I stumbled upon dKos about 3 months ago, and have been reading it avidly ever since. I am a somewhat shy person, so I haven't posted until now, but I thought I would introduce myself this way and will start posting real substantive comments tomorrow.
I would like to use this diary entry here to talk about my experiences as a high-school sophmore who has proudly worn a Dean For America button since July (In Dallas TX, no less!) I go to a nice private school, and many of my friends are somewhat wealthy (including my best friend, whose parents consider George and Laura family friends). I was amazed and sickened how few people knew who Howard Dean was even last month! Though the Gore endorsement allowed more to hear about him, I have been basically hitting my head against a brick wall. The past 5 months I've only made 4 converts (and three of them were far-left Kucinich leaners, including my awesome ex-hippie American History teacher). Even so, I fight on. I feel that it is important to have boots on the ground everywhere. Nice to meet you all!