BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Faster than you can say dot.com bust, Howard Dean's quest for the presidency ended Wednesday as the Democrat, winless in 17 contests, bowed to political reality and abandoned his bid.
Once the little-known former governor of a small Northeast state, Dean took a summer ride to presidential campaign heights, attracting scores of followers and a Democratic record $41 million in campaign dollars largely through the Internet.
Exactly one month ago, Dean was the candidate to beat -- front-runner in national polls and poised to begin his primary romp with a win in the Iowa caucuses. It all crashed when the real votes were counted.
Dean finished a poor third in Iowa, second in New Hampshire and managed just single digits in several states through early February. One of his biggest union backers -- the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees -- bailed out on the day of the Washington and Michigan caucuses.
In the meantime, rival John Kerry had cruised to 15 wins and seized the front-runner moniker. Dean dubbed Wisconsin a must-win, then a not really. After the votes were tallied Tuesday, the race had become what Dean had predicted -- a two-man contest -- but between Kerry and John Edwards.
A day after his distant third-place finish in Wisconsin, Dean announced that he would no longer actively pursue the presidency, but ''we will, however, continue to build a new organization using our enormous grass-roots network to continue the effort to transform the Democratic Party and to change our country.''
Striking the defiant tone that has been the hallmark of his candidacy, the former Vermont governor urged his delegates of some 200 to stick with him.
''Keep active in the primary,'' Dean declared to an overflow crowd of more than 500 flag-waving supporters and staff. ''Sending delegates to the convention only continues to energize our party. Fight on in the caucuses. We are on the ballots. Use your network to send progressive delegates to the convention in Boston.''
Historians will have the final say, but Dean was the candidate who rose from obscurity to a main draw on the Meetup.com Web site, newsmagazine cover boy and unrivaled grass-roots organizer. It never paid off in Iowa, and all that was remembered was a high-octane concession speech that will live on long after Dean's candidacy.
His address Wednesday was quieter but not much more reflective. It was a call to build an enduring political movement that will help to elect like-minded Democrats to Congress and local offices and unite to defeat President Bush in the fall.
Although he encouraged supporters to continue voting for him, he did make clear he would not seek to derail the party's ultimate nominee.
''I will not run as an independent or third-party candidate,'' he said, as his wife Judy stood behind him.
A physician whose rare appearance on the campaign trail had been the subject of discussion of whether she was a proper political wife, Dean drew cheers when he saluted her for starting the debate in the country ''about whether a woman needs to gaze adoringly at her husband or follow her own career.''
Dean did not endorse any of his rivals, although he called Edwards and Kerry to discuss his departure from the race. Both had kind words for the former candidate, with Edwards saying Dean ''has energized and revolutionized this race, and excited a whole new generation of young people.''
Kerry told reporters in Ohio that ''it's impossible not to express admiration and respect for the campaign that he's put together and what he's achieved.''
Dean has been impressed with Edwards and suggested on the campaign trail that he would make a better nominee, but Dean has decided to stay out of the Kerry-Edwards contest, a Dean aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Despite his departure, Dean made it clear that he will keep a close eye on the remaining candidates.
''I will support the nominee of our party,'' Dean said. ''I will do everything I can to beat George W. Bush. I urge you to do the same. But we will not be above in this organization of letting our nominee know that we expect them to adhere to the standards that this organization has set for decency, honest, integrity and standing up for ordinary American working people.''
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