It sometimes goes overlooked, but once a presidential candidate wins a party’s presidential nomination, he or she necessarily becomes head of the party. When John McCain became the GOP nominee, he effectively began to call the shots at the RNC. With Barack Obama having secured the Democratic nomination, the DNC is his to do with as he pleases.

Not surprisingly, with a compressed general-election calendar, Obama’s campaign isn’t wasting any time. This morning, Obama strategist Paul Tewes took up residence at the DNC, brought in to “help manage the transition as the DNC swings into action on behalf of Obama’s general election candidacy, and to help oversee fundraising and other political matters.” Also this morning, on Obama’s instructions, the DNC announced it will no longer accept contributions from federal lobbyists or political action committees, which is consistent with the fundraising guidelines his own campaign follows.

But what about Howard Dean? It wouldn’t be at all unusual for the Democratic nominee to thank the current DNC chair for his hard work, pat him on the back, and offer him a lovely parting gift, while installing a close candidate ally who would make the DNC an extension of the nominee’s campaign. Indeed, that would generally be the norm at this point in the process.

I’m pleased to report, however, that Dean is staying put.

The Obama campaign confirmed today that Howard Dean will remain chairman of the Democratic National Committee, even as Obama puts his own stamp on the DNC.

“Sen. Obama appreciates the hard work that Chairman Dean has done to grow our party at the grass-roots level and looks forward to working with him as the chairman of the Democratic Party as we go forward,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.

Dean has shed his lightning rod status in recent years and focused more heavily on building state party organizations — a mission that gave him a base of support in the states and that matches Obama’s plan to use his resources to keep McCain on the defensive in a wide range of states.

Good. With Dean staying right where he is, Dems are better off.

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George Stephanopoulos said uncommitted superdelegates supporting Barack Obama “will come three, four, five at a time, and this nomination will be locked up.” We’re still a ways from a “locked up” nomination, but there was some movement on the superdelegate front today, and Obama appears to have a net gain of four for the afternoon.

Today, in the wake of the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, the Obama campaign is announcing three new superdelegates: Jerry Meek, chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, Jeanette Council, a member of the D.N.C. from North Carolina and Inola Henry, a member of the D.N.C. from California. […]

These endorsements brings the total number of superdelegates to endorse Mr. Obama to 261, according to the campaign’s tally. He is 170 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination.

The news wasn’t all bad for Clinton, though. Rep. Heath Shuler had promised to support whichever candidate won his North Carolina district yesterday. Clinton carried the district easily (a 13-point victory), prompting Shuler to back the New York senator.

While that would give Obama a net gain of two for the day, Jennifer McClellan, a state rep in Virginia and a DNC member, switched today from Clinton to Obama.

Former Sen. George McGovern’s switch was a fairly big deal, but it did not affect the totals because McGovern isn’t a superdelegate.

So, where does that leave us, as of now? NBC has Clinton’s superdelegate lead down to 12.5 (272.5 to 260); the Politico also shows Clinton ahead by 12.5 (269.5 to 257); CNN puts the number at 13 (267 to 254); and the 2008 Democratic Convention Watch has Clinton leading by 14.5 (270.5 to 256).

FOXNews Sunday host Chris Wallace is shocked (shocked, I tell you!) that the GOP tactic of tying local candidates to Rev. Wright via Barack Obama could possibly be considered race-baiting.

Download | play    Download | play   (h/t Heather)

Dean: Chris, the Republicans…for the last 30 years, the Republican (play)book has been to race bait and to use hate and divisiveness.  In 2006, the American people said no to that; I think they’re going to say no to that in 2008.   It is true that the economy, the war and healthcare are more important to the American people.  They are tired of the divisiveness of what the Republicans have done to them.  And that’s why the Republicans are in trouble.  Deep trouble.  Another four years of George Bush is not what we need…

Wallace: Governor, are you suggesting that bringing up Jeremiah Wright is “race-baiting” and hate and divisive?

