BURLINGTON--In what campaign officials said was the largest announcement in U.S. history, an estimated 30,000 people at more than 400 events across the country celebrated the announcement yesterday by Governor Howard Dean, M.D., that he would seek the presidency in 2004.
Speaking to an overflow crowd here on Church Street in his hometown, Governor Dean announced his candidacy, saying that he would reunite the country under common American values.
The hundreds of events underscored the grassroots nature of the Governor's appeal. The Dean campaign is the only one to have organizations in all 50 states--all but a handful in states where the campaign has no paid staff or organizers. Almost all of the events across the country yesterday were scheduled by local organizers--many of them coordinated through the website, www.meetup.com. Nearly 37,000 people have signed up on the website to gather locally on the first Wednesday each month to support Dean in a variety of ways.
Supporters shared their stories of yesterday's rallies and elebrations on the campaign's official weblog, www.blogforamerica.com and posted photos of their gatherings online.
"We are the great grassroots campaign of the modern era, built from mouse pads, shoe leather and hope," Governor Dean explained in his speech yesterday.
The "declaration celebrations" in all 50 states demonstrated the power of the Internet as an organizing tool and how it could be utilized to build support far beyond its cyber-community.
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