Rolled-up sleeves

The mostly leather-jacket-and-denim crowd huddled around the amplifiers, beers in hand, shouting over the opening acts about their first time seeing the headliner. They had memorized his favorite one-liners and quoted him reverently. Some carried business cards identifying themselves as loyalists. On the surface, they were a mild-mannered bunch of boomers.

But when their leader -- Howard Dean -- took the House of Blues stage on Monday night, their fervor erupted into a deafening roar, and suddenly the sold-out room felt more like a motivational seminar than a political fundraiser.

“This is like the Clinton campaign on steroids,” said L.A. for Dean volunteer Michael Meurer, who volunteered for both Clinton-Gore campaigns.

While the capture of Saddam Hussein got Dean bumped from the cover of Newsweek and had his Democratic rivals moving in for the kill, the fact that the House of Blues event sold out that morning impressed everyone.

“To have a party like this feels like we’ve come a long way,” said volunteer Jon Felson, a screenwriter from Santa Monica. “When people underestimate Dean, he just rises above it, and I think he did that today. It really feels like this is it!”

Felson has created a montage of Dean’s speeches on DVD that was recently purchased by the national campaign. And he’s not alone. Meurer, who runs a marketing firm, says he coined the slogan Dean uses in his campaign fund drive.

“The $100 revolution?” said Meurer, referring to the effort to match Bush’s contributions. “That was my suggestion to [campaign manager] Joe Trippi.... Volunteer ideas really get in the bloodstream of this campaign.”

Hence the Southwest Voter Express, volunteers who walk precincts in Arizona and New Mexico; Cyclists for Dean, who will ride to the Democratic National Convention in Boston; Veterans for Dean; Active Duty for Dean; USC for Dean; Bruins for Dean; and Punx for Dean, started by a woman in San Bernardino.

“I can’t think of a single angle that we don’t aid the campaign in some way,” said Meurer.

Around 8:30, the candidate walked out, shirt sleeves rolled high as if he’d just finished delivering a baby, and opened by thanking the two bands that had performed -- the Bangles and the Folksmen, the comedic trio from “A Mighty Wind.” Then he jumped into his post-Hussein-capture speech, his face flushing with every punctuation. It’s a good thing, he said, that the former Iraqi leader is in custody.

“But, I have not, I will not change my position on the Iraq war!” he shouted. “We are not any safer in America because that happened!” Supporters, shoulder to shoulder, waved, jumped up and down, and snapped pictures.

Dean moved through his platform. Support for small business. Universal health care. (“Even the Costa Ricans have health insurance for all its people,” he shouted. “And! So! Should! We!”) More funding for early childhood education. Renewable energy. And then he kicked it into high gear for the grand finale, the appeal for contributions.

To “all the Democrats who stopped voting because they can’t tell the difference anymore,” he shouted, “Give! Them! A! Reason! To! Vote! Again! This time, the person with the most votes is going to the White House....We are determined to win our country back for ordinary Americans!”

That was the tipping point. The chanting began.

“We want Dean! We want Dean! We want Dean!”

But Dean pushed through to the end of his speech, shouting over the cheers. As he reached a familiar point, the crowd quieted, because it recognized his closing. First, he quotes Abraham Lincoln. Then, he cues them. “It’s in your hands, not mine!” he shouted. “You have the power! You have the power! You have the power!”

He waved, as if leaving the stage. The music came up loud. Hundreds of hands went up, holding bumper stickers, T-shirts and copies of Dean’s pamphlet “Common Sense for a New Century.” An aide stood behind him, holding his suit jacket and offering him a Sharpie. And then, the candidate gamely began signing autographs.