Dean and the DNC

Dean may be winning people over, slowly, in his bid for party chairman. Kos has this from Dick Durbin, the number two Senate Democrat, in an appearance on ABC's This Week:

I'm not going to be endorsing Howard or any particular candidate. I hope we find the right person. But I do associate myself with his remarks. He's right, we shouldn't be giving up states, saying, 'Well, they'll be red forever,' or blue forever. We have to look at a national strategy as a party. And I've learned that as I've come back to the Senate [...]

I'm open to Howard's suggestions for leadership. And I also have to tell you, don't overlook what he accomplished. He may not have moved forward in the presidential primary process, but he activated hundreds of thousands of people across America in a way we've never seen. Howard Dean made a great contribution to the American political scene. I want him as part of the leadership of the Democratic National Committee even if he's not the chairman.

By simply being the most determined and passionate candidate in the race, Howard may be winning over the senior elected party leaders. With a message focused heavily on the need to reform the party at the local and state level, Dean has won support from state party chairs who feel let down by the national party's sole focus on the Presidential elections every four years.

Is it perhaps that when Dean is left to be Dean, and isn't caught up in a Trippy-induced god complex, he moves forward with a passionate message and a core group of issues? I think it's possible that someone of his focus could be a powerful force in the new Democratic party.

But how deep are Dean's passions and can he really fix the party? Dean's uneven record in the past still causes me to pause on those questions.