Bartholomew,

I think many people feel Kerry is the status quo.   

I have already said I'll support him, though, and I think most Dean supporters will. I do think there will be a small group of young, left-leaning Dean supporters who will not vote, or who will vote for a Nader type. Hopefully, Kerry can pull in enough moderate veterans and others who hate Bush to take the election anyway.

But you are very wrong about Howard Dean having changed nothing. He made it acceptable for Kerry and all the others to support Universal Health Care and to oppose the war. Until they saw him pick up huge support and 40 million bucks with that message, they wouldn't have touched it with a ten foot pole. Now we hear the pundits saying things like "Kerry is tapping into the great force of the Democrats' anger." What allowed him to do that, or even told him it was there? Howard Dean. Dean got destroyed for it, now Kerry gets praise for the same thing. Every other major candidate has taken from his message, as have Democrats not in this race. Tom Daschle even took up Dean's position that the middle class saw a tax increase under Bush (directly contradicting Kerry, in fact.)

If Dean had not been in this race, it would have been very, very different, and the party message would not be the same. Dean supporters may have to content themselves with that.But, hey, it ain't quite over yet!