Iowa senator joins Dean bandwagon

? Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin endorsed Howard Dean for president on Friday, calling him “the best person to beat George W. Bush” and giving a key boost to the embattled front-runner 10 days before the state’s kick-off caucuses.

Dean is “the Harry Truman of our time. Howard Dean is really the kind of plain-spoken Democrat we need,” Harkin said in an interview with The Associated Press hours before his official announcement.

Harkin represents the state’s most durable Democratic politician, a four-term senator whose organization can prove a vital asset on caucus night Jan. 19. Dean and all his rivals for the nomination had appealed to Harkin for his support, and the lawmaker said recently that he was weighing whether to choose sides.

The timing of the endorsement was a political gift for Dean, buffeted by criticism from his rivals and forced to spend most of Friday trying to prevent lasting damage from his four-year-old comments that the presidential caucus system was led by extremist interests.

“Four years ago, I didn’t really understand the Iowa caucuses,” Dean said Friday. “I wouldn’t be where I am without the Iowa caucuses.”

Dean leads in the polls in Iowa, but caucuses demand a sophisticated organizational structure as well, and he has been counting on an army of young volunteers to help deliver victory.

Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts are challenging Dean for first place in private polls in the state taken in recent days, with Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina trailing.

“I like and respect each one of them but for me one candidate rose to the top as our best shot to beat George W. Bush and to give Americans the opportunity to take our country back,” Harkin told supporters in Des Moines, Iowa.

For days, Harkin had toyed with a decision. He decided Thursday night to endorse Dean, notifying him with a telephone call. Dean left the timing of the announcement to Harkin.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, holds up a shirt after endorsing Democratic presidential hopeful former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean during a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. Harkin's endorsement Friday gave Dean a key boost 10 days before the state's caucuses.