Dean:  Yeah, I am suggesting that kind of stuff.  I think when you start bringing up candidates that have nothing to do with the issues…uh when you start bringing up things that have nothing to do with the candidate, nothing to do with the issues, that’s race-baiting. And that’s exactly what it is.  Just like Willie Horton was race-baiting so many years ago.   I think we’re going to take…we’re going to turn the page on this stuff.  I’ll tell you, there’s a lot of difference between the Republicans and the Democrats on issues, but the biggest issue of all is we don’t use this kind of stuff.  We never have used this kind of stuff and we’re not going to start now.  America is more important than the Republican party and that’s the lesson the voters are about to teach the Republicans.

Let's see, once again as Bill Moyers points out, what Wright has said is no more outrageous than Hagee, et al., yet Wright's words have been the subject of a non-stop media barrage and GOP smear ads.  Hmm....what could be the difference between those conservative Christian leaders and Jeremiah Wright?   You really can't imagine why that could be considered race-baiting, Chris?

Of course, when you're on the wrong end of every issue that Americans find important and you've got a record of massive scandal and incompetence, the only vestige you have left is appealing to the basest instincts of the American voter. 

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I've said it before: Democrats need to stay the hell off FOX. Not because we should be afraid of their questions, but because it legitimizes a clear and overt propaganda unit of the RNC. And frankly, when Democrats do stay off FOX, it gets under their craw, and forces them to do WATB tactics like the Obama Clock. And that worked well for Democrats until just recently, and then both Democratic presidential contenders appeared on FOXNews Sunday. Now it is DNC chairman Howard Dean's turn to try to contextualize host Chris Wallace's crowing that Democrats are now appearing on FNS. The problem is that he just didn't do it strong enough.

Dean: No, I think it was the right thing to do (boycott Fox debates and appearances) because there are some things in the news department that really have been shockingly biased. And I think that’s wrong. And I’ll just say so right up front, but it is important also for us to not…we shouldn’t punish the viewers of FOX by staying away. Now those viewers have had an opportunity to look at the debates on other channels, now they're going to have an opportunity viewing on this channel and I think that's fair.

Are you kidding me? The network that aired the "Dean Scream" ad nauseam should be given a place in the Democratic primary race?

Wouldn't it have been better if Dean had been tougher when he decided to go ahead and appear on FOX and said something to the effect of "the Republicans have done such a poor job of managing this country that their party is falling apart, and we wanted to go to the one network that we know caters to conservatives and try to get some truth on this network, so that the voters understand that conservative politics--such as FOX News advocates constantly--are not in their best interest. So I'll give FOX a chance to show that 'fair and balanced' is more than a catchy phrase to fool their viewers."?

Transcripts below the fold

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Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean appeared on Meet The Press to address the issues of party unity and whether we will go to the convention without a nominee decided.  Dean has been vocal that he wants the issue resolved by June before, but as the thread yesterday over a possible way to resolve seating Michigan's delegates proves, it's a highly fractious issue that will leave many Democrats upset, no matter how it's handled.   Therefore, Dean charges that the key to healing the party will be the actions of the person who does not get the nomination, not him.

Download | play    Download | play   (h/t Bill W)

Russert:  When you look at all that, how and when is this nomination fight going to end?

Dean:  Well, I’m hoping it will be over by the end of the month of June.  We’ve made great progress in the last few weeks in that I think about 50-60 unpledged delegates have said who they’re going to be for.  And it would be a lot of fun for you if we had a divided convention with 104 ballots and break the record. But the truth is we need to figure this out before the convention. We need time to heal.  And actually, I’m not the most important person in terms of bringing the party together.  The most important person is the person who doesn’t win the nomination.  Because I can remember when I lost to John Kerry, I had to go out and convince my supporters, it took me about 3 months, that they needed to support Sen. Kerry.  I endorsed him, I campaigned for him, I went to all the college campuses and that’s what the person who doesn’t win this with 49% of the delegate is going to have to do keep the party together.

Democratic strategist Jim Jordan, who is not affiliated with either presidential campaign, told the Los Angeles Times Tuesday night, "Anybody who says past this point that this is good for the party or good for the nominee is a fool." The candidates, he said, are "exhausted, they're more likely to make mistakes, and they're raising each other's negatives."

