Dean Adapting to New Status as an Underdog

In Seattle on Saturday, more than 2,000 people turned up to hear Dean speak at a town hall meeting,creating a line that wrapped around the block.

The same day, about 1,000 people gathered on the worn grass field of a park in Tucson to cheer him on.

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for Howard Dean," read one large sign, an embrace of Dean's now-infamous speech after the Iowa caucuses.

Many say they're standing by him, no matter how far he has fallen.

"He's still the most common-sense, straightforward candidate," said Jennifer St. Clair, a marketing copywriter, after attending a town hall meeting in St. Louis on Friday.

"I really like him and Edwards and Kerry. I think they're all very similar in their positions," St. Clair added. "But you've got to credit Howard Dean for energizing the base — the apathetic people who just lost interest and felt hopeless."

And the candidate is picking up a few new supporters along the way. After hearing him speak in Roseville, Mich., on Sunday, Bonnie and David Milam said they were inclined to vote for Dean over Sen. John Edwards, their other favorite.

"I know all the momentum has kind of evaporated for him, but I thought he spoke really well and confronted the issues," said David Milam, a Presbyterian minister.