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From Mark Penn in the New Yorker:

“Independent and Republican support is diminishing as they find out he’s the most liberal Democratic senator… As they get more of a sense that he’s not ready to be Commander-in-Chief, a lot of Independents who were supporting him are disappearing.”

Liberal’s have never been Clinton’s base but it is interesting to hear someone so candidly discard them from the Clinton camp and take on what is sure to be the Republican attack line in the general election. In addition from the article:

Penn’s poll-defying arguments about Obama’s electability against McCain will be pressed ever more forcefully as both campaigns move to the dénouement of the primary season. From Penn’s standpoint, Obama’s freshness is his greatest vulnerability. “The G.O.P. attack machine redefines the Democratic candidate,” Penn said recently. “It’s formidable. It commands a vast media network. And it has been able to skew the perceptions even of such distinguished public servants and well-respected Democrats as Al Gore and John Kerry, creating impressions of them very quickly that were out of step with reality.” Hillary Clinton, he went on, “has withstood the full brunt of this kind of attack and will be able to neutralize what is likely to happen, particularly with the nominee who is not as well known through public life.”

Clinton is stressing in all her appearances—another point that Penn sees as essential—that Obama will appear distinctly weaker on national-security questions in relation to McCain. (This infuriates Obama’s supporters—after all, he alone among the surviving candidates opposed the invasion of Iraq.) The Clinton campaign will also press the claim that Obama will not be able to withstand heightened scrutiny of his domestic-policy views. The implication is that Obama is unacceptably liberal, while Clinton, despite the similarity of her positions and voting record, is not. “How much do Independent voters really know about Barack Obama, his voting record, and his past positions?” Penn asked recently. “Certainly less than Democrats know. In a general election the Republicans would spring into action, and quickly, if he were the nominee, roll out his full record. And the kind of Independent support that you see in places like Idaho would consequently evaporate.”