At Sunday's Des Moines, Iowa, debate, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, left, and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean raise their hands to show they would support whomever the Democratic nominee might be. Credit: © 2004 Reuters

Dean's deft response was to ask all the other candidates to raise their hands if they planned to endorse the party's eventual nominee. All the others did so, of course, and there was your photo op of the day: which looked like everyone pledging allegiance to Dean.

WEB EXTRA Jan. 5, 2004 -- Let's say you spent zero time studying the Democratic candidates for president over the last six months or so. You devoted 2003 to doing your job or having a life, or maybe even both. You are, in sum, a typical American. Now you've emerged from the holidays, noticed 2004 is divisible by four and realized you've got both a Summer Olympics and a presidential election to deal with. So you flip on Sunday's Des Moines Register debate between NFL playoff games and you wonder, who are these guys?

Actually, the Des Moines Register debate was just perfect for you. Like the playoffs, it brought a welcome end to the long months of qualifying preliminaries in the summer and fall of 2003. And it did not take much time to see which guy the pack is chasing. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean wore a bland suit and tie and a game face that betrayed little emotion. He looked not one inch the juggernaut. But when moderator Paul Anger invited cross-questioning among the candidates, nearly all of them dog-piled on Dean. (The notable exception was John Edwards, the senator from North Carolina who looks increasingly interested in being someone's vice presidential nominee.)

Dean's deft response was to ask all the other candidates to raise their hands if they planned to endorse the party's eventual nominee. All the others did so, of course, and there was your photo op of the day: which looked like everyone pledging allegiance to Dean.

Every bit as evident was the growing ammunition dump of attack material Republicans will have for use against Dean later. The former physician continues to astonish political professionals by saying what he thinks -- or at least what pops into his head. He portrays this often-cockeyed candor as a proof of integrity. But it also begins to sound like a political variant of Tourette's syndrome.

If he's gotten away with it up to now, it may be because most of the country hasn't been watching. If Dean does lock up the nomination on some Tuesday night in the next month or so, watch how fast people do start to notice what he says about the Bible, the Confederate flag or the legal rights of Osama bin Laden. Many a fine candidate has been pilloried for less, once people started actually paying attention to what he said.

There are other candidates on display, but the observer just tuning in can probably figure out why they haven't set much of the world on fire. Dick Gephardt is great at reminding the faithful why the New Deal was a good deal, and he could still win the Iowa caucuses on the night of Jan. 19. But if he does he will need to come to life in New Hampshire or risk seeing his momentum vanish.

If you missed Sunday's debate, you can still catch the candidates live Tuesday on NPR stations and at npr.org, which will broadcast another forum starting at 2 p.m. ET. It's your chance to catch up on what the political junkies have been watching since last spring and decide for yourself whether you've missed anything.