The tale of the ill-fated Hillary Clinton campaign continues to unfold and I have to keep asking myself, “How could this have happened?”
The latest? Apparently, former strategist Mark Penn advised Clinton that she should “portray … Obama as having a ‘limited’ connection to basic American values and culture ….” Atlantic magazine is about to come out with a big article on this, which ought to be an interesting piece to read, not just for us wonky types, but also in looking at Hillary Clinton going forward.
With each new story about Penn, it becomes clearer to me that he is more than just slightly out of touch with: (1) what voters really want to hear from candidates, (2) our intelligence, and (3) reality.
Whatever country he thinks would respond to his way of operating isn’t the one I know.
I was pondering this week what Hillary’s future role could or should be, not only for the Democratic party, but for all women regardless of party affiliation. I imagined she could be a crusader against policies that try to steal constitutionally protected rights from women or she could use her voice to take a stronger stand against sexism in the media.
While the point of the Atlantic article is apparently to be critical, probably rightly, of Clinton’s inability to put together a cohesive campaign, I find the Mark Penn comments more alarming. Granted, I’m already a little bit steamed about his “grannies” comment, but isn’t it time to be done with the political schoolyard tactics?
Bullies pull this sort of thing all the time. Make everyone suspicious of the one who looks, sounds or dresses different than all the other kids, circle the wagons and then attack. Now, I’m not letting Barack Obama or any other politician off the hook for sometimes doing the same thing. I still don’t buy Barack’s explanation that his comment about Hillary being “likeable enough” wasn’t meant to cut through her image like a hot knife through butter.
But the more I learn, the more it appears that Penn was a master at that tactic. I’m sure he would have done really well in the Nixon administration. Assuming that keeping Penn on board for so long wasn’t entirely her idea, I hope she’s taken the lesson of this bitter pill to heart.
Hillary, you did a lot of things wrong all on your lonesome, but I bet if you had kept your own counsel a little more, and had gently steered clear of Bill’s old crew, the ultimate outcome of this presidential race might have been different.
As for Penn, it’s time for him and Bob Shrum to keep their paws off any Democrats from this moment going forward. The two of you have done enough damage to Democratic politics for several generations.
August 10th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I’ve always believed Mark Penn was evil. Never was a huge Hillary supporter, but once when I was exploring her campaign Web site to read about her policies, I stumbled across a rambling negative blog post written by Penn. Clearly out of touch with all of the things you listed. Certainly did nothing to change my mind about Hillary.
August 10th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Yes, I too hope she has taken this lesson to heart. Mark Penn’s involvement was one of the reasons I could not bring myself to support her campaign. If she is to have an important role for women in the future, she will have to rid herself of the “bullies”.
I am a sixty-plus woman who was not impressed!
August 11th, 2008 at 12:11 am
As a former law school classmate of Barack’s, I truly found myself torn between Hillary and Barack at the beginning of the primary season. Once Hillary’s campaign got under way, and it looked as if she was employing the very tactics she and Bill decried when they were used against them. . .I was totally turned off. Guess we have Mark Penn to thank for that. Shame, really.
Not sure Bill wasn’t a liability, too.
August 11th, 2008 at 10:07 am
When I read this, all I could do was imagine the right’s ads proclaiming that even Hillary Clinton believes Barack Obama has a limited American experience. Of course, videos of Jeremiah Wright will be playing in the background of said video.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:16 am
When I read about people who have a position of power in politics, like Mark Penn, I wonder why they have that much influence. Money? Connections? If it was so obvious to so many that he wasn’t good for Hillary’s campaign, people on the inside had to notice that, too. There are only so many positions that hold that kind of sway, and with someone like Mark Penn taking up space, how can someone who knows what they’re doing get a chance. This really frustrates me because I still think that with the right team Hillary could have been our candidate. I sincerely hope the misdirection wasn’t intentional.