Some inside baseball stuff from Moonie Times - take it for what it's worth

Analysis:Why Dean is surging in N.H., Iowa

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- It has been a very good couple of days for Democratic frontrunner Howard Dean: the more his rivals for the party's presidential nomination and GOP critics blast him, the more he is gaining ground with the voters.

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These results come despite a non-stop barrage of attacks on Dean from his rivals and signs that former Vice President Al Gore is tempted to let himself be "drafted" into the race either as a "stop Dean" candidate or to "broker" an anticipated -- perhaps, imagined -- deadlock at the Dems' convention next summer.

Indeed, Dean appears so confident he will win the nomination that he has started building his bridges back to the moderate center and the party's establishment, which was expected to fight with fury to prevent him toppling them.

Dean, "who has bashed the Washington establishment throughout his presidential campaign, is increasingly courting this city's lawmakers, lobbyists and political operatives to help cement his status as the anti-Washington candidate," Post writers Jim VandeHei and Paul Farhi reported Thursday.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20031204-120650-2391r.htm