Bump and Update: Grossman is gone from the Dean Campaign.

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Original Post 2/15 7 pm

Howard Dean won't say he's quitting the presidential race if he loses Wisconsin Tuesday. But his chief campaign aide, Steven Grossman, will be quitting Dean --to back Kerry--if Dean loses:

The chairman of Howard Dean's presidential campaign said today that he would leave and shift his support to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts if Dr. Dean loses the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday, an outcome he sees as all but invevitable.

"If Howard Dean does not win the Wisconsin primary, I will reach out to John Kerry unless he reaches out to me first," said the chairman, Steven Grossman, who was chairman of Mr. Kerry's 1996 Senate race. "I will make it clear that I will do anything and everything I can to help him become the next president, and I will do anything and everything I can to build bridges with the Dean organization."

Dean is under a lot of pressure to quit now, as is Edwards. We bet Dean sees the light on Wednesday.

Dr. Dean has no events scheduled beyond Tuesday night, when he plans to fly home to Burlington, Vt., to regroup. He has not won in any of the 16 states that have voted. His bank account is dwindling. Many of his aides are planning vacations or seeking jobs with other candidates. "None of us are doing a whole lot right now, because there's not a whole lot to do," one top aide said Sunday, on the condition he not be named. "We've put one ad on the air in Wisconsin. We're not polling anymore. We're not going to have the money to run some full-fledged campaign for March 2."

Edwards will probably stay in longer. He sees it as a two person race between him and Kerry--and has made plans to visit New York, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota and Ohio next week.