Watch Dean's interview with CNN's Don Lemon.

(CNN) – Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, set forth three principles that he thinks should govern any effort to reach a compromise regarding seating the Michigan and Florida delegations to his party’s nominating convention.

First, “we want to respect the voters who went to the polls,” Dean said. “It was politicians that made a mess of this — not the voters,” he told CNN’s Don Lemon Tuesday.
“Secondly, you have got to respect these two candidates,” Dean said of Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. “You cannot change the rules at the end of the game and change the outcome.”

“Thirdly, you’ve got to respect the 48 states that followed the rules they way they were supposed to,” the former presidential candidate said.

“So there will be some sort of compromise in the Rules Committee on the 31 of May, I hope,” the DNC chair said. “But we don’t know what that compromise is going to look like right now.”

While Clinton and Obama have continued to battle for the Democratic nod, the DNC has run ads targeting Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, and Dean took the opportunity to take a shot or two at McCain Tuesday.

“He’s wrong on the courts. He’s wrong on Iraq. He’s wrong on the economy. He’s wrong on healthcare,” said Dean.

Dean suggested Monday either Clinton or Obama should drop out shortly after the last primary.

GRAHAM, North Carolina (CNN) – Hillary Clinton wouldn’t say Monday whether she agrees with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean's latest comments that either she or Barack Obama should drop out of the race following the last Democratic primary on June 3.

“We’re going to go through these next contests, we’re going to see where we end up and we’ll take stock of where we are after they finish,” Clinton told reporters on the trail in North Carolina, adding that she feels the prolonged race has been good for both the party and voters.

Clinton said again that Michigan and Florida’s votes should be counted.

“We have to decide, do we wish to punish Michigan and Florida, two states that we have to win in the fall in order to win back the White House? When there are perfectly acceptable ways of resolving this?” Clinton asked. “So we’ve got to resolve Michigan and Florida and we’ll see how the process plays out.”

Watch Howard Dean's interview with CNN's John Roberts Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama must drop out of the Democratic presidential race after the June primaries in order to unify the party by the convention and win the election in November.

But Dean didn't say which candidate should drop out, only that it should happen after primary voters have been to the polls.

"We want the voters to have their say. That's over on June 3," Dean said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Dean also said that while the party rules say Democratic superdelegates can wait until the party's August 25 convention to make up their minds, that would be too late to unify the party and defeat the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain.

"We really can't have a divided convention. If we do it's going to be very hard to heal the party afterwards," Dean said. "So we'll know who the nominee is and that'll give us an extra 21/2 months to get our party together, heal the wounds of having a very closely divided race and take on Senator McCain."

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Watch Howard Dean on CNN Thursday.

(CNN)— An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they’re for – and “I need them to say who they’re for starting now.”

“We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time,” the Democratic National Committee Chairman told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “We’ve got to know who our nominee is.”

After facing criticism for a mostly hands-off leadership style during much of the primary season, Dean has been steadily raising the rhetorical pressure on superdelegates. He said Thursday that roughly 65 percent of them have made their preference plain, but that more than 300 have yet to make up their minds.

The national party chair, who has remained neutral throughout the primary process, said again it’s his job to make sure both candidates feel they are treated fairly – but not to tell either of them when to end their run.

(CNN)—The Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton continue the battle for their party’s nomination Thursday, and Democratic Committee chairman Howard Dean continues his recent get-tough stance.

In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux reports on the campaign trail brawl less than a week before the next critical primary in Pennsylvania.

As the Democratic nominating process drags on on, Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Thursday, he wants a decision, and he wants it ‘now.’ You’ll see Wolf Blitzer’s interview with Dean.

Meanwhile, the pope isn’t the only important figure visiting Washington D.C. this week – Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with President Bush and the presidential candidates Thursday. White House correspondent Elaine Quijano reports on how the president’s meeting went, while Tom Foreman highlights what the candidates hoping to take President Bush’s place discussed with Brown.

