Okay, as much as I disliked Howard Dean, I admit I fell for the whole “he’s got a slick organization driven by the Internet” meme which is now exposed as so much nonsense. But the stories coming out after Joe Trippi’s firing suggest the Dean organization wasn’t just overrated but apparently had the institutional intelligence of a tick.
According to the Washington Post and New York Times, Dean is no longer running television ads, largely because it can’t afford to. Dean raised more money than any other Democrat — $41 million — but apparently only has about $4 million left.
But, as Dan Conley notes, something doesn’t add up. Dean apparently spent about $9.2 million on advertising, but where did the other $32 million go? How the hell does Dean raise more than any Democrat in history and end up broke after back-to-back lousy performance in the first two primaries?
It also turns out that the just-fired Joe Trippi didn’t receive a salary but instead drew up to a 15 percent commission on the millions of dollars in TV advertising (that’s right, Trippi profited from Dean’s horrible TV ads in Iowa and New Hampshire).
Jesus, if Dean simply wanted his campaign to throw away money for poor results, why didn’t he just hire Halliburton to manage his campaign?
Sources:
Dean’s Money Advantage Dwindles: Candidate Won’t Buy More Feb. 3 Ads. Thomas B. Edsall and Paul Farhi, Washington Post, January 29, 2004.
In Shake-Up, Dean Names Gore Ally to Run Campaign Jodi Wilgoren and Gen Justice, New York Times, January 29, 2004.
Sad day in Burlington. Dan Conley, January 29, 2004.