Monday, April 07, 2008

Maybe Senior Campaign Officials Should Think Before They Act . . .

As has been a common theme this primary season, another campaign managed to shoot itself in the foot. Mark Penn, longtime Clintonite and Chief Strategist for Hillary's campaign, has stepped down after continuing to negotiate and lobby for a U.S. trade treaty with Colombia --a treaty Hillary opposes. WHOOPS. Quote from the NYT:

Mr. Penn, long a divisive figure within the Clinton camp, lost his pre-eminent position after revelations that he met with Colombia’s ambassador to the United States last Monday in his role as head of Burson-Marsteller. The Colombian government hired the lobbying firm last year under a $300,000 one-year contract to help secure passage of a bilateral trade treaty with the United States.

Mrs. Clinton strongly opposes the treaty, as do many Democrats in Congress and many American trade unions, who believe the treaty is unfair to American workers. Mrs. Clinton has also cited the Colombian government’s history of suppressing the labor union movement in that country.

It's worth noting, however, that Penn is not completely gone from the campaign: His firm will continue to do some polling and strategizing. Still, I guess it shows that, fundamentally, politics is not far removed from business.



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