In my poll on WRITING STYLE, 92 people expressed an interest. Of that, 26% voted for "GOV HOWARD DEAN, MD", 20% supported "GOV DEAN" and 14% approved "HOWARD DEAN".
All the other forms have scattered support.
THE STYLE GUIDELINE IS CLEAR:
In the first mention in an article, one should use "GOV HOWARD DEAN, MD."
However, that is rather long, stiff and formal, so thereafter (in subsequent mentions) I recommend using the 2nd choice "GOV DEAN."
Where appropriate one might use "Howard Dean;" e.g., in "Howard DEean said ...".