A dream starts to fade

[Forkboy]

After Patti Solis Doyle and Geraldine Ferraro, Mark Penn is the third senior adviser to Hillary Clinton to step down or be demoted. Each time one of the praetorian guard falls, more questions are asked about the judgment of the commander-in-chief. It was Mr Penn's big idea to play on Mrs Clinton's managerial competence and her experience under fire. He was the author of the most famous advertisement of the campaign, asking voters who they would like in the White House at 3am when the red phone rings. He was the brains behind the strategy which contrasted her battle-hardened experience (even if she had to embellish her story of facing snipers in Bosnia) with Barack Obama's untested hand at the tiller.

Both Hillary and Bill Clinton trusted Mr Penn to the point of being blind to his failings. The event that propelled his demotion was a classic conflict of interest. As the chief executive of a major PR firm for whom he continued to work, Mr Penn advised the Colombian government on how to secure congressional approval for a free trade deal. This was exactly the sort of trade agreement that Mrs Clinton is backing away from as she approaches a crucial primary in Pennsylvania. Such states are sensitive to shedding jobs abroad. The damage is all the greater because Mr Penn did not go immediately. He tried to ride out the storm created when the Wall Street Journal reported that he had met the Colombian ambassador with an admission that the meeting was "an error of judgment". It took a union coalition against Mr Penn to force his eventual demotion.

This was a disaster waiting to happen, and it speaks volumes about Mrs Clinton's mindset. Mr Penn is a figure from the mid-90s who kept Bill Clinton's campaign fighting for the centrist vote. He did the same for Mrs Clinton's Senate campaign in 2000. Both husband and wife owe Mr Penn a debt of gratitude for the quality of his past advice, but neither appreciates how much of a liability he has become today. Mr Penn's innate conservatism, which can be seen in anything from economics to Mrs Clinton's refusal to renounce her vote in the support of the Iraq war, is anathema in a post-Bush era where conservatism is discredited. What Democrat voters want, and arguably what America wants too, is not a reminder of how far right a centrist president can be pushed, (the leitmotif of the Clinton/Blair era) but how much distance a new president can put between him or herself and Mr Bush, possibly the worst president in US history. America's desire for a fresh start is so obvious it is hard to underestimate, but Hillary and Bill Clinton have been making a good stab at it, propelled by the need to re-fight the battles of the past.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/apr/08/hillaryclinton.barackobama

[cliffordu]

1. Not much to add here.....good post.

[Andy823]

2. Yep

And I wonder what kind of people she would surround herself with "if" she were to become president? And of course one would have to ask themselves just who would she serve as president, the people, or the same corporate criminals who are running things now?

[Jim Sagle]

3. Penn personifies what is most troubling about the Clintons: the corruption, the cynicism, and the

corporatism masked as centrism. If the Clintons had been better Democrats, this primary would have been an easy ride for Hillary.

[Forkboy]

7. I once joked that their cynicism made mine look tame.

No easy feat.

[dchill]

9. I hear you. I'm cynical, but the truly...

championship-level cynicism of the entire Clinton effort continues to shock and astound me. But even more shocking and astounding is the number of people who, for one reason or another, are blind to it. It baffles me to no end.

[DURHAM D]

4. Right - Geraldine Ferraro - one of a thousand people on a finance committe.

:silly:

[babylonsister]

5. Ouch. I hope she will realize this. nt

[Cha]

6. So ol' mark penn got them the centrist vote in

'90's and hilary's senate seat in 2000? But, overplayed his hand in 2008 'cause he forgot bush is the worst freakin' president in history and hilary did nothing but pander to his ass for 7 years.

Too bad there's nothing to salvage 'cause the whole thing is built on lies and sand.

[NanceGreggs]

8. I am not dismissing Hillary's poor judgment ...

... in relying on someone like Penn in the first place.

But considering what her campaign has evolved into under his "guidance", if she took him out in the alley and shot him, I don't think there is a jury in the country that would convict her.

Penn's last chance at fame and a buck will undoubtedly be his authorship of "The REAL Dummy's Guide to Losing a Campaign".

[MadMaddie]

29. I agree with you Nance..

When the First super Tuesday rolled around and she didn't win by a landslide she should have gotten rid of Penn and his antiquated ideas. She has never recovered.

Her prime mistake was to "Stay the Course", and it backfired horribly.

It really is too bad.

[BeyondGeography]

10. It's a classic American "anything for money" deal

if you can play the game like Penn, you get paid coming and going. Little does it matter if you wind up advocating against the very people your candidate has come to depend on. Little does any of it matter, really. The idea that people who have cashed in like the Clintons are the last best hope for working class Americans is a joke anyway.

Hillary let Penn align her campaign with the destructive side of American capitalism, but you don't rack up $109 million without riding that tiger yourself, so the "disaster waiting to happen" wasn't something she probably took all that seriously to begin with.

