The Clinton Campaign’s AgendaPaul Hogarthbyline‚ Feb. 27‚ 2008With the Hillary Clinton campaign in disarray, it’s obvious that her strategy of “kitchen-sink” attacks on Barack Obama is not helping the cause. But there may be another agenda to explain it. Mark Penn, Clinton’s top political guru who has pushed her to “go negative” while other advisers have not, is the C.E.O. of a consulting firm whose D.C. lobbying subsidiary is run by Charlie Black (the top political adviser to John McCain.) Penn may have concluded that his client’s prospects are toast, and he knows that a President McCain would better serve his company’s interests than a President Obama. He may be simply looking past the primaries, and that slinging mud at Obama now could hurt him in the general election. Democrats who support Clinton should be outraged, but it’s too simple to conclude that Mark Penn is just taking Hillary for a ride. The Clintons have been using Penn for 12 years, and know exactly what he’s about. Will Clinton end her campaign on a high note by firing Penn, or will she keep letting herself be a pawn in his game? |