It was about this time four years ago that Gov. Howard Dean's improbable rise to front-runner status in the 2004 race for the Democratic presidential nomination started gaining real traction. Eleven months later, it was all over, and the Dean for America team scattered.
Makes you wonder where they all are, now that the presidential sweepstakes are upon us again. I did a check, and here's a partial list.
Joe Trippi: The former Dean campaign manager is a political analyst for MSNBC and a media advisor for Philiadelphia mayoral candidate Tom Knox, who the polls have as the marginal leader in a seven-way Democratic primary set for May.
Bob Rogan: Dean's deputy campaign manager, he's now Rep. Peter Welch's chief of staff.
Andi Pringle: Another deputy campaign manager, she's working for one of Knox's primary opponents in the Philly mayor's race, Bob Brady.
The McMahon boys: Steve and Tom were longtime consultants to Dean, and they still are. Tom is now the Democratic Party's executive director, Steve is a Democratic National Committee strategist.
Nicco Mele: The Web master wizard of the Dean campaign is now on Republican presidential candidate John McCain's payroll.
Paul Maslin: Dean's pollster is now doing polling for New Mexico Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson's longshot bid for the White House, after serving briefly in the same capacity for Evan Bayh's fleeting presidential bid.
Trica Enright: Dean's presidential spokeswoman worked of Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell's successful re-election bid last year. Not sure what she's doing for 2008, but she's bound to pop up somewhere.
Jay Carson: He joined the Dean team as communications director just as the campaign was peaking, courtesy of then-Sen. Tom Daschle. He's now former President Bill Clinton's spokesman.
Karen Hicks: Dean's New Hampshire campaign coordinator is now national field director for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Sara Leonard: Dean's ill-fated Iowa campaign director is now working for Barack Obama's presidential bid.
Stephanie Schriock: A native Montanan, Dean's finance director went on to run Jon Tester's successful Montana Senate campaign in 2006.
Zephyr Teachout: One of the online gurus on the Dean campaign, she's been doing some consulting for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
Matt Gross: Another one of the sharp bloggers behind Dean's Internet success, Gross helped out Tester in 2006 and now is online advisor to the John Edwards campaign.
Roy Neel: The guy who took over Dean's campaign when Trippi was fired after New Hampshire was recently hired by Al Gore to "coordinate" his global warming campaign.
Susan Elliott: The volunteer coordinator for Dean for America, she's now a staffer for Welch.
I'm sure there's more, and if you know of 'em, send it along. Interesting how the world keeps on turning, isn't it?
-- Sam Hemingway
