Clinton Scores Partial Comeback Using New Hardball Strategy

Under the tutelage of master pollster and chief campaign strategist Mark J. Penn, Sen. Hillary Clinton had a very good night on March 4th, soundly winning the Ohio and Rhode Island primaries.

But she failed to secure a resounding victory in Texas, despite the high level of Latino voters. who, until now, have voted solidly for the senator from New York. As a result, once the committed delegates are tallied, Clinton's long-awaited two wins probably won't be enough to erase Obama's solid lead earned from eleven consecutive wins. (See Hillary’s Math Problem by Newsweek's Jonathan Alter.)

As Bill Clinton declared to a Texas crowd two weeks ago, without decisive victories in both Ohio and Texas, " I don't think she can be" the nominee. And as Alter correctly observes, "Forget tonight. She could win 16 straight and still lose."

Hillary Clinton's Newest Campaign Tactics
Hillary Clinton staged a partial-comeback by changing her campaign strategies from an issues-oriented campaign to one her staff dubbed a "kitchen sink" approach.

Her new hardball campaign tactics were planned under the leadership of Mark J. Penn, Bill and Hillary Clinton's Karl Rove since 1996 when he served as pollster and advisor for President Clinton's reelection drive.

Clinton's new campaign approaches this past week included:

• A fear-mongering TV ad that played directly to women's maternal instincts
• Constant public whining that the media has been unfair to her because she's a woman
• Goofy late-night comedy spots that also played the gender-victim card
• Mysterious circulation of two photos of Obama in African garb. The Drudge Report claims to have gotten one of the photos from Clinton staffers.
• On "60 Minutes" last Sunday, oddly disingenuous hedging by Hillary Clinton as to whether or not Sen. Obama is a Muslim. (... I take him at his word... as far as I know.)
• See more at Skin Shading, Farrakhan, Somali Garb, and PajamaGate by Tom Head, About.com Guide to Civil Liberty.

And the Clinton campaign apparently was boosted in Texas by conservative wingnut Rush Limbaugh, who urged Lone Star state Republicans to cross partisan lines and vote for Clinton because:

"I want Hillary to stay in this…this is too good a soap opera... We need Barack Obama bloodied up politically...

"It's obvious that the Republicans are not going to do it, they don't have the stomach for it... I'm asking people to cross over, and if they can stomach it and I know it's a difficult thing to do, vote for Clinton."

Rightwing blogger/radio pundit Hugh Hewitt gloats:

"If Hillary ekes out close wins, stays alive, gains the nomination and the White House, will Rush hold the Bible at her Inauguration? Bill O'Reilly was just on with Brit Hume giving Rush the credit for the Clinton comeback... "

As North Carolina News-Records editorialist Doug Clark recently noted, "No question Republicans would rather run against Hillary Clinton than Barack Obama."

Mark J. Penn, the Clinton's Karl Rove
Sen. Hillary Clinton wants to be President of the United States. While her chances to prevail remain quite slim, I'm learning to never, ever count out a Clinton.

If, indeed, Sen. Clinton achieves her dream of winning the White House in 2008, the American people should take the time to get to know Bill and Hillary's Karl Rove equivalent, Mark J. Penn, also CEO of Burson-Marsteller, one of the world's largest public relations/advertising firms.

Mr. Penn recently published a book, " Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes," in which he fully described his approach to formulating campaigns to sell products and messages, including those for political candidates.

I personally find Mr. Penn's philosophy alarming and even a bit depressingly unpatriotic. And I shudder to ponder his potential conflicts-of-interest, given the extensive, and lucrative, corporate client list of Burson-Marsteller.

But judge for yourself. For your info, I've written a book review of "Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes" by Mark J. Penn, and I managed to hold my colorful opinions until the end of the article.

The bottom line is this: President Hillary Clinton, with revered political guru Mark Penn at her side, will have little interest in changing the do-nothing partisan stalemate of D.C. politics by bridging the gap between liberals and conservatives.

Instead, look for more of the same tough-talking, hardball-playing, pugilistic status quo of the past 16 years.

After recent glimpses of Sen. Clinton's slimy new hardball tactics, I feel sickened at the prospect of more of the same for four or eight years. I'm not alone in that feeling of dread...

(Photo taken on March 4, 2008: Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

Related Reading
Hillary Has Forgotten Bill's Advice: Vote Hope, Not Fear
CNN, March 4, 2008: Limbaugh urges listeners to vote for Clinton
Politico.com, March 3, 2008: Clinton plays victim and victimizer