It's a common sentiment among party leaders and officials.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, an uncommitted Democratic superdelegate, told the New York Times, "This is exactly what I was afraid was going to happen. They are going to just keep standing there and pounding each other and bloodying each other, and no one is winning. It underlines the need to find some way to bring this to conclusion."

The irony is, Bredesen is complaining while refusing to take a side in the contest. He wants to bring this race to an end, but by remaining uncommitted, he's prolonging the contest.

The longer Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama get bloodied and bruised, the more superdelegates argue they want the fighting to end. If so, it's within their power to intervene. So why don't they?

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Howard Dean appeared on Air America's Rachel Maddow Show (with guest host David Bender) to assure listeners that he hopes to have all the loose ends -- unpledged delegates and the issue of whether or how to seat Florida and Michigan delegates -- dragging down the primary process tied up by June.

DAVID BENDER: Senator Clinton said, I think just yesterday to Keith Olbermann, that she was committed in staying in this race until Florida and Michigan are resolved…ahhh…

HOWARD DEAN: I think that's going to happen in June.

BENDER: You do? You think that will happen in June through the- through the bylaws and through the…

DEAN: Yeah. I'm hoping- I mean, I believe that there will be a rules committee meeting and we'll take up the question of Florida and Michigan. Michigan has just sent in a challenge and we hope to do that- hope to take up them both in the same meeting. So, you know I think that will happen, I think that all the pieces will be in place by the end of June...

 Times UK:

Mr Obama’s campaign emphasises repeatedly the remorseless mathematical logic that, barring “tragedy or travesty”, points to him being the nominee. He has five times more cash on hand to spend on the coming contests than Mrs Clinton and there is a growing sense of exhaustion among Democrats who just want this once-exciting but now damaging race to be over.

But the reluctance of hundreds of other super-delegates to declare for him just yet reflects nagging doubts about whether he can win in November against John McCain, as well as residual loyalty to the Clinton brand.

Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, wants super-delegates to make up their minds by July 1, leaving the party with almost two months to heal its wounds before the convention in August. This still gives Mrs Clinton time to find a good argument for why super-delegates should risk accusations of overturning the will of voters in primaries and caucuses.

I was a big Deaniac back in 2004, and I really think this is the time for Dean to step up to the plate and bring his fractious party back together.  There's just too much as stake in this election.  (thanks to S for the audio)

  Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean hosted a press briefing yesterday to go over some new polling data from 17 swing states, and mentioned that the party would probably not go after John McCain’s age as a campaign issue.

Noting that it’s the kind of personal tactic Republicans would be far more comfortable with, Dean said, “I doubt we will bring it up in the election." He added, “There is somewhat of a higher ethical bar on what we do. We don’t have any Lee Atwaters or Karl Roves on our side.”

That's true. But, McCain is running to be the oldest president in U.S. history, and if Dems did want to make an issue out of it, voters apparently care quite a bit about this.

The age question may be this year’s sleeper issue. Stay tuned.

If Florida’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention aren’t seated, about 1.7 million voters who participated in the state’s primary will, in a way, be disenfranchised. If Florida’s delegates are seated, millions of Democrats who would have voted but didn’t because they’d been told in advance that their vote wouldn’t count, would also effectively be disenfranchised. (As the estimable Carl Hiaasen put it, “It’s like Major League Baseball waiting until midseason and then declaring that spring training games will count in the final standings.”) Either way, Democratic voters in one of the nation’s biggest states would be screwed.

Florida Dems could have another primary, but there are some major legal and financial restrictions. They could try some re-vote-by-mail process, but no one is confident in the integrity of the system. Everyone has been trying to think of something, but to no avail.

So, yesterday, Floridians gave up.

Setting the stage for a contentious fight well into the summer, Florida Democrats gave up Monday on redoing their Jan. 29 presidential primary, leaving it to the national party or rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to hammer out a solution to make the state’s delegates count.

Florida Democrats, who had already closed the door on holding a full-scale conventional election or a caucus, scrapped the controversial vote-by-mail primary they had proposed less than a week ago as their best option, saying it just isn’t possible.