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DNC Chairman Howard Dean.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Democratic Party on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Federal Elections Commission seeking to force the group to investigate whether John McCain has violated federal spending limits for his primary campaign.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court in Washington, is the latest move by the Democratic National Committee that seeks to prove the Arizona senator locked himself into campaign spending limits earlier this year when he used the prospect of $6 million in federal matching funds as collateral for a December bank loan to his campaign.

The DNC first filed a complaint with the FEC in February, arguing then that McCain should be forced to accept the matching funds — and the spending limits that come with it.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean said that McCain not only used the prospect of the funds as loan collateral, but he also accepted automatic ballot access in every state — an advantage given to those who accept federal matching funds. (Those who do not accept federal matching funds are forced to gain ballot access themselves — a task that can cost millions of dollars.)

Full story

Howard Dean says John McCain is a 'weak' candidate.

(CNN)— Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Thursday he feared his party's nominee facing Mitt Romney in the general election more than any other candidate.

“Frankly, Mitt Romney was the candidate I feared the most in the general because he’s got plenty of money, he’s wealthy,” Dean told reporters at a committee briefing. “He’s very articulate and he willing to say practically anything, and Republican voters want discipline.”

When asked if he'd fear a McCain-Romney ticket, Dean said the former Massachussetts governor was the best candidate the Republicans were probably “ever going to get.”

Romney dropped out of the presidential race last February saying that if he continued his campaign it would "forestall the launch of a national campaign…making it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win." His departure from the race essentially secured John McCain’s place as the presumptive Republican nominee.

Dean also characterized McCain, as a “weak candidate,” one who is very out of touch with “21st century Americans” on issues like the economy, Iraq War, and health care. He added that McCain has no plans to get out of Iraq or solve the mortgage crisis.

(UPDATED with RNC response after the jump)

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CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN)— Hillary Clinton’s lead in Pennsylvania is beginning to narrow with less than three weeks to go before the state’s crucial April 22 primary. In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reports on the candidates push for union support.

John McCain’s on the receiving end of fresh criticism that he’s dividing the Republican Party. CNN’s Dana Bash reports on the presumptive Republican nominee’s response and who may be on his list of potential Vice Presidential candidates.

Wednesday on Capitol Hill, Fed Chief Ben Bernanke suggested more Americans may be at risk of losing their jobs. Alan Chernoff explains where the economy could be headed next.

Finally, the debate over whether to seat Michigan and Florida’s delegates continues. Today, after meeting with a group of Florida’s Democratic leaders, national party Chairman Howard Dean said he’s committed to seating Florida’s delegation at the August convention. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider has the latest details.

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–CNN’s Emily Sherman

DNC Chairman Howard Dean said Democrats will support the party's nominee.

(CNN)—Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Tuesday a razor-thin margin of victory will not hurt the party’s unity so long as the elections are fair.

“One candidate is going to win with 50.2 percent of the votes and another candidate is going to lose by 49.8 percent of the votes,” Dean said. “I want to make sure that the candidate who doesn’t win this nomination feels they’ve been treated fairly according to the rules.”

Dean stressed again that he would like to see the race resolved by July 1—weeks before the party’s August convention.

Watch the entire interview today during the 4 p.m. hour of The Situation Room.

–CNN’s Emily Sherman

DNC Chairman Howard Dean.

(CNN) – The Republican National Committee called on both Democratic presidential candidates Friday to denounce recent comments from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean who called John McCain a 'blatant opportunist.'

Dean made the comment earlier in the day in a statement issued by the DNC on McCain's new television ad that features footage of the Arizona Republican as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

"While we honor McCain’s military service, the fact is Americans want a real leader who offers real solutions, not a blatant opportunist who doesn’t understand the economy and is promising to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years," Dean said.

RNC Deputy Chairman Frank Donatelli called the comment a "character smear," and said they are the "latest in what has become a troubling pattern where the chairman of the national party has questioned Senator McCain’s character and integrity."

"Howard Dean owes John McCain an immediate apology and both Senators Clinton and Obama should unequivocally denounce this disgraceful attack," Donatelli added.

Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are battling for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Responding to Donatelli's comments, DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney said the RNC is "cherry picking the facts."

