Monday, April 7, 2008

..... huh?

Megan on Mark Penn leaving:

But whatever mistakes the campaign made, I hardly see this as a fatal blow. They surely could have handled it better, but its not clear to me that Obama really could have stopped Mark Penn from leaving, and thereby creating a vacuum into which someone competent might step. This probably increases the probability that Hillary will win somewhat--but a 30% increase in a 1% chance isn't really enough to get excited about.
A commenter wondering what the fuck they just read:
Um, Mark Penn was a Clinton staffer.

Posted by iskndarbey | April 7, 2008 12:09 PM
A sycophant replies:
That whoosing sound you hear is the point flying over iskndarbey's head.

Posted by Cardinal Fang | April 7, 2008 12:15 PM
Now, if you read the quote repeatedly, you realize Megan thinks Obama should have been trying to keep Penn from leaving the Clinton campaign, because if Hillary gets an effective new top advisor it will set back Obama's chances. Setting aside the fact that Megan called Hillary "done" a month and a half ago, in what part of which fantasy world is losing your top advisor, who you've paid millions and owe millions more to, for lack of message control at a time when your candidacy is increasingly fueled only by pride and ego and top officials in your party are openly calling for you to drop out, or plotting how to get you to, a good thing?
Mhm, now she can hire a new top dog. I'm sure the pros in the field are lining up to join a dying candidacy with cash flow problems whose only hope is to convince the party that the nomination process is invalid, because it didn't pick her. And, of course, presidential campaigns are not monolithic enterprises, they can stop on a dime and redirect themselves in moments. Furthermore, the Clinton campaign hasn't already been trying the kitchen sink approach with no real success, leaving no new way forward visible.
The sad thing is that if Megan used this occasion to call Hillary "done", we, her detractors, would have little option but to say "that's probably right". Ooopsies.

1 comment:

NutellaonToast said...

um, also, how could Obama stop hillary from firing someone on her staff? Was he gonna be like "well if YOU fire YOUR chief of staff, I'LL fire MY chief of staff." and then stick out his tongue?