Obama to keep Dean on as chair of DNC

YEEEEAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! (TPM):

Here's the statement, sent over by Obama campaign spokesperson Bill Burton:

"Senator Obama appreciates the hard work that Chairman Dean has done to grow our party at the grassroots level and looks forward to working with him as the chairman of the Democratic Party as we go forward."

Historically, a DNC chair's tenure is uncertain once a nominee is chosen, since said nominee might want to install his own guy there, but as Ben Smith notes, Dean has a power base built up among state party chairs across the country who love his 50-state strategy of investing in them.

The DNC earlier today confirmed that Obama had installed his man Paul Tewes to serve as his eyes and ears at the organization, a sign that Obama is moving quickly to reshape the party in his own image. Obama's party, it turns out, will include Dean at the top of the DNC.

Today is a very, very good day.