He didn't even make the Trippi to Michigan

As has widely been reported already, Campaign Manager Joe Trippi was pushed out by the Governor himself, who wanted to move him to Senior Advisor, alla Donnie Fowler and the Clark camp shake ups in September/October. Although I think Trippi won't go whine to the press, he is a loyal man, even if Dean isn't.

And there are more signs that the Dean campaign has spent itself into a big, big hole by losing Iowa badly (over $10M spent there) and New Hampshire (haven't heard any hard numbers except for $500K in the last week on TV alone), according to the Times Dean "has asked his 500 staff members to skip their paychecks for two weeks." Doesn't sound like a $41M campaign that's rolling, does it? "But this week, campaign fund-raisers said, the operation had only $4.5 million to $5 million on hand, about the amount it raised over the Internet since Jan. 1, and was scrambling to collect more money." Another $1 that they are in the process of raising this week will help, but what a waste on all those damn Dean scarves and hats!

The Dean camp also yanked off all their 2/3 state ads until further notice last week, saying it wasn't strategically smart to spend like that. Maybe so, but now rumors that they are short on money will be extremely hard to deny, about as hard as Joe "We're in a three way tie for third place" Lieberman is dropping out...ok, well not that bad.

Roy Neal, a former telecommunications lobbyist who was an aide to Mr. Gore for nearly 20 years, on Capitol Hill and in the Clinton White House, is to take Trippi's place. Look for the internet side of things to change rapidly. This guy is "the Washington ultimate insider" according to the Times and maybe a sign that of Gore's influence. Something finally came out of that endorsement. Where was Al Gore in New Hampshire? Or Bill Bradley?

So why was Trippi fired if he got Dean SEIU, AFSCME, Gore, Bradley, Harkin, Mosley Braun, and more? "It was also Mr. Trippi who suggested that Dr. Dean give a rousing, fired-up speech after his crushing third-place finish in Iowa, a speech -- and screech -- that may have led to his undoing in New Hampshire." Trippi wasn't paid a salary but his consulting company got 15% commission on all the ad buys (which were over $9.2M), so I think he won't go pan handling just yet. Those too things, his calls the last month which made Dean dive, and his greed, might have done it.

In Clark staffing intrigue, they were on the verge of hiring McCain's campaign manager in 2000, John Weaver, days before New Hampshire. But there was infighting among the ex-Gore/ex-Graham people and who knows if he will be hired after all? Chris Lehane, the dirty tricks man for Gore and maybe for Clark (he is rumored to have found all the videos on Dean that started the tailspin in Iowa), has been yanked off the tube in place of Jaime Ruben, a deputy secretary of state for Clinton and Clark's foreign policy advisor (now that's an easy job. That's like being Dean's health care advisor or Gephardt's trade advisor) but he is much smoother (and not nearly as slimy) on TV.