Howard Dean on the Campaign Trail

— -- ABCNEWS' Reena Singh was on the campaign trail with former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean as he ran for president. Reports filed prior to December 1 were by ABCNEWS' Marc Ambinder. For the latest report, scroll down.

Life is 'Hell'

MILWAUKEE, WI, Feb. 17 -- Howard Dean is facing the window. His chin cupped in his palm. He peers out from gold-framed bookish glasses and catches glimpses of the Wisconsin landscape underneath clouds as white as the blank computer screens that will soon record the tale of Howard Dean and his Wisconsin Hail Mary.

On the ground, the National Campaign Chairman is gone and there are reports that senior advisors have their bags packed for beaches and European cities. Some within the rank and file adorn their lapels with Miller High life pins instead of the customary Dean campaign buttons. Getting back to "real life," instead of campaign strategy, is the hot topic of conversation among staff and press.

Rather than be discouraged by the shift in focus, the candidate is rolling with the punches. On the Gulf Stream back to Vermont last weekend the Governor joined the traveling press in a raucous card game of Oh Hell. Later he appears relaxed with wife Judy at his side as they posed for a photograph with their son at his last regular high school hockey game at the same hour that other presidential candidates stood before cameras at the Wisconsin J.J. Dinner. On route back to the frozen-block-of-cheese state (Has my bitterness to being in Wisconsin in February been duly noted, yet?) he teased a reporter about the horror of being stuck in the motel room unable to open the door or the window and eventually escaping when a photog charming broke down the door. Screwed by Venus again. (Yes, also bitter about Valentine's Day.)

It's more like Howard's Big Vacation. Just last week he tackled water purification and dog pee with middle school aged children and then cow poop at a dairy farm. He played ping pong with a teenager in Milwaukee. The Governor breaks out with the Wisconsin fight song spontaneously. Last night, in fact, he took the stage in rolled up sleeves as the Wisconsin fight song blared at his last Badger State rally. And still there was no melt down. Today the fun continues as he visits the factory that manufactures his new favorite root beer and receives his very own Dean Press Corps 2004 t-shirt, which read "Establishment Media" on the front and "We Have The Power," on the back. (Bloggers, get over yourselves. The Governor loves the t-shirts.)

Critics chalk it up to denial, but regular slips into the past tense reveal signs of an understanding that his is unlikely to regain his front-runner status.

Tonight the death watchers join the core traveling press to Vermont. Reports of legacies, contributions and analysis of Dean's political carcass will come in their time. Until then Howard Dean is savoring the final moments as a presidential candidate. His thoughts in the clouds.

Dean presses on

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., Feb. 13 — It makes sense that the campaign that changes course often also changes airplanes on a regular basis. Within the past couple of weeks the Dean campaign has flown on Pearl Jam I, Pearl Jam II, Cheese Head I and an unnamed Gulf Stream. Then Thursday afternoon in Madison, Wis., the press corps boarded a 40-passenger DC-9, which was once owned by Kenny Rogers. Inspiration struck as soon as the previous owner's name was uttered: Gambler I. After all, "you better know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em," is good counsel for the Governor, who is placing all his bets on one state. And, some of the press corps noted, Dean's favorite musician Wyclef Jean once did a remix of the Rogers classic.

Though his pile of chips may be dwindling, Dean is still receiving some backing. At the Minneapolis Convention Center approximately $90,000 was raised from the 360 people who paid for $100 or $1000 tickets to sip punch and savor pastries at a two-tiered fundraiser for the Governor. One of those people was travel agent Maggie Dolan, who has never donated to a campaign before and secured a coveted spot on the receiving line. When Dean stopped before her, Dolan says she shook his hand and pleaded him not to quit. "He looked me right in the eye and he said, 'I am not going to give up'," recalls Dolan. "I'll vote for Atilla the Hun to get rid of Bush, but I don't want to vote for Kerry.'"

Financial aid is also coming in the form of radio ads. A band of supporters under the label of TruthandHope.org has created two radio spots that will hit the Wisconsin airwaves today. The ads point out the differences between Dean and Kerry, and showcase the Governor's executive experience. The independent 527 organization put up a couple of ads in Washington just before the state's caucus.

Of course, cash is not the only resource keeping the campaign afloat. People Powered Howard's headquarters is leaner but still has a healthy stock of diehards, including Zephyr and Nicco. Just two weeks ago when the chips were down, the duo found a way to materialize a supporter's idea for a campaign-run radio station. Now the DJs of Democracy host an Internet radio show weeknights at 9:00 pm and weekends at 4:00 pm. WDFA (Dean for America) Radio is actually run off laptops in a small room at the Burlington ranch with wires dropping from the ceiling and a pair of headphones Scotch taped to a telephone. Total cost: Mixer for $150, microphone for $89, microphone stand for $89 and cables for $100. Cost of eternal hope in the face of crushing defeats and polls: Priceless.

Guests at WDFA can be anyone including new campaign manager Roy Neel. "It's really the best thing I do," says an enthusiastic Neel as he enters the "studio" one Saturday afternoon. Leaning back in a chair, Neel fields calls about his candidate's strength, upcoming ads and Dean's plan to change America. He also takes his shots at the president. "Can you imagine a George Bush Meet Up," muses Neel. "They would take place in Halliburton boardrooms."

Neel will remain in Wisconsin until Primary Day on Feb. 17 when the campaign will know for sure how all the chips stack up.

