DOUG BENC/GETTY IMAGES

As 2003 began, he was virtually unknown—a short, thick-necked hockey dad who used to be Governor someplace up North. As the year ended, he emerged to fire an entire party's soul. Not a single Democratic primary vote has been cast yet, and Dean's antiwar rhetoric, so stirring to the left, may sound tinny long before November. But his savvy Web fund raising and spare-no-fools talk changed the political game in 2003.

Previous Next
QUICK LINKS: Cover Story | Photo Essay | People Who Mattered | In Memoriam | Past Choices | Back to TIME.com Home
FROM THE DECEMBER 29, 2003 ISSUE OF TIME MAGAZINE; POSTED SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2003

Copyright © 2003 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Subscribe | Customer Service | Help | Site Map | Search | Contact Us
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Reprints & Permissions | Press Releases | Media Kit