Jeri Trouble

The Thompson campaign has had its first mini-implosion before it has even started. The wife is the problem, it appears. Ambers puts as good a spin on it as he can:

Thompson unwisely allowed tension to develop between his wife and the rest of the campaign staff. Ex-campaign-manager designate Tom Collamore did not mesh with Jeri Thompson and the friction between the two was evident to the rest of the staff. At times, Kehn Thompson would simply countermand Collamore's instructions. She has final hiring authority -- something that every campaign manager needs and Collamore never had. The Thompson presidential staff will be her staff more than Fred's.

J.T. Mastranadi is one of the Republican Party's best opposition researchers. His "ground" skill -- his ability to unearth new information -- is the envy of many competitors. He was hired two weeks ago, and when he began to plan for the campaign, he found it difficult to get his questions answered. He quickly concluded that Thompson had yet to get his affairs in order, friends say.

And time is running out.

(Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty.)