"We are what we believe" -- Howard Dean, Dec. 8th, 2004

The transcript for Dean's "Future of the Democratic Party" speech is up (link). I haven't heard it yet, but the text hits all the essential points. Check it out.

No, Dean does not announce his candidacy for the DNC chair. In fact, he doesn't even mention it at all.

I think Dean wants the job, but only if he can get it on his terms. As such, I don't think he will go for it unless he gets a clear sense that he has the support of the party to do what needs to be done. This speech is his attempt to sell himself to the party as the one to lead that change. He's now going to wait and see how the party leaders respond to it. If they respond favorably, then he will go for it. If they don't, then he will stay on the outside, for now.