The biggest loser on Monday wasn't Howard Dean, it was Al Gore. Howard Dean was always unlikely to get the Democratic Party's nomination because he has no chance to win. Period. If Howard Dean didn't lose the primaries outright, they powers that be would have found a way to force a brokered convention where he woudn't even receive serious consideration, since too many other Democrats are at risk in a blowout.
Al hitched his wagon on Howard's angry star and watched it fizzle out. Al's vision thing has been impaired for a long time and this is just further evidence of it. I don't know if Al could have resurrected his career or not int he future, but there were certainly those who always kept Al Gore in the back of their minds. But now that Al's burned his bridges with the Clintons and the rest of the DNC, I'm guessing there's nowhere for Al to go now outside of MoveOn rallies. Last time I checked, MoveOn hadn't been able to elect a dogcatcher this side of San Francisco.
Even Jimmy Carter had the good sense to not endorse Howard Dean. How good must it look on your CV to have political judgment inferior to Jimmy Carter's?