Trippi Couldn't Be Persuaded to Stay On

On Wednesday, after absorbing his second straight loss of the presidential season, Democratic candidate Howard Dean retreated home to Burlington and sat down with campaign manager Joe Trippi to talk about the future.

Dean told Trippi he was concerned about the lack of organization in his headquarters, according to campaign sources familiar with the conversation. Trippi was doing too much — strategy, response, media message — and, as a result, the overall campaign was suffering.

The candidate said he wanted to bring in Roy Neel, a longtime Al Gore advisor, to act as the chief executive officer. Trippi's response was quick: Fine, but he would leave.

Surprised by Trippi's reaction, Dean tried to talk him out of it — and was later joined by other senior advisors — but Trippi could not be dissuaded.