Screamin' Howard Dean

(Newser) - Howard Dean will step down as chairman of the Democratic National Committee at the end of his term in January, the Huffington Post reports. Although the success of Dean’s “50-state strategy” fueled speculation that he would stay on, the post is likely to go to an Obama insider like Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, co-chair of the president-elect’s campaign. More »

(Newser) - If Democrats clean up tonight as expected, it’ll be a vindicating victory for Howard Dean. The DNC’s infamous screamer locked horns with many in his party over his “50-state strategy,” but this election his seemingly quixotic venture has borne fruit, the Hill reports. Barack Obama is within striking distance in places like North Carolina and Indiana, while Democrats could pick up congressional seats in deep-red Mississippi and even Alaska. More »

(Newser) - What’s the most apt parallel for John McCain’s underdog White House run? It’s Howard Dean’s gimmick-loving, maturity-lacking 2004 run, Ezra Klein writes in the American Prospect . McCain’s “whimsy” shone yesterday with ads in Berlin, NH; Berlin, Penn.; and Berlin, Wis. (with Barack Obama in the German capital)—proving again that his presidential bid, like Dean’s, lacks the appropriate “maturity and savvy.” More »

(Newser) - The Democratic party's three top leaders wasted no time in calling on all outstanding superdelegates this morning to make up their minds by Friday. Only a few hours after Barack Obama laid claim to the Democratic presidential nomination, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Howard Dean issued a carefully worded statement that pushes for closure but does not push superdelegates toward Obama, observes the LA Times . More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama and John McCain clashed over Iraq today, as the DNC readies an ad campaign criticizing McCain's now-infamous remark about keeping troops in Iraq for 100 years. In a Fox News interview, Obama pledged to withdraw troops from Iraq even if Gen. David Petraeus advised against it. But the McCain camp says Obama's leadership "can't deliver." More »

(Newser) - Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Howard Dean plan to coordinate demands that uncommitted Democratic superdelegates endorse a candidate—and well before August's convention. Senate Majority Leader Reid said yesterday that “this matter will be over no later than July 1,” Congressional Quarterly reports. House Speaker Pelosi added that the party's nominee needs to start the general-election battle before August. More »

(Newser) - Mitt Romney would have been a better GOP candidate than John McCain, Howard Dean told the press yesterday—with unlimited cash resources and a willingness to “say anything” to win. “I know him from New England,” the top Dem said, and he “was the candidate I feared the most.” Dean said the Republicans underestimated Mitt, the Wall Street Journal reports, even as he gave a preview of Dems' tacks for the general election. More »