Dean drops out, Kerry still leads, Edwards gaining

Much like the month of March -- in like a lion, out like a lamb -- Vermont Governor Howard Dean has dropped out of the race to gain the Democratic presidential nomination. Almost all of the polls that were published before the primaries started showed Dean with a healthy lead over Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Wesley Clark and the rest of the field. Dean will be left wondering for a long time what he did wrong that caused him to drop so far so fast. Riding a strong grassroots campaign -- largely Internet based, he came from out of nowhere to be reality’s version of President Josiah Bartlet. Finishing a disappointing third to Kerry and Edwards in the Iowa caucus caused Dean to stumble out of the gate. Up next was the New Hampshire primary where Dean finished a strong second to Kerry, but still could feel the wind being let out of his sail. Continually taking body blows along the way, Dean’s best finish was in the Washington primary where he finished second and collected 30% of the vote. (Okay, okay -- I’ll stop with the sports metaphors now.) Kerry may now have a late challenger, however, as Edwards finished a strong second in Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary. And this comes after Edwards won the South Carolina primary and finishing second to Clark in the Oklahoma primary a couple of weeks ago. It would be easy to declare Kerry the Democratic nominee right now, but -- as the saying goes -- that’s why they play the games. (Sorry, I had to do it.)