In 2003 and 2004 I worked my butt off for the Dean campaign. I contributed early and often, joined the midnight madness of the summer of 03 and started attending Dean meetups. By the fall of 03 I was leading a Dean meetup group and actively volunteering at the state campaign headquarters.

In 2003 I was in despair for my country. The television news stations were all flag waving war supporting echo chambers where rightwingers got national coverage for smashing bottles of French wine in front of television cameras. I think that I had suffered from a case of 'political depression' since the fall of 2000 when the Supreme Court selected Dubyah as our next President.

And yet no one seemed to stand up and so "No More." No one, it seemed, would stand up and say that this was wrong, that things should change. Democratic leaders, under the thumb of Terry McAwful and the DLC, seemed to have no spine, no backbone, and to even half-heartedly support George Bush.

And then, at the California Democratic party meeting in 2003, Governor Dean stepped up and delivered a Paul Wellstone line: he said that he was here for the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. He had my vote from the day I heard that.

Unfortunately the nation (the press, really) were not ready for Gov. Dean or the people in the movement behind him. The Dean movement scared them. It was as if they lacked the cognitive ability to process such a thing. And so they turned on him over every little tiny thing that they could pounce on.

I was heartbroken.

I got over it. Even though I was managing a state legislative race that fall I still put in hard work for Kerry, pounding roadside signs into the hard Arizona "dirt" and doing some time door to door with fliers and brochures.

(Clinton supporters take note: I fell in line that year behind the nominee. That is why I can ask you to do it this year. I've been there. I came around to see the importance of a party win. You will, too, if you are really progressive Democrats.)

But my hopes for the Dean movement and the power of people standing up to create their own voice in the face of overwhelming opposition by the media and the complacency of the spineless DLC types never died.

Gov. Dean's movement was the expression of many people who had had enough, who saw a party without a backbone and a press that followed the Bush lies.

I firmly believe that the Dean movement laid the foundation for the wins in 2006.

And this year, Senator Obama, you have benefited from the movement that emerged around Governor Dean's candidacy. You have become the standard bearer not just for the Democratic party and the people who want an end to this war and a change in direction. You are also the standard bearer for the dreams of those who gathered in meetups to write letters to Iowans about Gov. Dean, who made calls, who discovered that we could fund a presidential run without big donors, who decided that our voice should be heard as the voice of a progressive party, willing to fight for what matters.

Senator Obama, you carry now the dreams of the Dean supporters. We have and will continue to work hard for you. Thank you for running, thank you for giving voice to our opposition to this war and our demands for change. Make us proud. You will win in November.

Remember, though, that our party was reborn in that speech before those California Democrats and in the rallies of the summer of 2003. Fight for what matters, fight for change. That is our dream and you carry that dream, now.