Gore's Endorsement Was Won Over Time and Under the Radar

Al Gore was in Tokyo on Friday and Howard Dean was in a van in Iowa, and for 45 minutes, their cellphone conversation was not particularly extraordinary, people close to both politicians said.

Dr. Dean had sent Mr. Gore a draft of a foreign policy speech that Dr. Dean was to deliver next week in California, and Mr. Gore was calling with a few suggestions. Then, at the end of their chat, Mr. Gore dropped the bombshell: "I've decided I want to endorse you," he told Dr. Dean.

As impulsive as Mr. Gore's move appeared, the reality is that behind the scenes, Dr. Dean had aggressively courted the former vice president for more than a year, people close to the men said Monday and Tuesday. He complimented him on speeches, sought out his advice, chewed over ideas and even stopped once in Nashville, where he spent 90 minutes with Mr. Gore and his wife, Tipper, to talk about the campaign.
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The Anti-Nixon

How does an obscure ex-governor of Vermont come from nowhere to seize a prohibitive frontrunner status two months before the first primary, against much bigger names in a wide-open and hotly contested race for the Democratic nomination?

First, Big Howard's message is resonating at the grassroots level, and so has yielded cash and warm bodies. But secondly and just as important, he is simply bigger and better at personal politics than anyone who has run for president since at least LBJ. The unions one year ago hated Big Howard. Instead of running against them, he ran straight to them, and asked for their support; now, he has the endorsement of the most politically powerful unions in the country. The Clinton/Gore alumni still hate and fear Howard Dean, yet Big Howard instead of running against Clinton/Gore (which his liberal supporters would love to see), reached out into the nest of vipers and brought Vice President Gore into the fold.
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This is why Dean is the front runner. He does his homework.