Trippi out as Dean campaign chief

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Joe Trippi, the mastermind behind former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's stunning rise prior to the Iowa caucuses, quit the Dean camp Wednesday.

Dean, who stumbled badly after suffering an unexpected defeat in Iowa, reportedly sought to put longtime Al Gore aide Roy Neel in as campaign CEO and to shift Trippi into an advisory role. Trippi reportedly quit rather than accept the demotion.

Neel, chief-of-staff in Gore's senate office, worked as head of the U.S. Telecom Association, a Washington trade group, before taking a post on the former vice president's 2000 campaign.