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Howard Dean Bows Out

Aired February 18, 2004 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now first in, sixth out. The first Democrat to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2004 finished no better than second in any of the 18 contests held so far. So, today, Howard Dean became the sixth Democrat to pack away his White House hopes and dreams for four more years at a minimum.
CNN's Candy Crowley was in the back of the room in Burlington, today, when the former Vermont governor bowed out.

What was it like, Candy?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you could see this day coming for weeks, maybe even after New Hampshire. You could hear it in the voices of the campaign staffers.

But this was a candidate who pushed on. Remember, he began as someone that no one even knew, rose to stardom. He did not give this up easily. Still, it was very clear after his poor showing, his third -- his No. 3 showing in Wisconsin last night, that that was going to be the end of the road. He made it official in his home state of Vermont.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am no longer actively pursuing the presidency. We will, however, continue to build a new organization using our enormous grassroots network to continue the effort to transform the Democratic Party and to change our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: So, what does that mean? Still an open question. Dean did refer to the fact that he is still on the ballot in states ahead. He urged his supporters to continue voting for progressives to show up at the convention, where presumably he could have some say-so in the party platform.

The Dean campaign, or the former Dean campaign, says what the former governor would like to do is take the passion and the energy, not to mention the fund-raising capabilities, of his Internet-fueled campaign, and move it towards some kind of grassroots movement. Now, it could take many forms. It could be something as simple as raising money for congressional Democrats that are running this year.

It could be a get-out-the-vote movement. They simply haven't figured that out yet. There are some legal determinations that have to be made first about the money still in the Dean coffers and things like that. But he made it very clear that the country has not heard the last from Howard Dean, and neither has the Democratic Party, which I'm sure is a message that both John Kerry and John Edwards heard today.

PHILLIPS: A couple of the analysts coming forward -- Candy, I know you probably have thoughts on this -- Howard Dean making a comment, I guess maybe a swipe to Ralph Nader when talking about independent third-party candidates.

CROWLEY: Well, he's made it clear all along, no matter what, that his No. 1 goal is to get George Bush out of office. Now, he wanted to be the one to do that.

Having said that, he has always said, I'm going to support the nominee. He said he will not be a third party. He could be a formidable force. And you don't have to be much of a force to be a third-party candidate and mess things up, as Ralph Nader showed Al Gore, certainly, in the year 2000. So, Dean has said all along he will support whoever the candidate is, but he also clearly has his own agenda that he wants to pursue -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley, live from Burlington, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired February 18, 2004 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now first in, sixth out. The first Democrat to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2004 finished no better than second in any of the 18 contests held so far. So, today, Howard Dean became the sixth Democrat to pack away his White House hopes and dreams for four more years at a minimum.
CNN's Candy Crowley was in the back of the room in Burlington, today, when the former Vermont governor bowed out.

What was it like, Candy?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you could see this day coming for weeks, maybe even after New Hampshire. You could hear it in the voices of the campaign staffers.

But this was a candidate who pushed on. Remember, he began as someone that no one even knew, rose to stardom. He did not give this up easily. Still, it was very clear after his poor showing, his third -- his No. 3 showing in Wisconsin last night, that that was going to be the end of the road. He made it official in his home state of Vermont.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am no longer actively pursuing the presidency. We will, however, continue to build a new organization using our enormous grassroots network to continue the effort to transform the Democratic Party and to change our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: So, what does that mean? Still an open question. Dean did refer to the fact that he is still on the ballot in states ahead. He urged his supporters to continue voting for progressives to show up at the convention, where presumably he could have some say-so in the party platform.

The Dean campaign, or the former Dean campaign, says what the former governor would like to do is take the passion and the energy, not to mention the fund-raising capabilities, of his Internet-fueled campaign, and move it towards some kind of grassroots movement. Now, it could take many forms. It could be something as simple as raising money for congressional Democrats that are running this year.

It could be a get-out-the-vote movement. They simply haven't figured that out yet. There are some legal determinations that have to be made first about the money still in the Dean coffers and things like that. But he made it very clear that the country has not heard the last from Howard Dean, and neither has the Democratic Party, which I'm sure is a message that both John Kerry and John Edwards heard today.

PHILLIPS: A couple of the analysts coming forward -- Candy, I know you probably have thoughts on this -- Howard Dean making a comment, I guess maybe a swipe to Ralph Nader when talking about independent third-party candidates.

CROWLEY: Well, he's made it clear all along, no matter what, that his No. 1 goal is to get George Bush out of office. Now, he wanted to be the one to do that.

Having said that, he has always said, I'm going to support the nominee. He said he will not be a third party. He could be a formidable force. And you don't have to be much of a force to be a third-party candidate and mess things up, as Ralph Nader showed Al Gore, certainly, in the year 2000. So, Dean has said all along he will support whoever the candidate is, but he also clearly has his own agenda that he wants to pursue -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley, live from Burlington, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com