“While your reasons vary widely, the consensus is clear: Florida doesn’t want to vote again. So we won’t,” Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman said late Monday in a letter to Florida Democrats.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is still pushing a proposal to have the DNC simply cut the state’s delegate totals in half (instead of eliminating them altogether), but the Clinton campaign is reportedly opposed to the idea.

Obama supporters are offering an alternative, but it also seems a little too controversial.

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As the head of the DNC, Howard Dean suffered through another Tweety interview that is not meant to be informative, but destructive.

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Dean: Chris, four years ago, my opponents got together and had a political action committee, all four of which, uh, contributors contributed to the thing, which morphed me into Osama bin Laden, so this is patty cake. This is a tough campaign between two well- well-spoken, smart people, either of whom are capable of being president of the United States. But this is not, by and large, out of bounds.

Find the hidden meanings in Matthews questions unfold before your eyes....(Full transcript below the fold)

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DNC Chairman, Howard Dean, appeared on today's Late Edition to talk about the campaign and the race on the Democratic side. Howard did a good job deflecting Wolf Blitzer's doom and gloom for the Democrats line of questioning. Each time Blitzer would ask him about the tension between Senators Clinton and Obama, Dean would fire back with the reality of John McCain's lack of ethics and credibility.

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While I don't completely agree with Dean's assertion that some of the negative campaigning that's occurred between the Democratic candidates isn't an issue, I was encouraged to see how aggressively he pushed back at Blitzer, staying focused, cutting through the spin and charging right at John McCain's weaknesses.

Dean: "...Look, John McCain is a flawed candidate. Here's a guy who is a typical situational ethicist, he runs on his integrity, but he doesn't seem to have any. We're familiar with the fact that he got on the ballot in Ohio with what now turns out to be false pretenses. He qualified because he was taking public financing, and now he says he's not going to. He doesn't have the permission of the FEC to do that, and just this week he refused to denounce and reject John Hagee, a militant, anti-Catholic right wing pastor and John McCain has a history of doing what it takes regardless of what the ethics of this are. I think he's going to be a flawed candidate, I don't think people want four more years of what is essentially four more years of George Bush."

No matter who wins the Democratic nomination, or what happens in the general election, the DNC has to realize the nominating process is a flawed system.

Democratic National Committee members—whose party is tied up in knots over the role of superdelegates as well as Florida and Michigan at this summer’s convention—already are talking about a review of the party’s nominating process once the elections are over in November.

The tight race between New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama means the nomination could be determined by superdelegates or the outcome of a fight over the two states’ right to cast delegate votes. That’s proving a double embarrassment for the party, pushing some of its leaders to call for an appraisal of party rules that have been in effect for decades.

Let's see, controversy over the superdelegates, controversy over Florida and Michigan, controversy over caucuses vs. primaries, controversy about starting too early, controversy surrounding which states can and should go first ... yeah, it's probably time to "review" the status quo.

Following up on reports hinting at the likelihood of a brokered Democratic convention in August, it’s worth keeping in mind that DNC Chairman Howard Dean apparently has some kind of plan to intervene.

The narrow margin in delegates, and the growing likelihood that it will remain close, prompted concern on Wednesday from the chairman of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean, who said Tuesday night that Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton should avoid taking the nominating fight all the way to the party convention in August.

“I think we will have a nominee sometime in the middle of March or April,” Mr. Dean said Wednesday on the NY1 cable news channel, “but if we don’t, then we’re going to have to get the candidates together and make some kind of an arrangement. Because I don’t think we can afford to have a brokered convention; that would not be good news for either party.”

That sounds great, but realistically, Howard Dean has very limited options here.

'Tis the [political advertising] season...Earlier today Nicole posted some general advertising being used in the Midwest to promote Progressive politics. The storyboarded video shown here is a proposal for an ad campaign for the Democratic Party in 2008, produced by Adam Klugman (yes, he's Jack Klugman's son) who runs Progressive Media Agency in Portland, Oregon. Adam has generously donated his time and creativity to produce a campaign for the national Democratic party called "We the People."

The DNC is currently considering producing the spot for the upcoming 2008 Presidential election season. You can read more about the project here.

By the way, it's an open thread.

  Stephen and Howard Dean square off on torture, Republicans, Al Gore and Iraq.

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