Obama tells Dean he's not welcome at event introducing new DNC chair

There is a real problem when Joe Lieberman is treated better than Howard Dean.

Sam at Huffington Post reports:

Barack Obama is set to host a press conference with incoming Democratic National Committee Chair Tim Kaine on Thursday in what will ostensibly mark the beginning of a new era for the party and the committee.

Noticeably absent from the affair will be the individual who symbolized the old regime.

Former Gov. Howard Dean is not on the list of attendees for the event, a noticeable nonattendance for someone largely credited with revitalizing the Democratic Party ranks and contributing - whether politically or through his 50-State Strategy - to major electoral gains.

In fact, AP reports that Obama's people told Dean he wasn't welcome:

But Democrats with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering the Obama team, say Dean won't attend the event at the request of Obama advisers.

This is part of a growing theme of poorly managed relations by the Obama people - or worse, outright vendettas with good Democrats who deserve better. I really worry that Obama is starting to create a good deal of bad blood on the Democratic side of the aisle, and unnecessarily. And as I always try to explain, it doesn't matter if some of you think its petty that people are feeling slighted. The fact remains that important, powerful people are feeling slighted - are being slighted - and the list is growing. And that does not bode well for the future of Obama's agenda in this town. At some point you need more than the minority party on your side to achieve victory.