Dean one of the "Big Five"

Howard Fineman thinks that Dean is now in the "Big Five" as far as the Democratic race is concerned. Regardless of what else he says about Dean, that's a pretty good development because a lot of people listen to Fineman (I happen to agree with MWO that he is the king of media whores, but I can't deny his influence). NO FRONTRUNNER: Each of the Big Five can make the claim, which means that there is no real leader of the pack. Joe Lieberman still leads in the general polls, based largely on the name recognition he earned as Al Gore’s running mate in 2000. Dick Gephardt has a strong base in Iowa, where voting begins next January. Kerry was anointed by the media/political insiders, but is only narrowly ahead in make-or-break New Hampshire. John Edwards won the first-quarter fund-raising race. Howard Dean broke into the upper tier as an antiwar candidate, and though he’s lost some media buzz lately, he’s neck and neck with Kerry in New Hampshire.