"Clearly the RNC recognizes that the biggest threat to John McCain, as we heard loud and clear from voters in our recent focus groups, is the damage he inflicted on his 'independent' image and reputation for 'straight talk' by shifting his positions to make them more acceptable to the right wing of the Republican Party," she said.

"The truth is that most Americans would likely agree that while we honor Senator McCain's service, America cannot afford another Bush Republican who doesn't understand the economy and who wants to keep our troops in Iraq for up to 100 years," she added.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Watch Howard Dean on CNN's American Morning.

(CNN) – Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told CNN Friday his party's system for choosing presidential candidates is "not a mess," despite the maze of complexities exposed by the close, bitter battle between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

He also gave his clearest indication to date that he would like the fight wrapped up before the official nominating convention in August — as well as a guide on how to end it.

He said the undecided superdelegates — party officials who can choose whom to back — should weigh in once the voters have had their say.

"I'd like the other 350 (superdelegates) to say who they're for at some point between now and the first of July so we don't have to take this into the convention," he said on "The Early Show" on CBS. He made similar remarks on ABC.

Dean told CNN he's convinced the delegates from Florida and Michigan, who are currently not being counted, will ultimately be seated at the convention.

And he told CNN that party leadership has had "extensive discussions" with the Clinton and Obama campaigns to cool down their rhetoric.

"I don't think the party is going to implode," he said when asked about that possibility.

Full story 

(Udpates with Dean's comments on Superdelegates)

– CNN's Josh Levs

Watch DNC Chairman Howard Dean discuss his party's nomination race.

(CNN)— Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean characterized the presidential primary season as a “pleasant walk in the park” Tuesday, saying the real battle for the presidency will happen when the nominees are chosen.

In an interview with Wolf Blitzer, Dean also expressed fear of a divided party if a Democratic nominee is not chosen by the August convention, saying both candidates are well qualified to be the next president, making a tougher decision for voters. However, Dean said, “There’s no reason not to have a clear nominee before the convention starts,” because the convention is scheduled later this presidential cycle to adhere to public finance rules.

The Democratic convention is schedule to begin August 25 in Denver, Colorado. Pennsylvania’s April 22 primary is one of the last critical primaries for the Democratic candidates before the convention.

–CNN's Emily Sherman

DNC Chairman Howard Dean targeted Sen. John McCain Sunday on CNN's Late Edition.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean stepped up his verbal assault on Republican presidential front-runner John McCain on Sunday, questioning the Arizona senator's integrity.

"Here's a guy who's a typical situational ethicist. He runs on his integrity, but he doesn't seem to have any," Dean told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer."

The Democratic chairman has spent a week pounding McCain — one of the architects of 2001's McCain-Feingold campaign finance law — over his attempt to opt out of public financing for his Republican primary campaign. In a complaint to the Federal Election Commission last week, Dean accused McCain of using the promise of federal funds to obtain a bank loan and automatic ballot access for his presidential bid while dodging federal spending limits.

"John McCain has a history of doing what it takes, regardless of what the ethics of this are," Dean said. "I think he's going to be a flawed candidate."

There was no immediate response to Dean's broadside from McCain's campaign.

The FEC has asked McCain's campaign to explain the terms of his loan, but the agency won't be able to resolve the matter until four vacancies on the six-member commission are filled. The campaign has said it acted legally, and did nothing more than what the Dean's 2004 presidential campaign did in rejecting public funding — an argument Dean says isn't true.

Dean said McCain "has a problem with personal integrity," citing his onetime ties to jailed savings-and-loan executive Charles Keating and his refusal to reject the support of televangelist John Hagee. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has criticized McCain for accepting the endorsement of Hagee, who has called the Roman Catholic Church "the Great Whore" and a "cult."

Updated 6:11 p.m. with response from the McCain campaign: "John McCain is a man of integrity who will run on his record.  Senators Clinton and Obama should denounce this desperate, personal smear campaign Howard Dean and the leaders of their party seem intent on running," the McCain campaign said in a statement to CNN.

