One of these suggestions led to one of the campaign's biggest accomplishments– an image of Dean eating a turkey sandwich encouraged supporters to donate $250,000 in three days to match a big-donor dinner by Vice President Dick Cheney.

[5] In November 2003, after a much-publicized online vote among his followers, Dean became the first Democrat to forgo federal matching funds (and the spending limits that go with them) since the system was established in 1974.

In a sign that the Dean campaign was starting to think beyond the primaries, they began in late 2003 to speak of a "$100 revolution" in which two million Americans would give $100 in order to compete with Bush.

[6] Political commentators have stated that the fundraising of Barack Obama, with its emphasis on small donors and the internet, refined and built upon the model that Dean's campaign pioneered.

He proposed an annual $88 billion on health care programs in the nation as well as wanting tax credits to help workers of moderate income buy "affordable" coverage similar to that offered to federal employees, with extra insurance subsidies for companies employing less than 50 people.

[8] Dean opposed using taxpayer-financed vouchers for tuition at parochial or other private schools, and promised to rework federal annual testing in grades 3 through 8 while allowing for more state and local control.

He also guaranteed that people would not have to pay more than 10% of their income toward loans after post-secondary graduation as he would provide $10,000 a year in federal aid for university or high-skills learning.

[10] With the guidance of his chief foreign policy advisor, Danny Sebright, Dean made the war in Iraq a pillar of his campaign.

He also expressed strong support for the War in Afghanistan, saying "One priority should be strengthening our bonds with other countries, especially our historical allies in a world growing ever more interdependent."

Dean would even open talks with North Korea, triple American financing to $30 billion over 10 years to combat unconventional weapons around the world and approve the use of force to halt genocide.

[12] Dean quickly rose above his outsider image, "topping all his rivals in every measure of a successful candidate – money, organization, momentum, polls, and endorsements".

Speaking in Harlem, the Democratic Party's previous nominee said, "I'm very proud and honored to endorse Howard Dean to be the next president of the United States of America ...

Gore's endorsement was highly coveted, and CNN reported that it "could cement Dean's status as the leading Democratic candidate heading into the kickoff contests now just weeks away in Iowa and New Hampshire.

A previous presidential candidate himself, Harkin enthusiastically promoted Dean as "the Harry Truman of our time ... the kind of plainspoken Democrat we need".

Senator and ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, whose own presidential candidacy had been endorsed by the National Organization for Women, shut down her struggling campaign and gave her support to Dean.

Dean was shouting over the cheers of his enthusiastic audience, but the crowd noise was being filtered out by his unidirectional microphone, leaving only his full-throated exhortations audible to the television viewers.

[20] In particular, this quote from the speech was aired repeatedly in the days following the caucus: Not only are we going to New Hampshire, Tom Harkin, we're going to South Carolina and Oklahoma and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico, and we're going to California and Texas and New York.

[26] Dean conceded that the speech did not project the best image, jokingly referring to it as a "crazy, red-faced rant" on the Late Show with David Letterman.

[19] Dean said after the general election in 2004 that his microphone only picked up his voice and did not also capture the loud cheering he received from the audience as a result of the speech.

As late as one week before the first votes were cast in Iowa's caucuses, Dean had enjoyed a 30% lead in New Hampshire opinion polls;[citation needed] accordingly, this loss represented another major setback to his campaign.

Polling after the Iowa Caucuses consistently showed Governor Dean behind Senator Kerry by a wide margin in the run up to the New Hampshire Primary.

However, after a substantial effort by Dean on the campaign trail, the final poll conducted by Marist College showed Kerry leading 36%–27%.

After grueling losses to John Kerry in New Hampshire, Michigan, Washington as well as other states, Howard Dean staked his entire campaign on favorable showings in the Wisconsin primary scheduled to take place on February 17, 2004 [29] Following results in 7 Nominating Contests on February 3, 2004, Governor Dean re-organized his strategy, focusing on the Wisconsin primary as a way to upset front runner John Kerry.

[31] As results were beginning to pour in, major news agencies were quick in projecting Governor Dean as coming in third in Wisconsin based on Exit Polling data alone.

[40] However, Dean did not comment on the Presidential field before Super Tuesday, when John Edwards dropped out of the race after failing to win a single contest.

One of these suggestions led to one of the campaigns biggest accomplishments — an image of Dean eating a turkey sandwich encouraged supporters to donate $250,000 in three days to match a big-donor dinner by Vice President Dick Cheney.

[42] In November 2003, after a much-publicized online vote among his followers, Dean became the first Democrat to forgo federal matching funds (and the spending limits that go with them) since the system was established in 1974.

In a sign that the Dean campaign was starting to think beyond the primaries, they began in late 2003 to speak of a "$100 revolution" in which 2 million Americans would give $100 in order to compete with Bush.

While his presidential bid ultimately ended in failure, Dean's campaign served to frame the White House race by tapping into voters' concerns about the war in Iraq, energizing Democrats, and sharpening criticism of incumbent George W. Bush.

On October 11, 2007, it was reported that Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney were in early talks about making a "political thriller" based on Howard Dean's 2004 campaign, tentatively titled Farragut North.