Dean bid changed politics, aide says

WASHINGTON – History will remember Howard Dean’s abortive run for the presidency because it changed U.S. politics with its emphasis on the Internet as a campaign tool, Dean’s former campaign manager said Friday.

All new technologies are subject to naysayers and criticism, but eventually they take hold and change the world, Joe Trippi told journalists at a conference about the 2004 election. That happened with the former Vermont governor’s bid for the Democratic nomination. Under Trippi’s direction, Dean set fund-raising records and gathered millions of followers through online grass-roots efforts.

“Everybody will say that’s when it all changed, when we saw change coming,” said Trippi, who spoke about his book, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Seizing Power in the Age of the Internet,” to be released in July.

Trippi, a media consultant, is widely credited with orchestrating the strategy that tapped into the potential of the Internet.

By focusing on reaching out to millions of people and asking for many smaller donations rather than fewer larger ones, Dean’s White House bid took off early. It fell flat after dismal showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, which Trippi blamed partially on attacks from Dean’s opponents and increased scrutiny from the media. Trippi was replaced in late January, and by mid-February Dean had stopped campaigning.

Dean’s success shows people are willing, even eager, to participate in politics again, Trippi said. The Internet can do that by allowing everyone equal access to information and giving them tools to work together.

“It’s about actually getting back to that active engagement we’ve lost as a people. There’s no other way around it. We’re not citizens. We’re consumers,” Trippi said.

Both the Bush-Cheney campaign and that of the presumptive Democratic candidate, Sen. John Kerry, are struggling with the Internet, Trippi said.

He said President Bush’s organization has devoted many resources to using the medium. Kerry needs to say publicly he can’t catch Bush without the public’s help, Trippi said, and that could inspire a wellspring of support.

“It’s not about understanding how to communicate. It’s about understanding the medium and how to use it,” Trippi said.