So I went looking for an image of Howard Dean for this post, and I came across the absolutely perfect specimen: A seven-year-old segment of “Morning Joe” entitled “Howard Dean: Baby Boomers Need To Get Out Of Way Of Young Leaders.” And wearing a Grandpa sweater as he said it:

The baby boomers have got to get out of the way. It’s my generation. I’m happy to advise. I don’t think that we need to be in the forefront anymore.

Maybe the 75-year-old Dean should listen to his 68-year-old self. Or maybe not, I have mixed feelings. But he needs to make a move one way or the other, because the days until filing deadline are flying by and as long as Dean keeps up his Hamlet act, he’s an obstacle to other potential Democratic candidates.

Besides, of course, Poa Mutino. Correction: Mutino is running as an independent, not a Democrat.

Really, I wouldn’t mind if Dean gave it a go. It’s just ironic to hear him saying, way back in 2017, that Us Olds Need To Get Out Of The Way. But even in a Grandpa sweater, he’d be a more formidable candidate than anyone else who might be on offer. The prospect of a Dean comeback has sparked a fair bit of joy in liberal hearts. He would, at the very least, be a fiery campaigner — and that’s not a sly allusion to The Scream, which occupies an appallingly outsized place in Dean’s public image.

Besides, if not Dean, then who else? Former Burlington mayor Miro Weinberger hasn’t ruled out a run, although each passing day diminishes the likelihood. State Rep. Caleb Elder toyed with the idea, but decided to make a run for state Senate instead. Are we really going to enter primary season with Mutino and Esther Charlestin as the sole Democratic candidate? ic field? (Charlestin has shown no signs of seriously campaigning, not that that would make much difference for a novice politician with no name recognition.)

In my view (said in a Bernie Sanders voice), Dean’s decision comes down to two things. If he seriously wants to beat Phil Scott, he would need financial backing from national Democratic circles. The DNC, the Democratic Governors Association, the top-dollar donor class in California and New York and wherever George Soros has sited his supervillain lair. There isn’t enough money in Vermont Democratic circles to fully fund a credible challenge to Scott. Well, there’s enough money, but a lot of it wants the governor re-elected.

I assume that Dean’s been making calls to his friends (in the political sense) around the country. He’s probably gotten a polite reception considering his past service to the party. But they’re not opening their wallets.

Why not? Because national Democrats love them some Phil Scott. He is the exemplar of the great Lost Age of Civility in politics. I’ve heard Scott described as Joe Biden’s favorite Republican. Our Congressional delegation can’t help but fawn over him at every opportunity.

Besides, ehh, it’s only Vermont. National Democrats will have far bigger fish to fry this year. So if Dean was thinking he could turn the goodwill he banked as DNC chair into campaign cash, he’s probably been disappointed in the real-world response.

Even though he’s, ahem, only 75 years old.

I said “two things.” The second is, even without national backing, would he do it as one last grand gesture, one final turn in the spotlight, one huge favor to a party trying to preserve its legislative supermajorities? That might appeal to him, even if his prospects for winning aren’t great.

This is all speculation based on absolutely no knowledge of what goes on in Dean’s head or what motivates him. The sad thing is, this might be the most dramatic stage of the entire gubernatorial campaign. If he says “No,” and I wouldn’t blame him for a moment if he did, then we seem to be in for the Charlestin v. Mutino Sacrificial Lamb Derby. And another fall campaign where Scott won’t feel compelled to lift a finger or spend a dime.

And another two years of him racking up vetoes and failing to advance a vision for Vermont’s future.