Dean Campaigns in the Past Tense

Howard Dean came out onto the stage wearing a broad smile.

Mary Rasmussen, a local member of the Democratic National Committee and a delegate to the national convention, had just told Dean that she planned to vote for him when the party gathered in July.

“We’re up one vote!” the candidate told a few hundred students assembled Monday in an auditorium on the University of Wisconsin campus in La Crosse.

On the eve of what may be his last contest in the 2004 race, the former Vermont governor tried to put on a brave face, fanning the embers of hope for his struggling candidacy and insisting -- yet again -- that he would stay in the race even if he loses today’s primary in Wisconsin.

But for the first time, Dean appeared to be accepting the likelihood that his insurgent campaign, which once seemed unstoppable, was coming to an end.

He largely refrained from criticizing his rivals by name and spoke about the importance of not undermining the eventual Democratic nominee. He outlined, in general terms, the kind of movement he might lead after the election.

And during a news conference, he spoke wistfully about his presidential bid in the past tense.

“This campaign was fueled by an intense desire to change presidents and make sure that George Bush went back to Crawford, Texas,” he said.

“The reason this campaign did so well pre-Iowa is because I was the only candidate willing to stand up to George Bush when it mattered, when everybody else was ducking for cover, was afraid.

“There’ll be time for discussions if I don’t win the nomination about how to deal with not winning the nomination,” he said. “I don’t think that time is quite here yet.”

But at times, Dean sounded as if he was already taking stock, indulging in moments of reflection about what his two years of running for president had accomplished.

“A lot of new things have happened because of this campaign,” he said in La Crosse. “We did get to put some spine in the Democratic Party again after an absence of that.”

Behind the scenes, there was mounting evidence that Dean’s bid was coming to an end. The former governor said Steve Grossman, his campaign chairman, was no longer with the campaign a day after Grossman told reporters he would support Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry if Dean lost in Wisconsin. A campaign spokesman said he did not know if Grossman would be replaced.

Also, there is near-consensus among Dean’s advisors that he should drop out unless he is able to stage a surprise comeback today.

Lately, his aides haven’t attempted to make an argument to reporters that the candidate remains competitive.

During a 10-minute news conference in a university classroom in La Crosse, the usually candid Dean refused to answer half a dozen questions about his campaign’s prospects and the internal turmoil, including Grossman’s departure.

“I’m not going to get into that,” he said repeatedly.

Dean insisted he remained optimistic about his chances, at one point joking about starting conversations with Kerry and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards about who would make a better running mate.

“I still have some hope of being the nominee,” he said.

At three rallies across the state, the candidate delivered his usually rousing campaign speech, arguing that he is the only Democratic candidate offering real change. But in odd moments of dissonance, Dean occasionally spoke as if he was already pivoting from a presidential candidate to the leader of a grass-roots movement.

“We’re going to keep that going until we get the reforms we want,” he said, laying out a platform of sustainable environmental policies, universal health insurance and high-paying jobs.

He dismissed the idea that he would be able to deliver his hundreds of thousands of supporters to the Democratic nominee, but said he would work to defeat President Bush.

“The one thing I’m going to ask everybody to do is in some way make sure that George Bush does not get reelected president of the United States,” he said.

Dean’s future was on the mind of his supporters Monday, many of whom asked him about his plans.

At a union hall in Wausau, a man told Dean he was moved to support him after hearing him give a fiery speech at the state convention last summer.

“You’ve got a movement here beyond tomorrow,” the man said. “Are you thinking about where it’s headed yet?”

Dean told him he was.

“I have enough faith in the strength of our government and the strength of our people,” Dean said, “to figure out that ultimately we will prevail.”