LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Howard Dean on Monday pushed his beleaguered Democratic presidential bid across Wisconsin amid the departure of his national chairman, a fresh sign of internal upheaval on the eve of a critical primary with 72 national convention delegates at stake.
Dean said little substantively about the circumstances surrounding Steve Grossman's exit. But the former Vermont governor's national campaign manager, Roy Neel, said he thought Grossman would soon join the campaign of front-runner John Kerry.
''He's made clear his on-the-record comments to the press he has another agenda at work now,'' Neel said.
For whatever the reason, the shakeup obscured Dean's message on the eve of the primary in a state with a tradition of supporting liberals, mavericks and Washington outsiders -- a state he said he badly needed to bounce back from a long string of losses.
It was the second convulsive change in the Dean high-command in little more than two weeks. Joe Trippi, his campaign manager previously, was ousted after Dean finished well behind both Kerry and Sen. John Edwards in the Iowa caucuses and came in a distant second to Kerry in New Hampshire.
At the time, Dean said that he offered Trippi another post when he decided to bring in Neel for the top day-to-day job.
Grossman said he had neither resigned nor been asked to resign, but he understood why Dean considers him no longer part of the campaign.
''I think it's fair to assume my public statements and actions as tantamount to a resignation,'' said Grossman. ''For the record, it didn't happen quite that way. I tried to make it clear I would do nothing prior to the end of the Wisconsin primary.''
Asked when Grossman left the campaign, Dean told reporters in La Crosse, Wis., ''I'm not going to get into that.'' Asked when he had last spoken to Grossman, Dean said, ''I have not talked to him since the paper article this morning. My response is, I'll speak for the campaign.''
Grossman, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from Vermont, had said earlier, ''I have no doubt he'll support the nominee in any way he can, no matter who the nominee is, and obviously that nominee looks to be John Kerry. He may say that Tuesday night. He may wait until Wednesday or Thursday to say that.''
Dean said he considered the parting amicable.
''I absolutely don't feel betrayed by Steve Grossman. I consider him to be a friend,'' Dean said. ''I consider him to have worked very, very hard for this campaign, including at times where we were not on the map. ... Steve was there before we were anybody.''
Dean continued insisting Monday that he has a chance to win the Democratic nomination, despite going winless in all 16 contests so far. He said he had hope of winning in Wisconsin but would stay in the race regardless. ''I think it's possible for us to do well even if we don't win,'' he said.
He told reporters that it was premature to count him out of the race, even though Kerry has piled up 14 wins.
''Let me remind you all that I have more delegates than everybody else in this race except John Kerry,'' Dean told reporters. ''So I think the campaign obituaries that some of you are writing are a little bit misplaced.''
He seemed determined Monday to prove that he is very much still a candidate, going before the Islamic Society of Milwaukee to denounce President Bush, Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Patriot Act. He said that in some respects the administration ran roughshod over the rights of people of Arab descent in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Dean was jovial, joining the press corps traveling with him in singing ''Happy Birthday'' to his press secretary, Jay Carson.
But campaign officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, described Dean as torn between his pragmatic conclusion that the race is about over and his emotional attachment to the fight itself and his supporters. For the moment, emotions and a fighting instinct are holding sway.
And the signs on the campaign trail -- huddled meetings involving aides, the absence of a formal schedule beyond Tuesday and dozens of empty chairs at events such as one in Racine, Wis., on Saturday -- indicate the end is near for a candidacy that just six weeks ago was first in polls, fund raising and momentum. Still, he had a packed rally at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Monday and he planned rallies later in the day in Wausau and Madison.
Neel said no plans have been laid for what the campaign will do after Tuesday.
''The only planning we're doing right now is to make arrangements for him to get back Tuesday,'' Neel said.
Still, he conceded, there probably were others in the campaign trying to figure out an exit strategy. ''Any planning people are talking about, they're doing on their own,'' Neel said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
