My guess is the inner hierarchy Democrats have already written off 2004 and are preparing for 2008. Dean is being setup to become a bug on the windshield. After 4 more years of Bush along with a Republican controlled Congress, the American people will be ready for a change. I predict the Democratic Party will "reinvent" itself (they have no choice). It'll be a bit like the United Kingdom's Labour Party after many years of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. The Labour Party was in the political wilderness because of its "looney left". The Labour Party became politically respectable only when Thatcher timed out and the Labour Party jettisoned its radicals. For 2008, I predict it'll be Hillary Clinton for President with Lieberman as her VP (first woman president with the first Jewish VP). It'll be unstopable provided the Democrats clean house, Hillary doesn't do anything stupid and the Republican allow too many years in power to dull their edge, e.g. they allow the religious right to infringe on the Church and State separation.

Gary