My guess is that someone is trying to scapegoat Penn because he's an easy mark at this point. Plus, even if he thought that was true, Clinton not only kept him on at an exhorbitant(sp) rate, but went ahead with the strategy (recall that she predicted this would be OVER by February 5th).

She hired him. She endorsed his plan. She bears the responsibility for what followed.

Ready on Day 1, indeed.

Mark Penn is a Republican. That's why he's clueless about Democratic primaries and caucuses.

Mark Penn is SOOOOO worth the millions and millions of dollars they're paying him.

Which do you suppose is worse? Not knowing the delegate selection rules, and thus creating a strategy premised on a quick knockout punch from the big states on Super Tuesday, or knowing the delegate selection rules and still concocting the same strategy?

Whether Penn really knew this or not, the strategy to push for an early knockout left the campaign underfunded and unable to respond after Obama battled to a draw on Super Tuesday. That left an opening for Obama to win everything else in February, and it seriously undermined Hillary's image of experience and competence.

Which of Hillary's advisors is telling her to morph into Marge Schott?

THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!! FOR HILLARY!!!

Well, given that back in February, the campaign was reported to be pretty surprised to find out how the Texas primary/caucus system worked, AND given that the Penn strategy was a stellar failure, AND given that the Clintons are still whining about how they would have won if we had primaries like the Republicans...

I think Penn's denial is bullshit.

The best narative for Democrats is that Hillary was a good-hearted, couragous leader who was poorly served by a grasping, incompetent staff. If we can get close to that view by the time she drops out on May 20, then it will make it easier to unite the party. Though cruel, that story is reasonably fair to Penn.

Of course I understood the basics. The issue is not that I didn't understand the basics. The issue is that I (wisely) did not act upon my knowledge of the basics.

You see, there are more campaigns that have won while understanding the basics and acting upon that understanding than there are campaigns that have won while understanding the basics but not acting upon that understanding.

Therefore, campaigns that understand the basics and act upon that understanding are a macrotrendic group, and therefore are utterly doomed to failure.

Meanwhile, campaigns that understand the basics but did not act upon that understanding are a microtrendic group. And that, my friends, that is exactly why Senator Hillary Clinton will be the next President of the United States of America.

This raises serious questions about Senator Obama.

Ah...... idiotic has finally acknowledged the latest news. All's right with the world.

Well, except Mark Penn. As a donor to Obama, I don't really object to his paying off her debt to service providers, etc. Those folks deserve the money, there is precedent for it, and I hate to think what trouble a broke and angry Clinton team would cause. .... BUT .... should that happen, the amounts owed to Penn should be very definitely EXCLUDED from any such offer!

Frankly, I don't think the Clintons should pay him either - but it was their decision to keep him on even after it was clear the campaign was being badly botched. Actually, on second thought, maybe I (and others) should be grateful to him. If he hadn't given such incredibly BAD planning and direction, Clinton might have fared much, much better. I much prefer this outcome.

It's so inspiring to come to TPM.

Barack has clinched the nomination, and we now see his loyal supporters fanning out across cyberspace, spreading his joyous message of hope and healing, letting bygones be bygones--making the pie higher!

In January the whole world will feel the love!

This could very well be a Hillary pitch to superdelgates by saying.."I, Hillary, was screwed by bad campaign management"
And it could even be true that in a busy moment, Penn could have been thinking out loud, in conference mode..and slipped on apportionment in California, something I'm sure that if he was concentrating on that aspect he would have right.

Remember: "You can choose your pastor.."--HRC.
Another bad Hillary decision to smear a loyal comrade.