Dean elected Dem party chairman

WASHINGTON — Howard Dean won the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) yesterday, vowing to lead a crusade back to power by competing for values-minded voters in "red" Republican states while continuing blistering criticisms of President Bush that rank-and-file Democrats love.

"Today will be the beginning of the re-emergence of the Democratic Party," the former Vermont governor and presidential candidate said to cheers and applause from party activists and leaders. "We are going to take this country back for the people who built it."

The 447-member DNC elected Dean by acclamation, his triumph locked up in recent weeks as he outmaneuvered rivals and forced each to quit the race one by one.

His two-month campaign for the job showcased his skills at motivating and organizing supporters among active and devoted Democrats. Unanswered is whether Dean can find a voice that will appeal to less-devoted Democrats or independents.

Dean, a 56-year-old doctor, brushed aside questions about his style. "I'm not a Zen person," he said after his speech. "I am who I am."

He renewed his pledge not to pursue the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2008, a commitment that would help him remain neutral as a large field of hopefuls start angling for the spot.

He also insisted he would not seek to dictate the party's positions on issues. "I'm not going to get into policy issues," he said. "Most of the policy pronouncements will be coming from the leaders of the Congress."

Dean often has been to the right or left of many Democrats.

As governor, he balanced budgets and was supported by the National Rifle Association. Among the 2004 Democratic presidential candidates, he urged the biggest tax increases and the biggest expansion of health care. He also opposed the war in Iraq from the outset.

Democrats yesterday lauded Dean as a fierce fighter for their side, and said the record and persona that hurt him in a presidential candidate would not matter for a party chairman.

"We need somebody that's a fighter, someone who will fight for this party," said Wellington Webb, a former Denver mayor and one of Dean's failed rivals for the party job.

Webb praised Dean as "the first one to take on George Bush ... the first to energize the grass roots of our party ... the one who showed us how to raise money on the Internet" and someone who was not "Republican Lite."