Theories abound on what the Dean scream really meant for the Dems. Here's The Economist's take:
But Mr. Dean did more than this. In retrospect, he allowed his party an exquisitely well-timed space to vent its hatred for George Bush. In its former powerless and angry form, Bush-hatred was dragging much of the Democratic Party to the land occupied by blowhards and conspiracy-theorists such as Michael Moore and now, alas, Kevin Phillips. The grass roots were in danger of being taken over by the people who think Mr. Bush is more of a problem than Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. The Dean insurgency allowed the party to get a good deal of this nonsense out its system before, in the nick of time, settling down to the serious business of choosing a candidate. The strange sound that you heard coming from Mr. Dean's mouth back in Iowa was the final session of this scream therapy - the death-rattle of Bush-hatred in its most self-destructive form.
It would be an exaggeration to say that Mr. Dean will be missed: he became both inept and arrogant. But the Dean insurgency has nevertheless left the Democratic Party in a much healthier state than it was just a few months ago. Rank-and-file Democrats are energised without being foam-flecked. Establishment Democrats have a new spring in their step. And Bush haters have realised that revenge is a dish best eaten cold.
I'm not really sure that that's what Mr. Dean had in mind, but then, who really knew what he had in mind? He did a lot for the party in terms of enfranchising the disenfranchised, and he certainly motivated people to get up and get with it, but was he ever really "leadership material?"
Dean made all the candidates look like fools at that debate (if they hadn't made themselves look like fools already, but that's another story...) when he asked them to put their hands in the air and promise that they would support the leader. I mean, they just all stood around, silent, on national t.v. with their hands in the air and dumbfounded looks on thier faces. Hello! This is a debate! Anyway, I knew at that point that Dean wasn't going to win. I think he knew it too. Now I'm just wondering who the heck he's going to throw his support behind. If I were him, I'd choose Edwards, if only because that Kerry guy is a bass player.
And well, bass players, they're nothin' but trouble.
Trust me. I know.