Listen Transcript
Howard Dean harnessed the power of the Internet like no presidential candidate before him. His tools included an e-mail list of two million people, an Internet-fueled fundraising campaign that took in more money in one year than any Democratic candidate in history, an army of Webloggers singing his praises, and Meetups, where like-minded netizens formed ad hoc pro-Dean groups.

But Dean has fared poorly in the primaries and caucuses, leading some cynics to conclude that maybe the 'net isn't such a powerful political tool after all.

Former Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi will have none of that. In a speech at the Digital Democracy Teach-In in San Diego this week, the architect of Dean's Internet strategy said fearful competitors and the media saw to it that the grassroots Internet groundswell was crushed.