Hey everyone -

Yesterday, President Obama appointed Gov. Kathleen Sebelius from Kansas as his choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services. While this was not the outcome we hoped for, we wish Gov. Sebelius a speedy confirmation and will work alongside her in the fight for quality, affordable, health care for every single American.

We are eternally grateful to Gov. Howard Dean for his service to his state, his party and his country over the past two decades. We are excited by his return to Democracy for America and look forward to continuing to see him lead the fight for a more just and progressive America.

Our thanks to Senator Harkin, Senator Leahy, Senator Sanders, Rep. Grayson, Rep. Grijalva, and Rep. Welch for publicly supporting our campaign to appoint Gov. Dean to HHS even when it was easier to sit on the sidelines.

But, most importantly, we owe a debt of gratitude to all of you who made phone calls, wrote blog posts, contributed talking points, joined Facebook groups, spoke up at meetings, and bugged your friends about this campaign.

This campaign was never about one person, so while today marks the end of this campaign, we are only at the beginning of the battle for a better America.

Thanks again and always remember: You have the power!

-The DeanForHHS Team

Gov. Dean was on Hardball this evening making the case for President Obama's health care plan. He made the case for meaningful health care reform that will cover every single American and described the benefits of the Obama plan.

At the end, Chris Matthews directly asked President Obama to appoint Dr. Dean as Secretary of HHS!

This afternoon President Obama is hosting an important fiscal reform summit to talk about getting the long term US budget on track. And Talking Points memo has the scoop on how a social security task force is no longer the main topic of discussion.

Instead, the focus of this summit is now all about health care:

"In the end, of course, the task force was put on the back burner and the mantra of "health reform is entitlement reform" became the order of the day, thanks in large part to the work of White House budget chief Peter Orszag."

In 2004, Howard Dean campaigned as the "Socially Progressive, Fiscally Responsible" candidate. And, as Governor of Vermont, he paid off much of the state's public debt and balanced 11 budgets despite being in a rare state where that is not required by law.

The new focus on fiscal discipline and health care makes Gov. Dean the perfect candidate for Secretary of HHS.

Contact President Obama and urge him to appoint Gov. Dean.

Governor Dean just wrote an article about the right wing and their attacks on common sense solutions to our broken health care system in the Huffington Post

The entire piece is a reminder as to why Governor Dean would make an excellent Secretary of Health and Human Services. And, the kind of advocate he could be for President Obama's plan to expand health care to every single American.

Here's a taste:

This claptrap is really about the far right laying the ground work for a far greater and more sustained attack on the Democrats' attempt to fix our health care system. As we move forward with the American people to finally fulfill the promise of Harry Truman, who over sixty years ago suggested that every American ought to have a reasonable health care plan, we will rely on the voters to remind the right wing that change is what we promised, and change is what we will deliver.

Their opposition is about politics at its worst and their desire to make sure that the new administration and the Congress do not get a "win"

In these rough economic times, we have got to do better than the same old scare tactics and games for political gains. It's time to fix our health care system and it's time for common sense and honesty.

Senator Judd Gregg just withdrew from the nomination for Commerce Secretary. Why? Because he didn't think he could be a good advocate for Obama's plans and priorities.Kinda proves our point, doesn't it?

At Health and Human services, President Obama needs to appoint a PROGRESSIVE and EFFECTIVE champion of fundamental health care reform.

And, Gov. Howard Dean MD - is just the person. A medical doctor with a pragmatic record of expanding health care in Vermont.

Because we can't expect someone without that kind of track record to lead the way on health care for all Americans.

So send a message to President Obama right now and let him know why you support Gov. Howard Dean as the progressive champion President Obama should choose.

Big news! Our friends at MoveOn.org have joined the campaign for a progressive Secretary of Health and Human Services. Yesterday, they sent a message to over 5 million members asking them to sign on to a petition to President Obama. Here's what the petition has to say:

"President Obama, please pick a progressive champion to head up your health care reform effort. We're ready to fight for your goal of winning quality, affordable health care for everyone in 2009."

We couldn't agree more!

Fittingly, MoveOn has also included a spot on the petition to leave comments with your choice for who should be appointed and why.

So, take a minute right now to sign MoveOn's petition and talk about why you support Gov. Howard Dean as the progressive champion President Obama should choose.

Yesterday, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) joined Senators Harkin and Sanders and Reps. Grayson, Grijalva, and Welch and endorsed Gov. Howard Dean MD for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

""I think Howard Dean would do a great job," Leahy told the Huffington Post at an event at Georgetown University. "He is a physician. As governor he had to deal with everything that went right with HHS and with everything that went wrong. He can tell us that these are the things that a governor has to face, Medicare especially and other things, he is very knowledgeable. He would be very good ... And he is obviously a tireless worker."

We also hit a couple big milestones on Facebook as Appoint Dean for HHS Facebook Group crossed 5,000 members and the Dean for HHS Facebook group crossed 2,000!

The campaign rolls on!

Grassroots support for Dean for HHS is growing! Now, let's take our campaign directly to President Obama and Members of Congress. It'll take only a few minutes of your time but will mean the world to this campaign. When you call, be sure to let them know why you support Gov. Howard Dean MD for HHS and ask them to join you. Remember to be passionate, firm, and polite.

1) Call the Capitol Switchboard and ask for your Representative: (202) 224-3121

2) Call the White House Comment Line and ask President Obama to appoint Gov. Howard Dean MD as Secretary of HHS: (202) 456-1111

3) Send a Message to President Obama supporting Gov. Dean's for HHS.

Welcome to DeanForHHS.com! This is a grassroots campaign urging President Obama to appoint Gov. Howard Dean MD as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services.

• Dean was the longest-serving Democratic governor in the country when he opted not to run for his 6th full term; he twice won more than 70% of the vote for re-election, which is the very definition of bipartisan
• He was elected chairman of the National Governors Association by a bipartisan group of 50 other members
• He reformed health care in his state to provide universal coverage for children and pregnant women, an achievement that leveraged his experience as a medical doctor and reflected his practical approach as a governor
• As DNC Chair, Gov Dean led the party's outreach to all 50 states. With his base of national support and experience reaching out, no-one in America is better poised to rally popular support for Obama's comprehensive reform bill than Dr. Dean
• During his term Vermont paid off much of its public debt and he balanced 11 budgets despite being a rare state where that is not required by law