Opinion: Mark Penn holds forth
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The personnel change in the the day-to-day management of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign hasn’t slowed down her main spinmeister, who just moments ago issued his latest memo making the case for his candidate over Barack Obama in the Democratic race.
Some might see that as a tougher argument for Mark Penn to sell at the moment -- given Obama’s decisive wins in the weekend’s series of nomination contests, as well as recent polls showing him running a bit better than Clinton against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. But Penn, responsible for plotting strategy for Camp Clinton, will have none of that.
He resists, in his new memo, specifically using the word ‘cocaine,’ which embroiled him in a mini-tift late last year. But his contention is of a piece with the dispute that revolved over Obama’s youthful drug use: Clinton has been about as thoroughly vetted as a politician can be while her rival is about as fresh-faced as they come, for a national race. As a result, the famed GOP attack machine would have a field day ripping Obama apart.
He also asserts that ...
her base of support, as it has emerged in the primary season, is far more likely to hold firm than his.
You can read Penn’s detailed reasoning here.
-- Don Frederick