The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight

As I was driving to my teaching gig this morning I listened to a replay of Hillary Clinton's April 1st speech to the AFL-CIO in Philadelphia, on XM's Potus '08. Remember that date. April 1st.

I've heard portions of the speech and I actually like what I've heard. But I hadn't heard this: "I appreciate Gerry [McEntee] talking about how I did speak out and oppose NAFTA, the president made a different decision but whether it's President McEntee or David Gergen or the people that were in those meetings in the White House, they know that I raised a big yellow caution flag, I said I’m not sure that this will work. And I have a plan to fix NAFTA, with the strongest possible labor and environmental standards in the core text of the agreement. And unlike my opponent, I will never come to Pennsylvania and tell the people here one thing while my staff says something else to a foreign government."

Ok, the italics and bold faced type are mine. But the point is...well, the first point is, I'm lucky to be alive because I almost drove off the road. And the second point is...Mark Penn just 'resigned' as Clinton's chief campaign strategist, for personally meeting with a foreign government (Colombia) to help them get the US Congress to pass a (you can't make this up) free trade agreement with the US!

If this is what 'experience' gives us, forget Obama, I'll take Jimmy Stewart in Washington.

Now, the Penn story is two days old. The resignation is new. But the real story is this: How can Hillary Clinton not know that her chief strategist (italics mine), the guy who said 'go after Nafta in Ohio to get the rust belt vote', the guy she knew was a professional pollster and lobbyist, how could she not know that he was working for the Colombian government on a free trade agreement she publicly opposed?! Especially since Penn's firm had been working for Colombia for a year? And how could she then say,"And unlike my opponent, I will never come to Pennsylvania and tell the people here one thing while my staff says something else to a foreign government"?

The same way she can talk about sniper fire?

I mean, events have fallen perfectly for her to get back in this race; but she just keeps blowing it. It's unreal. And it really says some bad things about her campaign: about how she delegates responsiblity, about how she stays on top of things, about how she can't smell a rat, about her competence as a manager of an enterprise.

Or maybe it was just April's Fool's Day, and the joke was on her.

But this latest debacle is no joke for her campaign. This is a disaster. For the second time in three weeks, her credibility is in tatters. And she gives Obama an opening just as he is making his patented push to let the voters in PA get to know him. If she thinks extending the race will increase the chances of a major Obama gaffe, she better stop being the one who keeps committing them.

As for Penn, it's been a rough week. Before leaving the Clinton campaign, Colombia left him, saying it was "unacceptable" that he refuse to meet with them any more. This was after Penn told a rather exercised union official that his meeting with the government was 'an error in judgement'. Can we add that continuing to work with the Colombian government when your candidate opposes the thing your working on might also be an error in judgment?

Who are these people that Clinton has relied on? Mark Penn? Patti Solis Doyle? Bill Clinton? They keep making mistakes that their vast experience should avoid. This is truly the gang that couldn't shoot straight.

And it all comes back to Hillary. She's responsible for her campaign. According to most folks with knowledge of the inner workings of her campaign, Hillary herself was one of Penn's staunchest supporters. This one, especially, is on her.

We'll see if she can wriggle out of it all. She is, after all, a Clinton. Anything's possible. But if you're a Hillary supporter, I wouldn't hold your breath. She's heading the gang...well, you get the point.

How damaging will this be to her campaign? Talk about this or anything else by clicking 'comments' below, bypassing the google signup and hitting the anonymous or nickname button.