Steinbrenner will usually pay for a big bat...But maybe not this one
Balta relays that the Yankees owner was partially behind the vicious anti-Dean attack ads in Iowa. While that may translate into Dean delegates from Massachusetts, it means we probably can't depend on George contributing to help with the reported Dean campaign debt of around $500,000.00.

A conference call to supporters last week indicated that retiring the debt would likely have to be the first fundraising order of business for the re-tooling Dean movement, likely with a final online campaign fundraising bat, given Dean's refusal to fall back on commonplace budget balancing shortcuts. At the end of the Boston Globe story about the debt is this Roy Neel quote about the Governor's sense of fiscal responsibility and fairness:

"Everyone who is leaving will have been paid for every day they worked," Neel said. "We will not do what other campaigns have done, which is to ask staff to forgo payment they deserve."

But lost amid this continuing media obsession (he's out!) with anything that could be construed as more Dean campaign missteps is how common campaign debt is, and how moderate the Dean debt is, given the breadth and length of the campaign. A quick google reveals 6-figure debt from Carol Moseley-Braun's campaign, Al Sharpton's campaign, and apparently as of 6 months ago Gary Bauer still owes over 100,000 dollars from his 2000 bid for the Republican nomination. Campaign debt is a fact of life, whether you're a major candidate or an also-ran.

Curious though is this quote of 5 weeks ago, from the Moseley-Braun story, referencing a solution Joe Trippi seemed confident about:

"The campaign won't be asking for help with Braun's debts, but every candidate's debts will be cleared at a unity dinner fundraiser after the nomination, he (Trippi) said."

Seems like I heard Sharpton mentioning that as well at one point. Whatever happened to that unity dinner?