Okay, so I don't like Howard Dean. I think, in fact, that he is incredibly lame in most respects. This Meet the Press performance cinched it for me. He came off as completely weasely and incoherent.

But I do admire, not the way he's run his campaign, but the way he and his people have organized it. They're exploiting the internet in a very smart, very democratic way. They've got people blogging for them, organizing live "meetups"...basically utilizing the power that only instant mass networked communication can offer, and they're doing it well.

Oddly enough, it reminds me a bit of Jerry Brown. Remember him? He ran for Prez in 1992, and people made fun of him for being a kook, and they specifically made fun of the 1-800 number that he set up for campaign contributions. He repeatedly made the point that most of the candidates were getting their money from thousands-of-dollars-a-plate fundraisers, and that he wanted to turn fundraising back over to common people, who could donate $10 or $20 via his 1-800 line. Well, people mocked him, but I thought it was a great idea.

So while overall I'd vote for SpongeBob Square Pants over Howard Dean, I will acknowledge that he's doing a brilliant job of generating grassroots support via the internet.