Press                                                                          Read Spanish Version

"No
good deed goes unpunished." Those words will be emblazoned on
Howard Dean’s tombstone, or should be.

Of
all those responsible for Barack Obama’s successful campaign, Dean is
the least recognized and most unrewarded. Yet in many ways, Dean
paved the way for Obama’s victory. He was John the Baptist to Obama’s
Messiah.

In
2004, then-Gov. Howard Dean — like Obama, a long-shot primary
candidate and Washington outsider — didn’t have access to
traditional sources of funding for Democratic candidates. He turned
instead to the Internet, building a huge base of small but repetitive
online donors nationwide.

Mocked
at first as hopelessly naive, Dean soon shocked the political
establishment by shattering Bill Clinton’s previous fund-raising
record, raising over $50 million in campaign contributions from tens
of thousands of supporters, 38 percent of whom gave less than $200.
Dean also became the first Democrat to forego federal matching funds,
and thus escape the spending limits that go with them.

Obama,
of course, followed Dean’s lead in both areas. He also declined
public financing and raised a significant portion of his funds from
212,000 repeat online donors, who gave $200 or more. Overall, Obama
displayed a fundraising prowess that will be difficult for any future
candidate to match, amassing an astounding $750 million for the
general and primary campaigns. But he did it all by following a path
forged by Howard Dean.

After
losing the primary to John Kerry, Howard Dean settled for the
consolation prize of serving as the Democratic Party’s next national
chairman — whereupon he was immediately snubbed by party leaders.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid let
it be known that they, not Chairman Dean, would speak for party
policy. Congressman Rahm Emanuel, then chair of the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee, publicly scolded Dean for not
raising enough money for congressional races. Other leading Democrats
simply ignored him.

Meanwhile,
Dean again broke with tradition by building what he called a "50
state" strategy. Instead of concentrating resources in big blue
states to help Democratic incumbents, as Emanuel demanded, Dean hired
organizers chosen by state parties in every one of the 50 states. For
the first time, Democrats actually opened field offices in places
where they’d never been seen before: Kansas, Utah, Montana, Missouri,
Mississippi — even Alaska. And Dean visited every one of them.

To
many Democrats, it seemed crazy at the time. But when 2007 rolled
around, Democratic primary candidates could count on an existing
political base in every state: red, blue and purple. Nobody took
advantage of that resource better than Barack Obama. He also decided
to build a campaign operation in every state. He wisely targeted
smaller, caucus states, not just the big primary states. And when he
arrived in those states, he found an existing political operation,
built by Howard Dean.

Obama
wasn’t the only one to benefit from Dean’s 50-state strategy. During
his tenure as DNC chair, Democrats also won back control of both
houses of Congress, plus the majority of state legislatures and the
majority of governorships — all of which they had lost under the
Clinton years. Again, Democrats found themselves winning where they’d
never even been competitive before. And while those big wins cannot
be solely attributed to Dean, they couldn’t have happened without
him.

In
one other important way, Howard Dean, perhaps unintentionally, helped
Obama. When Michigan and Florida violated DNC rules by moving their
primaries forward, Dean immediately ruled that their delegates would
not be counted in the tally necessary to win the nomination. Without
their votes, Hillary Clinton could never catch up. Fairly or
unfairly, Dean’s discounting of Michigan and Florida helped make
Obama appear unbeatable — and Hillary, desperate.

For
all his success in rebuilding and expanding the Democratic Party
base, Howard Dean is being amply rewarded. Right? No, it didn’t
exactly work out that way.

Once
Obama was elected, Dean realized that his old nemesis, Rahm Emanuel,
now White House chief of staff, would convince the new president to
put his own man in the job, so he stepped down as DNC chair rather
than seek a second term. Dean applied for appointment as secretary of
Health and Human Services instead, but was quickly shot down. So now
Dr. Dean is left with no job and few options, except returning to
Vermont to practice medicine.

But
who said politics is fair? No good deed goes unpunished.

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "Train
Wreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution (and Not a Moment Too
Soon)." You
can hear "The Bill Press Show" at his Web site:
billpressshow.com. His email address is: bill@billpress.com.
(c)
2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.