I am a deaniac. First, foremost and central to my political life: I am a deaniac. I got involved in politics in 2003 because of Howard Dean's campaign; I stayed involved in 2004 because of Howard Dean's post-campaign example. First he had the courage to do something extraordinarily insane, and then he showed even greater courage by not using the nature of his defeat in the primaries — a dirty, viscious attack enabled by members of his own party — to give up and walk away. He showed that the long-term goal matters far more than any short-term set-backs.

In 2005, a grassroots effort among Democrats made Dr Dean Chair of the DNC, and the party's hopes were reborn. Howard Dean is the leading progressive in the nation. No one understands what it takes to win as clearly as he does. His 50-State Strategy was not simply brilliant politics; it was the epitome of democratic politics. He wanted everyone to be part of the political process, not just the few with clout and power, and so he did what he could to enable that participation. He brought the party to the people, and he gave the the resources to build a local party that could be successful.

And successful it was, beyond anyone's hopes. In 2006, the 50-State Strategy brought the Democrats back into leadership, and in 2008 Barack Obama used it to win the White House. Dean's vision was a break from everything any national party had ever tried, and it was an incredible success. Yes, the build-up of Bush failures helped greatly, but Dean had the structure in place to build on that political opportunity. What he showed as the path to success in 2006 became the blueprint for Obama in 2008.

Unfortunately, Rahm Emmanuel thinks he was the one who won 2006. As head of the DCCC, he fought against the 50-State Strategy; the millions of dollars that Dean let the state parties keep, Emmanuel wanted in DC. His plan was the same old plan that had the parties held as sacrosanct before Dean: pick the districts you can win, and pour the money there. As for the rest of the country, well, to put it in Emmanuelian terms: Fuck 'em.

Had the Democrats taken the Emmanuel route in 2006, they might have regained the House, but by a much smaller margin. Obama might have still have won the presidency, but the old way of fighting for Congressional seats that Emmanuel advocated would not have brought the huge wins of 2008. Those are the direct result of Dr Dean's leadership, and Rahm Emmanuel will never forgive Dean for that.

Unfortunately, Obama selected Emmanuel as his Chief of Staff, and that means Dean is dead to this administration. He should have been made Secretary of HHS; no one else would have fought harder for health care, and no one would have fulfilled better Obama's pledge to have an inclusive (as opposed to bi-partisan) process. But Rahm Emmanuel will not allow Howard Dean any role in the party while he can do anything about it, and he is in a position to do exactly that. And that is why Rahm Emmanuel is Barack Obama's biggest mistake to this point.

Fortunately for the country, Howard Dean as a free agent will be able to have a huge impact on the health care process. He can now return to Democracy for America, utilizing its huge and committed membership to push the Administration to stick to a program of change that delivers what was promised — no matter the pressure to cave. I'd love to see him team with the Achimedes Project and Dr Kitzhaber; the two programs are virtual twins. And as a free agent, Rahm Emmanuel will be able to do nothing but stew. He can't attack Dean or try to stop him; he's not stupid enough to even try. He'll never give him an iota of credit, of course, but Howard Dean proved in 2004 that he's a big enough man not to worry about getting credit or being treated fairly. His purpose is to bring change to systems that hurt those who most need their government's care. He doesn't need to get credit for it; he just wants to see it happen.

Rahm Emmanuel could learn a lot from Howard Dean. Including how to be a decent human being.