Former Vermont governor Howard Dean has announced that he is dropping out of the race to be the Democrats' candidate for the White House.
Mr Dean told a news conference that his candidacy was over but his campaign for change continued.

"What we showed is that by standing up and telling the truth... you could get the support of voters," he said.

Mr Dean's decision to pull out looked inevitable after he finished a distant third in Tuesday's Wisconsin primary.

Surrounded by a crowd of supporters, Mr Dean told the news conference in Burlington, Vermont, " I am no longer actively pursuing the presidency."

But he would continue to build a new organisation, he said, using their grass-roots network to "transform the Democratic Party and change our country."

In keeping with his use of the internet, Mr Dean's web site carried news of his withdrawal before he appeared in public to announce it.

"Please continue to come... for updates and news as our new initiative develops. There is much work still to be done, and today is not an end - it is just the beginning," the message said.

Mr Dean, who finished third in Wisconsin behind front-runner John Kerry and John Edwards, did not endorse another candidate but said he would support the party's nominee.

"The bottom line is that we must beat George W Bush in November, whatever it takes," he said.

Mr Kerry, 60, who won 14 of 16 previous contests to find a challenger to George W Bush, took 40% of votes after a late surge by Mr Edwards who got 34% support.

Grass-roots campaign

Mr Dean was once favourite to be picked by Democrats to stand against President Bush in this year's election.

He built up what seemed formidable grass-roots support, using the internet to attract support and raising millions for his campaign.
But his challenge stumbled from the start when he finished third in the Iowa caucus and second in the New Hampshire primary, both of which he had been expected to win.

It seems despite the initial euphoria, those same grass-roots supporters who may have liked what Mr Dean had to say on Iraq and opposing tax cuts for the rich, were also aware of his deficiencies, says the BBC's David Bamford.

He may once have been the likeliest to win the nomination but was also seen as unlikely to defeat President Bush, our correspondent says.

[Source: BBC]

WISCONSIN RESULTS
John Kerry: 40%
John Edwards: 34%
Howard Dean: 18%
Dennis Kucinich: 3%
Al Sharpton: 2%
Others: 3%
99% of precincts reporting Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Finally.

I take it you are no fan of Howard Dean, Yorrick?

I don't think so -- I think Yorick just realizes Dean clung to the bull after his 8 seconds were up.

I like Dean. He was good for Vermont and would have been a good leader on economic fronts. He cares about change, as you can tell by his promise to continue the efforts started by the grassroots organization "Dean for America." Plus, he's the only candidate I ever stood in a lunch line with. :D

I do wish he had backed Edwards.

Dreamer, did you know your Xanther Thieves Guild avatar is also a Janet Jackson headlight cover? [img]graemlins/biglaugh.gif[/img] I just noticed that.

It saddens me... I really believed in Dean. But I knew it was over when it was over, and he clung too long. Tenacious little bugger, he is. Ah well...

Hm.. Then perhaps we can expect to see a Dreamergate in the near future. ;)

Agreed. Dean should have swallowed the bitter pill of loss and quit ages ago.

Dean was the frontrunner up until about a month ago.He brought a lot of young people to the Democratic party and also energized a lot of disenchanted voters. He was also fairly close to Kerry in delegates needed to get the nomination less than 2 weeks ago. He has an agenda that was very important to many people.

He was a viable candidate less than "ages" ago.

Mark

Sorry.

Relatively ages ago.

A week is a long time in politics.

Mind you, it says a lot about a candidate that they would put their own desire for power ahead of the will of the people (in this case, the party) and what's best for the people (in this case party unity).

Once his fate was written, he should have accepted it and left the two front runners to battle it out.

Also, he broke promises by staying in. He also made the decision without consulting his staff, as he was speaking. Nether broken promises, nor unconsulted "spur of the moment" decisions are things that make a great democratic leader.