One thing that fascinates me about Dean is how he can present simultaneous, even contradictory, sides of himself in the campaign. He is many things to many people. The decentralization has helped in this regard, but I also think that it has to do with the fact that, of the different "faces" of Dean, some have been proven more useful than others in this time in the election cycle.
It seems that Doctor Dean has been subsumed by the Fighting Dean, at least in this primary, but it's in the role as a doctor that might make the critical difference in the general election (if he makes it that far).
This side of him has been underestimated by those in the media, I think, who define him only by his anger. If he reaches the general election, this narrative can pack a whollop with the masses in swing states. Doctors are considered, in general, trustworthy, empiricist, scrupulous. It can create a good narrative, to be intellectual without being too stuffy.
If he can position himself as a "saddlebag doctor" for the country--combining that kind of quasi-rugged individualism with a true sense of "healing" the nation...I think that would be a potent combination.
(Note that I'm not saying that the Dean campaign hasn't portrayed that healing symbolism. It's just not where I see their emphasis right now, and with good reason, in the primary.)
So when should Dean shift gears, or should he?