Can Howard Dean Keep the Dems Together?

Since his crash-and-burn run for president four years ago, Howard Dean has served as a decidedly low-key Democratic Party chairman, slowly building up state organizations while staying out of the limelight. Yet as the Clinton-Obama race wears on, many are wondering if Dean has the political acumen—or even the will—to rally a party in danger of fracturing.

In an interview with the New York Times, Dean insisted that his team was organizing for an eventual fight with John McCain. But Dean's hands-off approach to the Clinton-Obama battle has worried some in the party and led some to step up in his place—such as Phil Bredesen, the Tennessee governor who has proposed a superdelegate mini-convention. (More Howard Dean stories.)