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October 6, 2008 7:29:22 PM CDT

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Stories related to: Mark Penn

Stories

18 Stories

  • September 2008

    • Debate Winner? He Who Beats Expectations

      Politico  |  Sep 24, 08 2:20 PM CDT

      Debate Winner? He Who Beats Expectations

      (Newser) - To win the presidential debates, Barack Obama and John McCain need to beat expectations, political strategist Mark Penn writes on Politico. Penn, who most recently was Hillary Clinton’s top strategist, argues that reinforcing one’s strengths does nothing: Voters know Obama, for example, is a skilled speaker, so he needs to be “clear and substantive,” and refrain from flashy rhetoric. More »

      Tags

      Barack Obama  • John McCain  • Election 2008  • debate  • Mark Penn

  • August 2008

    • How Infighting Doomed Clinton

      Atlantic Monthly  |  Aug 12, 08 2:19 PM CDT

      How Infighting Doomed Clinton

      (Newser) - Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid failed for many reasons, the most prominent her campaign team's stunning dysfunction, writes Joshua Green in a much-anticipated Atlantic Monthly feature. Green uncovered a trove of memos, finding a team overwhelmed by “anger and toxic obsessions.” Clinton acted nothing like a chief executive, putting off countless decisions until it was too late. More »

      Tags

      Barack Obama  • Hillary Clinton  • Clinton 2008  • campaign staff  • Mark Penn  • Hillaryland

    • Hillary Camp Memo: 'Paint Obama as Un-American'

      Politico  |  Aug 11, 08 9:46 AM CDT

      Hillary Camp Memo: 'Paint Obama as Un-American'

      (Newser) - Hillary Clinton’s top campaign strategist urged her to paint Barack Obama as un-American, reports the Atlantic in an upcoming article obtained by Politico . Clinton should empahsize that Obama's ties “to basic American values and culture” were "limited," according to a campaign memo. “Does anyone believe that it is possible to win the nomination without raising these issues on him?” asked strategist Mark Penn in the memo. More »

      Tags

      Barack Obama  • Hillary Clinton  • Mark Penn  • American

  • July 2008

    • Penn, Hughes Form Crisis-Management Team

      Wall Street Journal  |  Jul 9, 08 10:41 AM CDT

      Penn, Hughes Form Crisis-Management Team

      (Newser) - Former Clinton strategist Mark Penn and former Bush adviser Karen Hughes are joining forces to create a corporate consulting organization at Penn’s current firm, the Wall Street Journal reports. The unlikely pair’s bipartisan endeavor will advise troubled corporations in areas of communications and public affairs—while serving to help both resurrect images tarnished by visible recent failures. More »

      Tags

      bipartisanship  • Mark Penn  • consulting  • Karen Hughes  • Burson-Marsteller

    • Inside Clinton's Dysfunctional War Machine

      Vanity Fair  |  Jul 1, 08 2:26 PM CDT

      Inside Clinton's Dysfunctional War Machine

      (Newser) - There are many reasons for Hillary Clinton’s primary defeat, and most of them can be found within the political warrior and the creaking war machine she built, Gail Sheehy writes in Vanity Fair . Invoking the Lincoln administration, Clinton called her bickering advisers a “team of rivals.” Craving secrecy and shaped by White House battle scars, she chose a trustworthy cabal of loyalists—who hated each other. More »

      Tags

      Hillary Clinton  • Bill Clinton  • Clinton 2008  • Mark Penn  • Hillaryland

  • June 2008

    • How She Came Undone

      New York Times  |  Jun 8, 08 12:02 PM CDT

      How She Came Undone

      (Newser) - Bill Clinton’s interfering tenacity and squabbling aides killed Hillary Clinton’s chances to win the White House, the New York Times eulogizes in an obituary of the campaign that once seemed indestructible. “Hers was the campaign of destiny, a back-to-the-future effort to restore the Democratic dynasty of the 1990s that could never quite escape the last decade,” write Peter Baker and Jim Rutenberg. More »

  • May 2008
  • April 2008

    • Penn's Still a Player in Clinton Endgame

      Chicago Sun-Times  |  Apr 14, 08 1:03 PM CDT

      Penn's Still a Player in Clinton Endgame

      (Newser) - Despite Hillary Clinton’s replacement of contentious Mark Penn with the more “ethical” Geoff Garin as chief strategist, the ousted adviser is still very much involved with the campaign, Robert Novak writes in the Chicago Sun-Times —or so he tells his friends. Those who interpreted the switch as a move away from a death-match strategy that would damage the Democratic party to a "Garin-style soft landing to conclude the campaign" could be mistaken. More »

