I'm a huge Dean supporter and believe he is the only one who gets the big picture: that politics in this country must undergo a fundemental change, and fast. I've seen Kerry's lap-dogs attack Dean for eight months. I don't like Kerry and I don't like his campaign, but that is not the point.
Other than Dean, Kerry is the only candidate that can beat Bush for one simple, undeniable reason: like Dean, he opted out of matching funds. I don't care how charismatic Edwards is, how well his "son of a mill-worker" story will play in the South, Midwest, West, North-Pole, or whereever. Similarly, I don't care how great Clark's resume is, how he's a born leader, or how he is an outsider.
None of it will matter when Edwards and Clark are sitting in their houses twiddling their thumbs while Bush, Rove, Club for Growth, and every other conservative 527 and PAC is hammering every idea any Democrat ever had with $400 million worth of ads (Bush's $200 mil + $200 mil from 527's). Clark's resume will be ash by the time August rolls around and Edwards' inspiring story and boy-ish good looks will be but a faint memory after the right-wing machine tatoos into American's brains the misery Edwards or Clark will bring upon the country if elected.
If Dean loses, Kerry must swallow his ego and beg Dean to transition his army of 600,000 who've raised $41 mil for him (and $50k for Congressman __ in Iowa). I think the only way to do this is to either promise Dean a high position in Kerry's cabinet or promise to impliment 2 or more of Dean's platform proposals (Success by Six, healthcare, etc.). In addition, he must put Dean in charge of raising money for embattled Congressmen and Senators.
None of this should be taken as a prediction on who will win or lose. Right now, it's impossible to tell. The scenarios are endless, except one: Lieberman dropping out in 5 days.
The one thing us Dems have to get right this time is putting our conviction aside, for conviction doesn't win elections, and this one is way too important to lose even if we have to settle for Kerry.