April 9, 2004 - It took me a couple of days to reflect on our remarkable April 7th Meetup in San Francisco ...

Remarkable? ... how else can I describe the Dean phenomenon that continues more than three months after the Governor dropped out of the race for President in 2004?

Approximately 80 people gathered at the Plough & Stars to discuss the future of Dean activism in San Francisco lead by Will Easton ...

A secret ballot determined the new name of the San Francisco organization, Democracy for America - San Francisco ...

Grassroots organizer, Alec Bash, from Senator Kerry's campaign took the mic to express their grassroots' appreciation for Governor Dean's unqualified endorsement and our grassroots support for the Senator's campaign ...

Staff member, Brendan McCarthy, from Senator Barbara Boxer's campaign also stood to express gratitude for the support coming from Dean supporters and to ask for continued help in the coming months ...

Then, Stephanie Linder introduced a leader from Planned Parenthood who welcomed all to participate in the March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C., on April 25th ... in a show of hands, about 15 people indicated they already had plans to go ...

And, we had a surprise visit from Will Doherty, the new Executive Director of VerifiedVoting.org ... though I promoted their petition drive on behalf of Seniors for America on the national agenda for this month, I did not know of his decision to visit Meetup, and we ended up at the same location by coincidence ... he also stood to express gratitude for our continued activism ...

Remarkable ... yes!

Clearly, we are continuing to write the legacy of the 2004 Dean campaign and the future of our Country!

Howard Vicini

March 19, 2004 - This morning the streets of San Francisco are filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of anti-war demonstrators marking the one year anniversary of the Iraq War, but last night it was all about love ...

San Francisco finally got its chance to pour out its feelings for Governor Dean, and it was San Francisco at its best, as well as San Mateo, Burlingame, Palo Alto, San Jose, Mill Valley, Roseville, Davis, Oakland, Berkeley, San Ramon, Davis, and Sacramento ...

And there was Los Angeles, Reno, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and even San Juan, Puerto Rico ... and those are just the cities represented by those I know or met among the 1,000+ who showed up to greet Gov. Dean and celebrate his new organization, DemocracyforAmerica.com ...

I thought I was showing up early at 5:20 pm for the 6:00 event, but the place was already packed ... many thanks to my friend, Jan Caderet, who managed to find me a good seat ... by 6:00 pm the place was packed 6 to 8 deep along both sides and more in the back ... videographers filled the center isle with the press corps crowding the platform in the back ...

The room was electric and no one seemed worried that the Governor was late ... the crowd stood and sang the 'Star Spangled Banner' in reverence to the large American flag hung behind the stage ... then continued with 'America the Beautiful' ... we were on a rousing version of 'This Land is Your Land' when the Governor called in to let organizers know he was just minutes away ... the crowd roared with approval upon learning that he had heard us singing ...

The our local Dean cheerleaders, The Auditorials, took over to entertain the crowd ... out-of-towners were amused and amazed by our spontaneous entertainment that - I admit - seemed well-organized ... when Will Easton and Stephanie Linder finally introduced the Governor, the stately old Palace Hotel, where Caruso once weathered the 1906 Earthquake, shook once again with pandemonium ... it was breathtaking ...

Governor Dean, speaking with what San Francisco Chronicle political writer, Mark Simon, called 'joyful verve' had the crowd on its feet dozens of times ... every time the Governor called out, 'We can do better than that", the crowd roared back, "And We Will!" ... in that room last night, it was easy to believe that anything is possible ...

Afterwards, at a nearby restaurant, hundreds of Deaniacs huddled in small groups to discuss the Governor's speech and their own plans for political activism far into the future ... the Dean glow seemed to light up all of South of Market as I walked to the subway station where I spotted a couple wearing Dean buttons ...

"I'm Howard," I said reaching to shake their hands ... "And, he's Dean," said the woman, pointing to her companion ... it seemed like a perfect way to end the evening with a laugh.

Howard Vicini

To PBS News Editors:

Much as I enjoy the News Hour from time to time and especially the insights of that lovely, soft-spoken and experienced Mark Shields, none of you has ever understood what the Howard Dean campaign is about. How could you? You are not ordinary Americans.

The Howard Dean campaign has never been about him. It is about us. (no, not you) -- us the ordinary Americans who have never had a voice and never dreamed we would. Howard Dean noticed us and acknowledged us. That's all he did! and that is something you could not even comprehend, in your glamorous, all-knowing roles.

I am a woman of 80 years. I do not need someone to tell me who is honest and who is not, who to vote for and who not, although it is certainly true that you are the very best of the media crop. You are not entirely in the grip of the huge conglomerates.

What Howard Dean has done is notice and acknowledge us. That's all he does! The media are too powerful to know what it means to the unpowerful to be told, "You have the power!" The media are too far removed from ordinary people to have any idea what that means.

It is not just the young that Howard Dean has energized. . That's another one of the media's stereotyped ideas with which to frighten their viewers.. It makes me laugh. Little does the media realize the magnificent Americans out here in the wilderness, downsized every night if we still watch the establishment media's presentation of their irresponsible opinions which they call the news.

Howard Dean has acknowledged the forgotten ones with the simple words: "You have the power." Only the forgotten ones have the ears to hear his message. It is for us.

He has transformed my life. He has given my life dignity and purpose. It is the greatest gift of my long lifetime. This cannot be turned off.

Howard Dean is just a courageous, honest and decent man. It sure looks odd in our glamourous, decadent times. For these qualities he is under vicious attack.

What is different about Howard Dean is that there has never sought a shred of glory for himself in his campaign. He has taken the flak for us.

His campaign has always been about us. It is the right message for the times, yet it seems to terrify those of you in the media.