Rich Galen —

Richard A. "Rich" Galen is a columnist and Republican strategist and former press-secretary to Vice President Dan Quayle and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich... (wikipedia)

You don't have to be a political genius to sniff the smell of blood in the water.
I would be surprised to see the White House scaling back on anything. That would be an admission they are operating from a position of weakness.
Republicans regard Dean as one of their best secret weapons, I have yet to find a Democrat who, in private chatter, doesn't think he's a problem for them.