Clinton Moving Further to the Middle..?
March 9th, 2008
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.”
Posted in Hillary Clinton | 8 Comments »
March 10th, 2008 at 7:31 am
I have to agree. He was only one of 15 senators to vote against the born alive infant protection act which guaranteed protection for children who were born alive during a failed abortion attempt. Hillary is FAR more palatable to me as a centrist republican.
March 10th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Hilary and McCain have both modified thier mesages in order to appeal to more voters. That, and their ages, make them suspect to me. How can I trust them not to change again in the future to try and please lobbiests/PAC’s if either of them were to become president. The things I most like about Obama is that he has kept a constant message throughout his campaign and he has an infinitely more intuitive grasp of the uses and roles technology plays in government and business.
March 10th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Centrist??? This country is so far to the right that the term Centrist doesn’t mean what it used to.
Penn needs to fired, he’s the Rove of the Democratic party. Using a Republican tactic: “the evil liberal”. Oohhhh!!! noooo!!!!!, run for you lives.
Anyone so out of touch as to still believe this tired old argument needs to get with the times.
March 10th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
This is no longer about Clinton winning the Democratic nomination, but about sabotaging Obama’s campaign. She’s so far behind in the delegate count she can’t win, so she’s just engaging in politics of personal destruction now.
Maybe she hopes he will lose and she can run in 2012, or maybe she’s just so bitter that she just wants revenge.
March 10th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
If Obama had been commander-in-chief when the country was weighing whether to go to war in Iraq, we’d be a lot better off today. Hillary, in contrast, blew the call.
March 10th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
As an independent who supports Obama I think Penn must be living on Planet Crazy.
Obama’s the first candidate in my entire 20 year voting life who I actually *want* to vote for. If Penn thinks Obama’s supporters are going to abandon him because of Clinton new negative tactics, he’s delusional.
March 10th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Mark Penn is a douchebag’s douchebag.
And the Clintons need to both fall off the face of the Earth.
That is all.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Hillary will sabotage Obama to the point where he will appear unelectable at the convention or he will win the nomination and lose the general, allowing Billary to run in ‘12. The faster we recognize this and call attention to it, the easier it will be to stop from happening.