Blaming Penn for Hillary
Hillary is a lousy candidate.
By Mark Kilmer Posted in 2008 | Hillary Clinton | Mark Penn — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Hillary's chief strategist, Mark Penn, was recently "fired" for conducting lobbying business with the Columbian government while working on her failed campaign. (He wasn't really fired, as he'll still be doing the same thing for the campaign without the title.) Chris Matthews's guy David Shuster, most known for calling the Clintons' daughter a whore, had this to say (on MSNBC's morning show) about that:
Well I think it's too little, too late. I mean I think you're absolutely right. The only reason he was hanging in this long was because he had the support of Hillary Clinton. I mean, a lot of people in the Clinton campaign were infuriated. You remember, Joe and Mika, a month ago, after a couple primary losses, when it was Mark Penn who said "oh, I wasn't in charge of Hillary's campaign," which just infuriated who were working with the campaign, who knew his crucial role.
I mean it was Mark Penn who made the case and sold it that Hillary Clinton should run as the de facto incumbent, and that proved to be a disaster, because of course that left the territory wide open to Barack Obama to claim the mantle of change in a change election. And of course when you think about all the various slogans, and campaign themes, and constantly changing message, I mean that was Mark Penn's doing, and I think you're absolutely right: this is something that might have helped Hillary Clinton a month ago. I don't think it makes any difference today.
Shuster misses the point in his pathetic attempt to defend Hillary. It's not Penn's fault that she failed to become her party's nominee. She is a lousy candidate. The only reason she was taken seriously is that she was Bill Clinton's wife, and that's frankly not enough. There was nothing Penn could have done.
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Blaming Penn for Hillary 2 Comments (0 topical, 2 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Several news reports are saying he lost his job, was fired, made to step down. It's also reported he is still on the campaign but in a lesser role. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
I believe her response to Obama's Canadian gaffe was she'd never have anyone on her campaign after something like that. I looked but couldn't find the quote.
Ask not what I can do for my country, ask what my country can do for me. Washington Elected Elite
Penn still left himself in an untenable position. He personally met with the leaders of Columbia on behalf of his company. In that position he is advocating for the passage of the Columbian Free Trade act. In his position on Hillary's campaign, his client was advocating against passage of the same act. Now, while granting that most High School Debate teams try to teach you to be prepared to argue either side of an issue, in the real world, people aren't willing to accept and advocate who talks both sides of the issue.
He could have dealt with the obvious conflict of interest either by appointing a new primary contact for the Columbians or he could have abstained from those decisions with in the Clinton campaign. But under no circumstances could he play both sides.
According to news reports I have read in the Washington Times this morning, the Columbians have also expressed their distress with the situation and canceled their contract with his firm. In the end, he has no one to blame but himself.