By Steve Schifferes BBC News Online, Washington

Howard Dean's anti-war stance raised his profile

Mr Dean used to joke that he came from the "Democratic wing of the Democratic party."

But he is now putting in a strong showing in the Democratic sweepstakes, despite being virtually unknown nationally when he declared he was running for president last year.

Some in the Democratic party claim that a candidate who questioned the war cannot lead the party Howard Dean

Mr Dean rose to prominence by opposing the Iraq war, and is now being rewarded by Democratic activists with more campaign contributions than any other candidate.

Mr Dean says he has raised $7m in the second quarter of the year, double the amount he received in the first quarter.

That compares to around $5m which has been raised by two of the most high-profile candidates, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, in the same quarter.

Two other leading candidates, Representative Richard Gephardt of Missouri and Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, are lagging well behind.

Money and politics

Money is essential to US politics.

Candidates must pay for advertising to reach potential voters and need additional funds to help increase turnout among their supporters.

The need is particularly pressing for Democratic candidates for president.

Changes to the primary system of elections means that most of the money will have to be spent in a few weeks in January and February of 2004, when key states all vote together on selecting the nominee.

Mr Dean has been particularly adept at using the internet to raise money.

He has used his own website to recruit 45,000 supporters who attend "meet-up" events in local cities with like-minded people.

And he topped the online poll conducted by a left-wing website, Moveon.org, gaining 44% of the vote to 15% for rival John Kerry - further boosting his fundraising efforts.

But the Democrat's rival, President George W Bush, has not been idle either.

He has raised $30m in just a few weeks of fundraising, and is expected to have some $200m by the time of the Democratic primaries.

As the rivals fight each other, Mr Bush is expected to use the money to strengthen Republican organisations around the country and begin an advertising campaign attacking the Democrats and promoting his own record.

Dean's foreign policy

Despite his popularity among registered Democrats, Mr Dean might be vulnerable among the broader electorate for his anti-war stance, which the president will seek to portray as unpatriotic.

In a speech last week in Washington, Mr Dean sought to dispel the impression that he was soft on terrorism.

He said that "some in the Democratic party claim that a candidate who questioned the war cannot lead the party."

But he said he still "questioned the judgment of those who led us into this conflict that has made us on balance not more secure, but less."

"The Bush administration led us into war without convincing evidence that an imminent threat existed, without a strategy for securing nuclear materials, without a plan for financing reconstruction, and without a clue how to consolidate the peace or unite the Iraqi people in support of democracy."

However, invoking the spirit of Democrat presidents like Harry Truman, who stood up to communism, and John F Kennedy, who confronted Russia in the Cuba missile crisis, he said he would be "tough and patient."

He pledged that, as president, he would draw a "red line" over North Korea's attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

Mr Dean spoke of the need to "confront the Iranians, the Syrians, the Saudis, and others who send money to Hamas"

And he said he did support "pre-emptive military action" in the case of Afghanistan, where the US did face an imminent from al-Qaeda, and in Bosnia and Kosovo, where the UN failed to act to stop genocide.

Nevertheless, Mr Dean will face a difficult task in reaching out beyond his core supporters to the broader US electorate in the face of determined opposition both within his own party and from a victorious president.