[dirtboy]

Gore's endorsement proved to be a double-edged sword. Valuable as the support seemed, it also put a bull's-eye on Dean's back ... Dean, meanwhile, was thrust from unnoticed underdog to high-profile frontrunner

This is simply not accurate. Dean was getting plenty of notice prior to Gore's endorsement, and several "Stop Dean" movements were underway at the time, including a full-court press from the Clintonista machine. It just took awhile for them to get traction.

[gg188]

Gore's endorsement was---for better or for worse---quickly a non-event, shoved out of the news-cycle immediately by the capture of Sadaam Hussein.