Dean prepares for long haul

MILWAUKEE, WIS., Feb. 11 — When the Dean press corps was reunited with colleagues returning from a few days off the trail, stories of yoga classes and lazy days in pajamas sparked flames of envy in the light of the Governor's promise to remain in the race for the long haul.

Of course, the long haul is only four weeks away at the most, which takes us to March 9. So little time, and yet so many strategies. First there is the umbrella Wisconsin strategy, and under that the rubber stamp sub-strategy. The Governor is calling on Wisconsinites to be independent-minded and chose him over He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-In-This-Report. Here's how it works: "The media claims this contest is over. They say your voice and your vote don't count. They expect you to rubber stamp the choice of others. But you don't have to listen to them. Wisconsin: You have the power to keep this debate alive. You have the power to choose the strongest candidate to beat George W. Bush."

Sidebar: The above brings us to the "Kill the Traveling Press" strategy, shown in Dean's jabs at the "establishment media" from the stump. Increasingly, members of the traveling press are being approached by irate and sometimes violent-looking Deaniacs demanding more favorable campaign coverage and inquiring why we've been so unfair to their leader. (If I had a nickel for every time a Deaniac asked me if I thought the "scream" was overplayed, I … well, I'd be writing this note from the Four Seasons Bali wearing an oversized bathrobe instead of from the Milwaukee Hilton sans robe.

Back to the rubber stamp sub-strategy, which has its own ad that went up last night in Wisconsin — titled "Rubber Stamp."

Last night at a rally in Milwaukee Dean announced the "Back to Bean Town" offense. Self-inspired by a line from his stump speech that offers the president a one-way ticket back to Crawford, Texas, the Governor generously decided to extend a vacation to the front-runner when he said, "Maybe we should send someone back to Boston, Massachusetts, too." The hiccup in that plan, as one astute reporter observed, is that Boston is the site of this summer's Democratic Party Convention. When this tiny detail was brought up to the Governor behind stage at his last event, he explained that he was simply being a "party unifier."

Perhaps, the most forward-thinking component of the Dean ground war is the youth outreach. On Tuesday Dean visited two schools to speak with young folk who will most likely vote in 2008 or 2012. He presided over a history class as a guest teacher and even offered his expertise on water purification when he walked into room 102 at Longfellow Middle School in La Crosse where students were examining water samples under a microscope. Here are some of the pearls of wisdom from Dr. Dean:

HD: Which do you think is safer, to drink water from your toilet or from the river? It's true.

STUDENT: I'd rather drink from the toilet.

HD: That's right.

The class went onto discuss "dog pee." The Governor asked, "Which has more bacteria, dog pee or river water?" The class went with "dog pee."

"I do not recommend drinking urine, but if you drink water straight from the river you have a greater chance of getting an infection that if you drink urine," said Dean to students who were now laughing uncontrollably.

Dean was a hit in classroom 102 and most likely he'll make a splash in the homes of these students as well. Can you hear it at the dinner table now? "Honey, what did you learn in school today?"

"Howard Dean taught us that it's safe to drink pee out of the toilet."

Oh dear — appealing to junior voters is indeed a dangerous strategy.

Speaking of children, the Governor flies home tomorrow afternoon to watch his son's hockey game. Most of the press will travel to Burlington with him, but not on Pearl Jam I, Pearl Jam II or Cheese Head I. (Cheese Head I replaced Pearl Jam I as the press corps began to dwindle. The seven-passenger Diamond Jet is eerily reminiscent of the early Dean campaign days.) Instead it will be back to the old Gulf Stream tomorrow.

On the way to Vermont, perhaps the Dean senior staff will mull over a plan that has been subtly recommended by the traveling press. It's the Hawaiian Island Strategy.

Long rides and new ads

PORTLAND, Maine, Feb. 8 — There seem to be certain dangers of life on the road as a political reporter — like food poisoning, living on the edge of catching pneumonia from your colleagues and sleep deprivation. Now add to list: crammed into a bright blue VW Bug with three other journalists as pint-sized, truck-driver-mouthed Hillary, the 21 year-old intern, breaks speed barriers down the darkness of a Maine highway.

The ride south on the Highway to Hell began in Auburn, where we stayed behind to watch a caucus from start to finish. We had been to several caucuses in Maine throughout the day with Gov. Dean, but only to listen to him speak with the voters. After the Governor left Auburn Middle School, the real work began. First, the room elected a chair and a secretary, and then everyone broke up into their wards. A man asked his neighbor whether his daughter got into Middlebury College. When the neighbor said no, the man shrugged and said, "Well it's their loss. She's great."

Congenial dialogue about kids, the weather and the health of mutual acquaintances — minus nasty Edwards flyers — weaved through the room. There was also a lot of paperwork and moving people around. And confusion, too. No one except the chair seemed to know what is going on. A man who seems like he is 100 if he is a day old gots up on a chair and began to count absentee ballots. Then he called out each candidate and tallied up the numbers of hands raised for each name. He lost count and counted again. Not sure if it's exactly right on the third time, he waved his hands and said, "That's close enough for government work." Kerry won Auburn with 99 votes and Dean came in with 93. The first and second place result replayed throughout the state.

There's only one press plane now. It's Pearl Jam II, except when the Governor boards — then it becomes Pearl Jam I. Before we are wheels up, Styrofoam cartons containing lobster rolls are passed throughout the cabin. Tomorrow the Wisconsin offensive begins with the old and the new. The old biographical ad goes up and a new ad, which was created by volunteers and will be picked off the Dean for America Web site by supporters, hits the airwaves on Tuesday.