A bridge to Dean Nation

HERE'S WHAT Steve Grossman says he was thinking when he announced he would support John Kerry if Howard Dean lost the Wisconsin primary, two days before the primary actually took place: "I didn't think it was such a big deal. But there is timing and a certain protocol. The candidate makes the announcement, then you do." Last week, Grossman, who was chairman of the Dean campaign, apologized to Dean for those ill-timed comments and sat down with John Kerry's brother, Cam, to offer help in the campaign ahead. Self-serving politics or political bridge-building? Whatever you call it, Democrats will probably need more of both to win the White House in 2004.

Kerry is fending off John Edwards in the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination. Ralph Nader is now in the presidential fray. Where will Dean Nation throw its heart, soul, and weight?

For his pre-Wisconsin disloyalty, Grossman was harshly and justly criticized; afterward, he telephoned Dean at his Burlington home and asked forgiveness. According to Grossman, Dean told him he was not angry, just "perplexed" at the timing, and the two remain friends.

"There are two ways to do things, the right way and the wrong way. This wasn't the right way," admits Grossman. "What I said two days before Wisconsin was a significant distraction for Howard. He deserved better."

While Grossman's timing was off, his message is not. What Grossman, a former Democratic National Committee chairman, said was simply this: "If my guy couldn't win, despite my sadness, I was going to do whatever I could to elect a Democrat."

Dean conveyed the same general message when he dropped out of the race. Yesterday, Dean reiterated his intention to support the Democratic nominee and asked his supporters in a statement to do the same: "I urge my supporters and all other Americans committed to progressive values and honest government to stick with us and stick with the Democratic Party so our cause can prevail in 2004."

All the political obituaries rightly point out Dean's flaws as a candidate. As Grossman acknowledges, "Self-inflicted wounds need to be part of any objective analysis. They are not the whole story, but it is incorrect to blame the media and the Democratic establishment solely for Howard's fall. They were factors. What the campaign and the candidate would be the first to admit is that we made serious mistakes at the very moment it was crucial to close the deal."

The mistakes are now well documented, including the negative campaign between Dean and Richard Gephardt in Iowa, the taped interview that surfaced of Dean deriding Iowa caucus-goers as extremists, Dean's shouting "you sit down" to an Iowan at a campaign event, and, of course, the Dean "scream" on caucus night. Grossman says he was watching Dean's remarks on television with his mother in Palm Beach, Fla., and knew then "it was over." What was over was Dean's chance to win the nomination. The candidate "failed to build a relationship with Iowans on a fundamental human level," says Grossman.

But Dean did build a relationship with 700,000 people via the campaign website and through that relationship raised $50 million, most of it in small donations.

It makes sense for Grossman, long active in Massachusetts and national Democratic politics, to turn to the Kerry campaign. Whether the Kerry campaign turns to him is another matter. Of his discussion with the candidate's brother, Grossman says: "We had a good talk. I know I need to approach my relationship with the Kerry campaign with a certain amount of humility. A lot of people were with him through thick and thin, and I wasn't. I told Cam, "I think I can be helpful. You decide how I can be helpful. Whatever I can do, please ask. If John Kerry is going to be president, he needs all hands on deck."

Nader is late to the race and this time runs without backing from the Green Party. But he is a refuge for voters who viewed Dean as a change agent and doubt that Kerry or Edwards will change much of anything in Washington. And it is very much in the interests of the Bush campaign to keep Nader in the mix. Grossman says the Nader effort concerns him "even if he only gets 1 or 2 percent of the vote."

The Democratic political establishment wanted Dean out, and now he is. Given the closeness of the 2000 election, it is foolish to dismiss the importance of even one voter going to Nader, or staying home. Grossman started the bridge-building too early, but the bridge still needs to be built.

Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.