[krkaufman]

28. coming and going...

Yes, the Penn stories have continually reminded me of Abramoff and Ralph Reed's dealings with the Indian tribes.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-07-12-abramoff-tribe_x.htm

[Usrename]

11. I don't know if they understand this or not, but she could have led the party.

She always had a lot to try and overcome with the base, especially with the anti-war crowd. But she just doesn't seem to get it at all. She mocks the Obama supporters in a way that clearly shows how out of touch her campaign is. If anything, she should have tried to woo this crowd, instead of ridiculing them.

All she had to do, from the beginning, was denounce what Washington has become and she would have been unstoppable.

She can't bring herself to do that, though. She believes deeply in the cronyism and bribery and treason that goes on there. She thinks Western civilization will collapse if we turn a blind eye to the lobbyists and corporations. She really believes that the system is working just fine, and that new faces will solve everything.

It's almost unbelievable that she has any supporters at all. Especially among folks who pay attention.

[Mooney]

12. This pretty much nails it:

"Mr Penn's innate conservatism, which can be seen in anything from economics to Mrs Clinton's refusal to renounce her vote in the support of the Iraq war, is anathema in a post-Bush era where conservatism is discredited. What Democrat voters want, and arguably what America wants too, is not a reminder of how far right a centrist president can be pushed, (the leitmotif of the Clinton/Blair era) but how much distance a new president can put between him or herself and Mr Bush, possibly the worst president in US history. America's desire for a fresh start is so obvious it is hard to underestimate, but Hillary and Bill Clinton have been making a good stab at it, propelled by the need to re-fight the battles of the past."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[FightingIrish]

13. I think it's pretty clear that a Hillary clinton presidency would

be marked with firings, betrayals and defections. If you can't run a campaign without this kind of screw up how can you run a country? More bad judgment coming home to roost.

[jgraz]

14. 'div class=excerpt' is your friend

Luv ya, Forky, but three thick graphs of italics are more than my tired eyes can deal with. :P

Thanks for the pointer, tho. Good article. :hi:

[cboy4]

15. Interesting post from one of the more proactive

Obama supporters.

[Forkboy]

17. Here cboy. I made some other posts lately. Maybe you have something useful to add to them.

Darfur women still face rape risk
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3117266&mesg_id=3117266

America, let's talk about racial and gender bias
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5413218&mesg_id=5413218

Women face bias worldwide - UN
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3112753&mesg_id=3112753

So, you want to be a McCain Democrat?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=5364153

A National Women's History Month / St. Patrick's Day double tribute.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=3024575

Mass. leads bid to limit greenhouse emissions
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=3098109

Peace symbol turns 50, man
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=3112764

None of these talk about how great a man Barry Bonds is, so I understand if you don't want to join in.

[cboy4]

18. Geez, can't you accept a compliment? Your baseball

team won the World Series last year, and now it looks like your candidate is going to win the primary.

Why so grumpy Forkboy?

And those are all very admirable topics. :thumbsup:

[Forkboy]

19. Because the Bruins drew Montreal in the first round.

People are lucky I haven't gone a three state killing spree. :P

Seriously, if I look like an Obama supporter it's only because of the alternative. I was die hard Kucinich guy, and I'm a flaming leftist all the time. Do you really think I'm happy with either of these centrist loving, safe as milk, rock no boats candidates? I've been forced into a position where once again I'm choosing between the evil of two lessers. Out of those two I feel Obama has a slightly better chance of an upside than Hillary does. If that makes me proactive to you, so be it. :shrug:

[cboy4]

20. Actually, I don't think you're a big Obama supporter...

I know you don't like Hillary, but I don't believe you're an Obama supporter per se.

We both are Kucinich guys, so I hear you.

I just like implying that you're a huge Obama supporter so I get a reaction from you!

Mission accomplished. :thumbsup:

hahaha

[Forkboy]

21. I know, that's why I bring up Bonds with you all the time.

We're both bastards. :)

[cboy4]

22. I think you're more of a dick than a bastard.....(not that there's

anything wrong with that) -- while on the other hand, I'm really, for the most part, and angel.

[Forkboy]

23. ....

:spray:

[Voice for Peace]

16. The Clintons made a major error right from the beginning of the Bush admin

in cozying up to the family and supporting the war. Even if this came out of Penn's advice for her Senate career, it was a major miscalculation -- I can't believe they were simply naive. Too much ambition & very bad judgement. A lot of us knew even before Bush got into office that he was likely to be the worst president ever... he just radiated it.

[Window]

24. Well, alrighty then.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

25. "...possibly the worst president in US history."

Love it.

[Forkboy]

27. I don't know, I was a little upset that they included the word "possibly".

:D

[NC_Nurse]

30. Best line of the story.

[Scurrilous]

26. K & R

:thumbsup: