Burlington, Vt. ? Faster than you can say dot.com bust, Howard Dean’s quest for the presidency ended Wednesday as the Democrat, winless in 17 contests, bowed to political reality and abandoned his bid.

Once the little-known former governor of a small Northeast state, Dean took a summer ride to presidential campaign heights, attracting scores of followers and a Democratic record $41 million in campaign dollars largely through the Internet.

Exactly one month ago, Dean was the candidate to beat — front-runner in national polls and poised to begin his primary romp with a win in the Iowa caucuses. It all crashed when the real votes were counted.

Dean finished a poor third in Iowa, second in New Hampshire and managed just single digits in several states through early February.

A day after his distant third-place finish in Wisconsin, Dean announced that he would no longer actively pursue the presidency, but “we will, however, continue to build a new organization using our enormous grass-roots network to continue the effort to transform the Democratic Party and to change our country.”

Striking the defiant tone that has been the hallmark of his candidacy, the former Vermont governor urged his delegates of some 200 to stick with him.

“Keep active in the primary,” Dean declared to an overflow crowd of more than 500 flag-waving supporters and staff. “Sending delegates to the convention only continues to energize our party. Fight on in the caucuses. We are on the ballots. Use your network to send progressive delegates to the convention in Boston.”

His address Wednesday was quieter but not much more reflective. It was a call to build an enduring political movement that will help to elect like-minded Democrats to Congress and local offices and unite to defeat President Bush in the fall.

Although he encouraged supporters to continue voting for him, he did make clear he would not seek to derail the party’s ultimate nominee.

“I will not run as an independent or third-party candidate,” he said, as his wife Judy stood behind him.

“I will support the nominee of our party,” Dean said.