Trippi resigns from Dean campaign

This just in: CNN reports that Joe Trippi has resigned as campaign manager of the Howard Dean campaign. One insider told CNN: "He can organize a movement, but he can't run a campaign." Dean named Roy Neel, former Vice President Al Gore's chief of staff, as campaign CEO.

I don't fault Dean for shaking up his staff, but in my view Trippi -- who has become something of a cult hero in Internet circles since last summer -- is getting a bum rap as the lightning rod for Dean's troubles. The problem with the Howard Dean campaign over the past six weeks has been Howard Dean.

I'm sure the talking heads will see it a different way, but I think this is a strategic mistake on Dean's part. Trippi is the one that has formed a long-term relationship with millions of Deaniacs; he's the one who has been the point man for raking in $15 million-plus per quarter. Where is Dean going to go except the Internet to keep his campaign financially afloat? If it looks as if Dean is writing off his Internet strategy, he's lost.