Mark Penn resigns as Clinton chief strategist: the fallout

Few on the American political scene are mourning the resignation of Mark Penn as chief strategist to the Clinton campaign, the only discernible lament being that his departure is too little, too late.  Even fewer in the Clinton camp, where, it seems, Penn’s only fan was the former first lady herself.

The man widely blamed for turning a once promising campaign into the slow motion train wreck it has now become asked to quit (or was forced to quit, it’s not quite clear) after it emerged that he had met with representatives of the Colombian government to promote a trade agreement Mrs Clinton opposes.

But to many, this misdemeanour is only one in a long line of errors which should have seen him removed from the campaign long ago. From his refusal to put sufficient resources into smaller caucus states to his insistence on pursuing the self-defeatingly snide electability argument, Democrats both within the Clinton camp and without see Penn’s misdirected strategies as the key failures of her campaign.

His refusal to even temporarily abandon his work as a lobbyist for some rather controversial clients - including Blackwater, the military mercenary firm accused of killing Iraqi civilians, and Ahmed Chalabi, who supplied faulty intelligence used to justify the Iraq invasion - was also a source of contention. As was his somewhat abrasive personality, which eventually saw him banned from making TV appearances on behaf of the campaign.

Many hope that his departure will now prompt a recalibration of the campaign, though at this late stage, two weeks out from the last major primary in Pennsylvania, there is a sense that the damage is likely irreversible.

Yet there is little sign that Clinton is preparing a change of tack. As a number of commentators have pointed out, Penn’s resignation looks more like a superficial distancing than an outright removal from the campaign.

A statement from Maggie Williams, Clinton’s campaign manager, says that while Penn has “been asked to give up his role as Chief Strategist of the Clinton Campaign; Mark and Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc, will continue to provide polling and advice to the campaign.”

To what extent this new role is distinguishable from his former one – except perhaps in title - is unclear. The man who some commentators are now branding Clinton’s Rasputin may not have vanished so much as assumed a cloak of invisibility.

A selection of reaction from the web:

Campaign Spot, National Review Online:

"In the catalog of bad moves by Penn, this was a ticky-tack foul, and it's revealing that now Hillary heeds the calls for his dismissal and accepts his resignation.

"If a faction outside the Clintons' inner circle can force her hand on Penn, then they can force her hand on departing the race... when the time is right."

Talking Points Memo:

"I'm going to have to wait to hear from some of my DC Dem consultant/polling community friends to get more of a feel for what happened here. Because if he was really sacked, the sacking announcement sort of reads like he helped draft it.

"When you figure how much grief this swaggering oaf has caused the Clinton campaign, if you're going to can him you'd think you would want to present it as something of a clean break, even if in the background some ties might actually remain. Yet the statement seems to have been massaged in such a way as to leave the murkiest of impressions. "

Huffington Post:

"So now Mark Penn has resigned from the Clinton campaign. Only he hasn't. Penn and his firm continue to get paid by the Clinton campaign for polling and advice.

"Penn represents the very worst kind of Washington insider who simultaneously takes millions from Democratic politicians and lobbies for some of the worst special interests in the world. This is exactly the kind of old politics that typifies the Clintons and John McCain, which John Edwards and Barack Obama have vigorously criticized.

"What kind of favors does Mark Penn hope to gain for his special interest clients if Hillary Clinton becomes President?"

Politico:

"The end of Penn's tenure as chief strategist offered immediate satisfaction to his many internal detractors, but the campaign signaled no change from its latest strategic direction, which Penn helped shape: an argument that only Clinton has a good chance of beating the Republican nominee."

"For Clinton's aides and advisors, the meeting was just the latest in a list of complaints about Penn that began with his strategic decision last year to focus on a message of strength and electability rather than inspiration, and his insistence on highlighting policy over passion. His $13 million in campaign billing and his insistence on maintaining his salary as worldwide CEO of the firm Burson Marsteller were also sources of tension within the campaign.

Comments

[stephen Bull]

So it was Penn all the time. I had read in all the inside sources that a brilliant campaign was being directed by Bill

[John Chuckman, Toronto, Canada]

The whole Penn business raises another issue.

With Hillary constantly singing the praises of her own experience and readiness, you have to wonder why she didn't fire this guy and fire him a long time ago?

[Brett]

It's not surprising that she held on to him so long. Hillary Clinton supposedly has kept the same set of aides for years, and is lothe to part with them. It would stand to reason that she would hang on to Penn, for a long time even after it had become clear that he was a liability, since he had helped in the past and was a long-time aid to her political ambitions.