–CNN's Jessica Rummel

(CNN)— The Democratic National Committee on Tuesday pressed its formal complaint with federal election officials contesting Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's effort to withdraw his intention to ask for public election funding.

“John McCain is posing as a reformer,” DNC Chairman Howard Dean told CNN’s John Roberts. “It turns out reform, as far as he's concerned, is good for everybody but him.”

The Democratic Party filed an official complaint against McCain Monday with the Federal Election Commission calling on them to investigate the Senators decision earlier this month to withdraw from the primary election’s public financing system.

According to FEC regulations, written exclusion is required before withdrawal from the matching funds program, but the McCain campaign argues they did not need written permission citing Dean’s 2003 Democratic campaign as an example.

In the statement released Tuesday the DNC highlights a significant difference between now and 2003 is not only Dean's prior permission from the FEC before withdrawing, but McCain’s use of the potential financing to get on the ballot free of charge in some states as a bank loan.

The McCain campaign flatly rejects that assertion.

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Dean accused McCain Sunday of skirting election laws.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean accused Republican presidential front-runner John McCain of trying to skirt campaign finance laws Sunday by trying to opt out of public financing for his primary campaign.

Dean told reporters that McCain has already used the prospect of nearly $6 million in federal matching funds — which he now says he won't claim — as collateral for a January campaign loan and to obtain automatic ballot access in every state. Dean said he was filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission to block McCain from quitting the public financing system, which imposes a spending cap on candidates.

"The law is very, very clear," Dean said. "He cannot be let out of the matching fund program if he has already used the promise of matching funds for loan collateral, and it's already clear from his FEC report that he has used that promise."

FEC Chairman David Mason raised similar questions about the loan agreement in a letter to the McCain campaign last week. But the Arizona senator's campaign has said its existing request with the FEC was never part of the terms of the loan, merely the possibility of future payouts.

Dean said the issue was a test of McCain's integrity. But McCain spokesman Brian Rogers accused the Democratic chief of "breathtaking" hypocrisy, since Dean opted out of public financing for his 2004 White House bid.

Mason asked the McCain campaign last week to provide more information about the terms of the loan before his agency rules on whether or not the Arizona senator will be required to remain within the federal financing system.

But FEC, which regulates campaign financing, is currently hamstrung by vacancies — four of the commission's six seats are currently empty, and a deadlock between President Bush and the Senate has stalled nominees for those posts.

McCain, a chief advocate of campaign finance reform, sought the option of public financing last fall when his campaign was in dire need of money. He notified the FEC in early February that he was not claiming federal matching funds, which would limit his spending on the primary campaign to $54 million.

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Dean had a warning for his fellow Democrats.

VIENNA, Virginia (CNN) – Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean opened the party’s fall meeting with a warning to his fellow party members.

“The worst thing we can do right now is be complacent .. and take things for granted” Dean told the crowd. He said “Republicans may not know” how to run the country but “they know how to win elections … we better work harder than they do.”

Dean credited the crowded field with having plans to get U.S. troops out of Iraq, but said “we now know it’s not enough to have a majority in the house and the senate, we have to have a Democratic president to change course in Iraq.”

The former Vermont governor ticked through the Republican field and accused many of them of continuing to engage in the “culture of corruption.” Dean also touted the current crop of Democratic presidential candidates, saying they reflect America because the group includes a woman, a Latino and an African-American. He compared the all white male Republican field to a 1950s flashback, drawing a hearty laugh from the crowd.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Senators Joe Biden of Delaware, Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois are scheduled to address the meeting later on Friday. Earlier, Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut announced he would not attend the event, instead remaining in Iowa to campaign.

– CNN Senior Political Producer Sasha Johnson

Leonardo DiCaprio is in talks to star in a film loosely based on Howard Dean.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Howard Dean didn't make it to the White House, but could some form of him make it to the big screen?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, stars Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney are in discussions to join forces for a movie loosely based on the former governor's meteoric rise and fall in the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries.

The movie is set to be adapted from an upcoming Broadway play by Beau Willimon. The play, "Farragut North," tracks a novice but inspired campaign staffer who works for an "unorthodox" presidential candidate, according to the newspaper. Willimon worked on Dean’s presidential campaign.

The Hollywood Reporter writes that, according to the talks, Clooney would direct and produce the adaptation, and DiCaprio would star and produce.

Dean, now chairman of the Democratic National Committee, led the 2004 Democratic field in both the polls and campaign cash heading into the first wave of primaries. But, after a disappointing third place showing in Iowa, the Vermont Democrat's campaign quickly fizzled out. He ultimately failed to win a single caucus or primary outside of his home state of Vermont.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Watch Bill Schneider's report on the expectations game in Iowa.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Remember the "Dean scream?" Bil Schneider takes a look at who Iowa may undo in the 2008 presidential race.

Related: Michelle Obama: 'If Barack doesn't win Iowa, it's just a dream'

Dean criticized GOP candidates for not appearing on a candidate forum on a spanish language network.

(CNN)–On the evening the Democratic presidential candidates appeared in a candidate forum on a Spanish language network, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean blasted the GOP candidates for not doing the same.

"Every Democratic candidate, through their participation at tonight's forum," the former Vermont governor said, "made it clear that the Democratic Party is the party that welcomes Hispanics and that shares their values."

"The refusal of Republican candidates to address the Hispanic community not just at this forum but in national Hispanic gatherings in recent months, speaks volumes," Dean continued in a statement released Sunday night. "Sadly it is consistent with the Republican Party's strategy to scapegoat Hispanic immigrants for political gain."

Most of the Democratic candidates appeared Sunday night on the campus of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, for a candidate forum on the Spanish language network Univision.

A similar forum with the GOP Presidential candidates was supposed to take place next Sunday night. But only one of the Republican candidates, Senator John McCain of Arizona, accepted the invitation. That forum has been cancelled, although Univision hopes it can reschedule with the Republican candidates.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Obama signed a pledge not to campaign or compete in Florida if the state breaks DNC rules.

(CNN)–Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and former Senator John Edwards joined three other Democratic candidates for president by promising to skip states that break party rules and hold early primaries.

On Friday, the four states allowed by the DNC to hold their nominating contests before February 5 — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina — asked the Democratic field to sign a pledge not to campaign or compete in Florida if it violates party rules. Obama, Clinton and Edwards all said Saturday they would sign the pledge.

“As I have campaigned across America over the last six months, it’s become clear that Governor Dean and the Democratic National Committee have put together a presidential nomination process that’s in the best interests of our party and our nation,” Obama said in a statement released Saturday. “I look forward to continuing the dialogue with voters and building the kind of grassroots movement in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina and the rest of the country that will send a clear signal to Washington that the American people are ready for change.”

"We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process," Clinton's campaign manager said in a statement Saturday. "And we believe the DNC’s rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role. Thus, we will be signing the pledge to adhere to the DNC approved nominating calendar."

“This election, more than any other, is about real change and choosing the candidate who is going to fight for that change,” Edwards said in a statement released by his campaign Saturday. “Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina need to be first because in these states ideas count, not just money. These are places where voters get to look the candidate in the eye and measure their policies, ideas, and integrity. That’s why I am signing this pledge. This tried-and-true nominating system is the only way for voters to judge the field based on the quality of the candidate, not the depth of their war chest."

On Friday, Senators Joe Biden of Delaware, Chris Dodd of Connecticut, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed the pledge.

Also on Friday, Gov. Howard Dean, chairman of the DNC, called on his party’s White House hopefuls to support a DNC decision to strip the state of Florida of its say in the nomination process if it proceeds with plans to hold its presidential primary on January 29, eight days earlier than party rules allow.

"No matter which cards we're dealt, Florida Democrats are going to win the state's 27 electoral votes and elect a Democratic President in 2008," said Leonard Joseph, Florida Democratic Party Executive Director. "The country needs us."

The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee ruled in a meeting in Washington last Saturday that Florida Democrats would lose all of their delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver unless they modified their primary plans within 30 days.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford