WASHINGTON -- When former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean launched his bid for the presidency in 2003, he attracted a huge following by slamming the Democratic Party for giving the Bush administration a honeymoon even as the Iraq War was already turning sour.
At a Democratic National Committee meeting in February 2003, Dean began his speech by ripping into the party leadership for not being tough enough on President George W. Bush. After his mini-tirade, the governor uttered what would become his most famous applause line: "I'm Howard Dean and I'm here to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party."
The riff resonated for a reason. But as Dean went from obscure governor of a small Northeastern liberal state to improbable primary front-runner, his party's establishment began to turn on him. Democratic donors started working in secret against him, funding a shadowy group to attack Dean. There were even rumors floated that his wife was about to file for divorce.
The attacks got so bad that Dean actually considered leaving the party, as he detailed in his interview with Candidate Confessional.
Former Vice President Al Gore, who had bucked the establishment and endorsed Dean, phoned him in the middle of the night. Dean was in a hotel room in Milwaukee licking his wounds. "'Why am I a Democrat?'" Dean recalled asking Gore. "'Why do I have to deal with these people? Explain to me why I should do anything for the Democratic Party."
Dean said he considered quitting the party for only about 24 hours. "I went home and got some sleep and cleaned my garage out and was much better," he said.
But the situation didn't improve on the campaign trail. Voters began to view Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as the safer alternative ("Dated Dean, Married Kerry" became something of a meme).
Presidential campaigns are brutal for good reason, Dean said.
"This is a battle for the most powerful position on the face of the earth," he said. "You think people are going to be nice? You think they're not going to spread rumors about your wife [getting] a divorce?"
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