      Tags

      Hillary Clinton  • negative campaigning  • Mark Penn

    • $14M Penn Tab Underscores Consultants' Fleecing Spree

      Salon  |  Apr 8, 08 12:26 PM CDT

      $14M Penn Tab Underscores Consultants' Fleecing Spree

      (Newser) - Mark Penn leaves Hillary Clinton’s campaign with a hefty $14 million lining his own pockets, a new high in the skyrocketing world of campaign consultancy, and some 9% of all money Clinton has laid out to date. But ordinary Americans are newly in the position of having their donations misspent, reports Mike Madden in Salon —previously only a risk for lobbyists and wealthy donors. More »

      Tags

      Hillary Clinton  • campaign fundraising  • John Kerry  • Mark Penn  • political strategists  • Bob Shrum

    • Clinton Staff Glad to See Penn's Exit

      Politico  |  Apr 7, 08 10:27 AM CDT

      Clinton Staff Glad to See Penn's Exit

      (Newser) - Mark Penn might have shaped the Clinton campaign, but he wasn’t well liked within it, Ben Smith writes in Politico. Some blamed him for the campaign's strategic blunders, while others were irked by his huge salary—he’s billed Clinton $13 million—and private-sector distractions. “It was very demoralizing for the staff that's working 24/7 to see him doing book tours,” said one Clinton supporter. More »

      Tags

      Hillary Clinton  • Mark Penn  • political strategists

    • Penn Quits as Clinton Strategist

      Wall Street Journal  |  Apr 6, 08 6:14 PM CDT

      Penn Quits as Clinton Strategist

      (Newser) - Hillary Clinton's top strategist stepped down today after drawing fire for his trade meeting with a Colombian envoy last week, the Wall Street Journal reports. Clinton advisers said Mark Penn was all but pushed out, a move many in the camp had sought after Clinton lost key primary races. But campaign manager Maggie Williams said Penn's polling company will still give data and counsel to the campaign. More »

    • Colombia Fires Clinton Aide Over Remark

      Politico  |  Apr 5, 08 2:25 PM CDT

      Colombia Fires Clinton Aide Over Remark

      (Newser) - Colombia fired a Washington lobbying firm today after its CEO, a top Hillary Clinton strategist, apologized for meeting with the country's US envoy, Politico reports. Mark Penn called the trade meeting an “error in judgment” that “will not be repeated,” but the remark ruffled feathers in Colombia. "The Colombian government considers this a lack of respect to Colombians, and finds this response unacceptable," the government said it a statement. More »

      Tags

      Hillary Clinton  • Colombia  • labor unions  • Mark Penn  • free trade  • ambassador

    • Clinton Aide Met With Colombians on Trade Deal

      Wall Street Journal  |  Apr 4, 08 2:01 PM CDT

      Clinton Aide Met With Colombians on Trade Deal

      (Newser) - Hillary Clinton’s chief strategist met with Colombia’s ambassador to the US this week on a trade deal the Democratic candidate opposes—in his capacity as a lobbying executive, the Wall Street Journal reports. Mark Penn's firm, Burson-Marsteller, was paid $300,000 to fight for the bilateral accord, which President Bush says he could send to Capitol Hill next week. More »

      Tags

      Hillary Clinton  • Colombia  • lobbyists  • Mark Penn  • Burson-Marsteller  • bilateral trade

  • March 2008

    • Clinton Aide: Obama Is Like Ken Starr

      Talking Points Memo  |  Mar 6, 08 3:06 PM CST

      Clinton Aide: Obama Is Like Ken Starr

      (Newser) - The Democratic campaign took a turn for the nasty today, with a top adviser to Hillary Clinton alleging Barack Obama is “imitating Ken Starr”—an apparent reference to Obama’s recent Whitewater-tinted shots at his rival. Exclaims Greg Sargent at Talking Points, “Talk about throwing down the gauntlet,” and says Clinton’s camp may be trying to energize sympathy among female voters. More »

      Tags

      Barack Obama  • Hillary Clinton  • negative campaigning  • Mark Penn  • Howard Wolfson  • Whitewater  • Kenneth Starr

    • Looking to Knock Out Clinton, Obama Spends Big

      New York Times  |  Mar 2, 08 6:31 AM CST

      Looking to Knock Out Clinton, Obama Spends Big

      (Newser) - Barack Obama is lavishing his considerable campaign wealth on advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts in Texas and Ohio, hoping to deal a death blow this week to Hillary Clinton's faltering campaign. The Obama cash blitz is most apparent on television, where he is outspending Clinton nearly 2-to-1 in both states, the New York Times reports. More »

      Tags

      Barack Obama