Well, it looks like it’s official — Kerry has taken both Washington and Michigan, with Dean in second place.

What worries me the most about this is that it will be spun into Dean’s death knell (for instance, the Seattle PI’s story headlined “Kerry whips Dean in Washington”). Even Dean has been saying that without a win in Wisconsin, he’ll likely be dropping out of the race. Personally, I’d see this as a real shame.

It’s fairly widely recognized by many people, even if they’re not Dean supporters, that many of the issues being brought up in all of the campaigns were initially brought up by Dean. If he had not started asking many of the questions that all of the candidates are now asking, we could be facing a very different campaign season (and quite possibly one with far less of a chance of ousting Bush from office).

Personally, I’d love to see Dean stay in the race even if he doesn’t pick up Wisconsin. Even if he can’t get the money to campaign the way he has been, I think it would be great if he could do essentially what Sharpton has been doing the entire time — don’t worry about spending the thousands and millions of dollars on high-profile ads and television spots. Instead, just doggedly hang in there, show up for the debates, and make sure that his voice gets heard and that the questions that need to be asked are asked and don’t get brushed under the carpet.

It’s all too easy for me to see Dean call things to a halt after a loss in Wisconsin, and suddenly have Kerry revert to being “just another politician”. Much of the reason I’ve been (and am) a Dean supporter had nothing to do with “electability”, but was entirely because he struck me very much as someone who actually wanted to make a change for the better, and wasn’t going to be bothered with beating around the bush or pandering to special interests merely to get into office. Kerry has never made an impression on be other than being yet another politician.

It feels like Kerry wants to be President so he can be President, while Dean wants to be President so that he can make a difference.

Sharpton doesn’t stand a chance of getting the nomination, but he’s still in the race. Edwards and Clark have worse numbers than Dean, but they’re still in the race. Heck, Kucinich has fewer confirmed delegates than Sharpton does, and he hasn’t dropped out yet! As long as Dean is in one of the top three spots (and he’s currently in second, though few media reports are likely to point that out), I think he should stick it out — scale back operations if necessary, but don’t disappear. Don’t let Kerry slide back into old habits. Keep being the prickly burr under the saddle that’s keeping the rest of the delegates on their toes.

I really think that the two biggest factors driving the record turnout of voters in the current caucus/primary season have been Bush’s incompetence and Dean’s dogged determinism in speaking the truth, not mincing words, and doing the best he can. I’d hate to see that element disappear just because the media has dubbed him “unelectable”.

iTunes: “Soul Crying Out” by Simple Minds from the album Street Fighting Years (1989, 6:07).

[See also: Dean ‘near-perfect’ in latest debate | Look out, Bush | Dean leads in California | Can Bush do anything but lie? | Dean calls for Bush accountability ]

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