The latest flap came when Dean said of the Republican Party on Monday, ''It's pretty much a white, Christian party.'' The comment drew fire from Dean's GOP opponents, but it also rankled Democrats, who have been nervous ever since the outspoken former Vermont governor and presidential candidate won the DNC post.

Although many admire Dean's fund-raising and party-building skills, they worry about his penchant for red-hot rhetoric. Last week, Dean said of Republicans, ''a lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives.''

But the Christian comment has the potential of repelling millions of voters, and it had many Democrats running for cover. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California told reporters Wednesday, ''I don't think the statement [Dean] made was a helpful statement'' and attributed it to ''the exuberance'' of being in the job.

Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, one of Dean's 2004 Democratic primary opponents, said the comment was ''way over the top'' and said he will ask Dean to explain himself during a previously scheduled meeting with Senate Democrats today. ''I'm sure I won't be the only one,'' Lieberman said.

A few Democrats spoke in Dean's defense, saying the Republicans are bound to jump on every blunt utterance. ''It's a diversion from the real, central issues,'' said Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. Others simply ducked the issue. Sen. Patrick Leahy said hesitantly of his fellow Vermonter, ''He's done a superb job with fund-raising.'' Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, when asked about Dean, shrugged and kept walking into the Senate chamber to vote.

Dean's assessment is similar to Kennedy's. ''They're trying to make me the issue,'' he told NBC's ''Today'' show Wednesday. Typically, Dean refused to back down. He noted that he is a white Christian. And he cited a recent op-ed by former Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo., an Episcopalian minister, that ''Republicans have transformed our party into the political wing of the Christian conservatives.''

The chairman's popularity with the Democratic base has made some of Dean's critics think twice.

Former vice presidential nominee John Edwards said of Dean at a Nashville fund-raiser Saturday night, ''He's a voice. I don't agree with it.'' But Monday, the DNC blog featured an entry from Edwards' blog emphasizing their common beliefs. ''We both agree with this basic truth: This Republican president and this Republican majority are not doing what they should be doing for working people in this country,'' the entry read. ''Howard and I have been saying the same thing about this for years. Hear that? The same thing. For years.''