Dean Tries to Cast a Positive Light on His Second-Place Finish

MANCHESTER, N.H. —  On Tuesday night, the crowd screamed.

Almost all the returns were in, and despite a weeklong effort to rehabilitate his campaign, Howard Dean had come in more than 10 points behind Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry in New Hampshire’s presidential primary.

But Dean’s supporters remained defiant.

As the former Vermont governor made his way onto a stage in the gymnasium of Southern New Hampshire University, he was greeted by more than 500 roaring, foot-stomping, sign-waving fans. Smiling broadly, the candidate waved and pointed, laughing as the cheers escalated.

“Dean! Dean! Dean!” the crowd chanted, shaking the wooden bleachers with their exertion.

He motioned with his hands to quiet the room, but the hollering just got louder.

For several minutes, the din bounced off the walls, unrelenting, as Dean’s supporters poured out their frustration, their exhaustion, their unyielding hopes.

“We really are going to win this nomination, aren’t we?” Dean said when he could finally be heard over the noise.

But it remains to be seen whether the energy he harnessed last year and rode to the front of the Democratic pack for a time can push him back on top again.

Beneath the feverish cheering that filled the room when Dean took the stage, an undercurrent of gloominess permeated. College-age supporters embraced dejectedly, waving off questions from a reporter as tears spilled from their eyes. When images of an ebullient Kerry celebrating his second win in a row filled wide-screen televisions to one side of the gym, the crowd grew quiet.

“I think he can still hang in there,” said Manchester resident Bethany Schmidt, 23. “But I have a sneaking suspicion that John Kerry will win the nomination.”

“There’s still a glimmer of hope, but I’m not very optimistic,” added her boyfriend, Ryan Kanteres, 29.

The former governor and his advisors tried to put a positive spin on his second-place finish, noting Dean’s beleaguered position when he returned to the Granite State last week.

“There is going to be in this nomination, in this process, an alternative to John Kerry, and I think New Hampshire established clearly who that is: Howard Dean,” senior advisor Steve McMahon said Tuesday night.

Dean had arrived in this snow-swept state exhausted and frustrated, staggering from his third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. At a predawn rally in Portsmouth last week, he tried to muster an energetic response for the 500 cheering supporters waiting for his plane at 3:30 a.m. But his fierce grin looked forced.

Haggard and hoarse from a nagging cold, Dean struggled to regain his footing for several days, assailed for his frenzied performance in Des Moines.

At one point, polls here in recent days had Dean lagging more than 20 points behind Kerry, and even close to slipping behind retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark.

It wasn’t until the campaign launched an all-out offensive to soften his image -- showcasing Dean with his wife, Judy, encouraging the candidate to adopt a self-deprecating tone and emphasize his credentials as a former governor -- did he start to creep back up in the polls.

A recalibrated message and a strong ground operation were not enough to boost him close to Kerry when the votes were tallied.

But Dean said it was good enough.

“The people of New Hampshire have allowed our campaign to regain its momentum, and I am very grateful,” he said Tuesday night, adding later, “We did what we needed to do tonight.” He did not mention Kerry.

With Iowa and New Hampshire behind them, Dean advisors hope that his substantial war chest and early organizing efforts in states with February primaries will pay off.

While Kerry and others head to the seven states that vote on Feb. 3, Dean will spread his efforts to large states including Wisconsin, Michigan and Washington, which cast ballots later in the month.

“It’s not about the next seven states, it’s about the next several weeks,” McMahon said. “This thing is going to play out over a long period of time.”

Tuesday night, some supporters said they remained undaunted by Dean’s second-place finish.

“It’s been a hard ride,” allowed Ray Cushman, a 62-year-old environmental engineer. “But he’s done really well to come back from Iowa. He’s going to keep going.” Cushman and his wife, Kay, signed up as Dean supporters early last spring, and held two house parties to generate support for the candidate.

“We’re not sorry, no matter what happens,” said Kay Cushman, a retired teacher, as they waited for Dean to speak.

“He’s in the right. People just don’t want to hear the truth.”