All I had hoped for and more.

Obama makes a plea for her to do the right thing, which really none of us want to see her do - or at least, I love having Penn around to bring up alllll the time - and she ignores it.

Win-win!

The difference would be between the editor in chief of your newspaper and one who plays an important role at your newspaper."

He added that "anyone at a workplace" would understand "the difference between someone who is playing the key role" and "someone who is playing an important role."

As a lawyer and someone who reads and writes for a living, I think this is a comment that deserves either exploration by the reporter or editorializing in the write up. You've not been shy in sharing your thoughts on Obama's arguments, but you seem to hold your fire with respect to Senator Clinton's campaign.

To be frank, he's just talking to hear the words come out of his mouth. And the fact that this stuff is pass along and not called for what it is, frankly is disconcerting. I understand that you believe that media bias continues to haunt the Clintons' every move, but everyday I'm presented with evidence to the contrary. From their incessant re-writing of the rules to the 100% spin operation, I find that they play the media (and that includes TPM from time to time) like a Stratovarius.... And any suggestion otherwise is dismissed as the machinations of a kool-aid ladened mind.

That's why folks believe that she has a chance to overcome him with one big victory in one major state--she doesn't. That's why they believe she's within one point in the popular vote--she's not. That's why they believe that Senator Obama is responsible for the Michigan and Florida vote issues--he's not. Instead of regurgiating this bullshit whole cloth, I would hope that you could provide some context or analysis of the argument in light of the FACTS. It would make you immune to charges of bias and prehaps result in better coverage from other media outlets.

Sorry for the rant....

Hillary can not get rid of Mark Penn. He knows to much about the campaigns secrets and dirty laundry.

She can not cut him loose because he might just start spilling the beans.

Seriously. The Clinton campaign is going to be stepping in this crap until Penn leaves, indisputably. From the AP (link on TPM's main site):

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton emphasized her opposition to a proposed free trade agreement with Colombia, two days after her chief campaign strategist was forced out of her campaign for his role in supporting the deal.

What a crock o' crap being spun, here. He hasn't been "forced out", as many people have pointed out, and Election Central just posted about, so why won't the Clintons recognize the jeopardy here?

Clinton's deeply opposed to the free trade agreement with Colombia, but, according to Howard Woolfson, the person working to advance that agreement is an "important person" in the Clinton campaign.

Duh.

I'm an Obama supporter, but this is just stupid on their part. Guess Penn wasn't the only one who was a bit politically tonedeaf.

So he's important but not key. Or was it key but not important? Kind of like some states? WTF???

I agree with others that the campaign continues to play the media on this and many other points-there seems to be a reluctance to call the Clinton camp on their BS (not to mention their avoidance of providing further info about things like their debts, cash on hand, Hillary's past earmarks, Bill's financial dealings, etc.).

Spine of Steel

(idiotic, please show us some love...)

Here's a good rule of thumb: Any journalist or blogger who henceforth suggests that Mark Penn resigned, was forced out, quit, etc. or that the Clinton campaign is in a post-Penn phase is BIASED or STUPID.

All the Clinton-campaign-insider-fed spin that Hillary was "angry" with Penn, etc. is a bunch of diversionary rubbish.

Same old triangulating, deceptive, negative, say-one-thing-to-help-yourself-even-if-it's-not-what you-believe-or-are-going-to-do Hillary Clinton campaign. New window dressing.

Well, all Democrats should be sooooo relieved.

If Hillary somehow manages to get the superdelegates to overturn the pledged delegates then Mark Penn will have an "important" role in determining how the entire Democratic Party is represented and portrayed for the General Election.

All down-ticket Dems should be very reassured now.

APRIL FOOL

What a disappointment. Penn speaks for union busters, mercenaries (Blackwater), loan sharks (Countrywide)and foreign countries (Colombia until fired) trying to facilitate anti-labor, anti-environmental trade agreements. Clintonistas -- please and I am serious. Explain to me why you put up with your candidate employing this man. Ickes, Williams, Grunwald -- etc. they're fine, fair and tough. How can you contribute to help finance the employ of this republican lite? Even the Colombian government washed its hands of him.

All down-ticket Dems should be very reassured now.

Please don't do that - it gives me cold chills.

;)

This Penn attack is politics as usual not a different kind of politics.

Iraq is the story today.

But within the Clinton campaign, Penn is not the highest-ranking adviser with financial ties to groups and individuals supporting the passage of the measure.

Former President Bill Clinton has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars speaking on behalf of a Colombia-based group pushing the trade pact, and representatives of that organization tell The Huffington Post that the former president shared their sentiment.

In June 2005, Clinton was paid $800,000 by the Colombia-based Gold Service International to give four speeches throughout Latin America. The organization is, ostensibly, a development group tasked with bringing investment to the country and educating world leaders about the Colombia's business opportunities.

The group's chief operating officer, Andres Franco, said in an interview that the group supports the congressional ratification of the free trade agreement and that, when Clinton was on his speaking tour, he expressed similar opinions.

"He was supportive of the trade agreemen...

check it out:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/08/bill-clintons-ties-to-col_n_95651.html

SilvestriWoman,

You're right about Big Labor not liking this one bit. Or Ed Rendell. Or Senator Clinton's Rust Belt base in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and the similar parts of West Virginia and Kentucky.

I think Senator Clinton knows that.

So why is she keeping Penn at all? I think one or more of the following must be true.

1. When it's time to fire people, she tries to avoid the hard decisions. That would fit with the part where she had Patti Solis Doyle and Maggie Williams both "sort of" in charge" for a while.

2. Someone else really wants Penn to stay, and she doesn't want to tell that person no. Based on every hint we've got, that person has to be her husband.

3. She gave Penn a multi-month contract and she can't afford to pay both his company and a replacement company for the poling she needs.

4. Penn is holding a giant I.O.U. from the campaign, and he said that if she truly fired him, he'd pursue immediate payment.

5. She thought we would be fooled by the initial announcement that Penn was stepping down. If we were relying only on the MSM, we probably would be fooled.

1 and 2 are about whether she's ready for executive leadership, while 3 and 4 are about her fiscal management. 5 is about character and political methods.

None of them look good.

But no matter what the reason, I think she's now up against Rendell and labor, and Penn will have to go for real.

THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!! FOR HILLARY!!!

Clinton: "It's Time to Begin The Orderly Process of Removing Our Troops"

Now that is leadership.

Glad you brought that up. I started to bring it up. You know what this is?

This is Clinton moving to the left because Obama has forced her to.

After being shoved right and right and always right and she's there doing it too - finally someone gets it - the momentum in the public is not rightward. Not at all,

Last time we had some information, didn't the Hillary campaign owe Penn's company millions of dollars? I think this might be the real issue with firing him. As long as he is in the loop they can let the debt slide.