It was perhaps inevitable after Dean's weak Iowa and NH results. A
major staff shakeup in Burlington. Dean's media firm, Trippi, McMahon and Squires -- the source of Dean's crappy campaign ads -- is apparently out. And Trippi himself may or may not be gone. Either way, he's no longer campaign manager.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Dean told congressional supporters in a telephone conference call that he was installing Roy Neel as campaign CEO. Dean added that campaign manager Joe Trippi would remain on the payroll, the source said.
But another source said that Trippi had decided to depart the campaign rather than accept the change.
What Trippi built with the Dean campaign was amazing. Unprecedented. But the results weren't there. And in this biz, there's no margin for error.
Kerry was able to parlay his staff shakeup into great success, but he had a lot more time to work with. Roy Neel, former Gore chief of staff, won't have the luxury of time nor the deep pockets that DFA once boasted. The campaign blew through a lot of clams in blowing IA and NH.
Every indication is that Dean insists on competing in every Feb 3 state. It ain't gonna happen. He'll have to focus on a handful, just like the others will, and hope he gets the results to buy more time.