Keeping secrets

Whoa! Dean even kept the secret of Gore's endorsement from Joe Trippi!

Dean kept his side of the bargain, refusing to tell even his campaign manager. Joe Trippi said he got wind that something was up Sunday when Dean ordered his staff to charter planes for Iowa. When he asked Dean what was going on, the boss said, "I can't tell you."

Trippi said he had a feeling Gore's endorsement was the big secret, but he didn't find out for sure until late Sunday night or Monday.

Also, apparently the reason Gore didn't call Lieberman ahead of time is because the news leaked out before he got the chance.

[...] Gore apparently wanted to give Dean's rivals a call late Monday night, officials said, but those plans were scuttled when the endorsement leaked.

So maybe the diss of Lieberman was not as bad as it first appeared.

It also looks like Gore's speech against the Iraq resolution last September was what stiffened Dean's own opposition to the war:

[Trippi] said the courtship began in September 2002, when Gore gave a speech denouncing President Bush (news - web sites)'s position on Iraq (news - web sites). He said the address stiffened Dean's opposition, and the former Vermont governor praised Gore in conversations some time after the address.