Dana's New Gig

Could this be a sign the economy may have bottomed out? Former SpinMaster Dana Perino lands a job as a "chief issues counselor" with Hillary's Microtrends mastermind, Mark Penn's firm Burson-Masteller.

Not sure what a "chief issues counselor" does, but apparently Perino's experience on the frontline defending the Bush administration's endless string of second term fiascos and tragedies prepared her for the new gig:

"She's been through some incredibly difficult experiences at some of the
highest levels, and comes out of that an extremely skilled practitioner," Mr.
Penn said in an interview.

So, we've come to this. Perfecting the Press Secretary Sidestep - stonewalling the press, protecting elected officials from scrutiny and defending inept policy implementation - all while looking kinda "hot" in a Sarah Palin-like manner makes Perino an "extremely skilled practitioner" worthy of joining a Democratic pollster's global PR firm. One might be tempted to view this as a sign of the new era of bipartisanship, but uber-Bush insider Karen Hughes has been a "Burson Person" since last summer.

As to whether this signals an end to the Bush recession, perhaps we should look to another Bush alum; last I heard Gonzo was still looking for work.

TGIF Random Thoughts 12.14.07

No Worries @ TeamHillary: Chief Pollster and Senior Clinton aide Mark Penn's take on the state of the Dem nomination contest surveys the "plethora" of early state polls and declares:

"...poll reader beware. No question that this is a fully engaged race and the polls in Iowa are competitive and tight. Iowa is a state where Hillary started behind and has been improving steadily. But the polls in the other states show meaningful leads as we head into the home stretch, and Hillary maintains a national base in Feb 5th states that is strong and unmatched. And that's what the polls show."

Penn also describes the race as a roller-coaster ride. Strap yourselves in, boys and girls, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Where were the Fireworks? On the GOP side, the presidential candidates participated in the Univision-sponsored Spanish language debate. Considering the emotional and nasty rhetoric flying between the candidates over illegal immigration in recent months the relative civility in this setting (one all candidates except McCain originally tried to avoid) is puzzling. With polls showing Hispanics opposing harsh immigration policies, it appears unlikely the GOP will be able to make inroads into the Democratic dominance in this rapidly growing voting bloc.

Does Tony Soprano Know? New Jersey inched closer to ending death penalty. With the federal government actively pursuing torture, uhm, I mean "enhanced interrogation techniques" this is certainly a case of one step forward, two steps back.

GOP Treading Water: National Republicans breathed a sigh of relief this weeks when they successfully defended two open congressional seats (VA-01 & OH-05). Both seats have strong conservative tendencies and would never be in play during normal political times. The DCCC made an aggressive push for the Ohio seat, forcing the cash-depleted NRCC to pour unprecedented resources into the special election. If this is a harbinger for 2008 contests, the GOP may find itself relegated to a "semi-permanent minority" party in the House again.

How is This News? Outside groups to play big role in 2008 presidential campaign.

This has to be one of my favorite headlines of campaign '08. I don't think we'll be seeing a "Huckleberry Girl" video anytime soon.

TeamHillary: Sharpening the Knives

Earlier this year, TeamHillary was being admired for the disciplined focus and the strict messaging coming from the former first lady's campaign. It was more reminiscent of the GOP Bush/Rove campaign (and first term White House) team than the sometimes chaotic rivalries we remember from Bill Clinton's team. But the recent downturn in early state polls resulted in poorly advised and amateurish attacks on chief rival Barack Obama, revealing a sense of panic inside the campaign.

Democratic dischord - Clinton-style - is resurgent.

Further confirmation of disarray comes with the stories of top-level infighting and backstabbing among senior aides. Chief target: pollster Mark Penn. Newsday reports:

"There are two people who have come up with this strategy -- one Hillary Clinton and one Mark Penn," said a top Clinton ally, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Mark wanted to run her, basically, for re-election, and we are seeing what happened."

Said another Clinton camper: "The heat's on Mark. ... He's got a lot of enemies."

It's never a good sign when a campaign starts springing anonymous leaks. The revelation of a Bill vs. Hillary staff schism within the campaign is perhaps the most ominous threat to a Clinton restoration. This is one of the obstacles/struggles Al Gore encountered during the 2000 campaign. More from the Newsday article:

For months, tension has been building between the "Hillary" and "Bill" parts of the team, say several people familiar with the situation. Bill Clinton -- along with former White House hands -- have counseled her to adopt a far more aggressive approach with Obama.

Penn, sources say, has counseled moderation, believing an attack would elevate her already-high negatives and drive her too far to the left to win a general election.

If it really is Bill behind the recent aggressive attacks, I find myself in rare agreement with Penn. I think the "win at all costs" approach hurts Hillary's campaign more than Obama's. While I disliked the "coronation march" we were witnessing throughout most of 2007, I think it was the one which made the most sense, politically.

Now, with less than three weeks before the Iowa voting, the campaign is off-message and attacking recklessly, aides are playing the blame game (although anonymously thus far) and Bill is taking center stage.

None of this is good news for Hillary's nomination chances.

RIP: The Spin Room, 2007

An interesting article over at The New Republic provides a glimpse into the rapidly evolving world of presidential campaigning in the Internet Age: the Death of the Post Debate Spin Room.

The advent of social networking sites, the pervasive liveblogging major political events on political websites and the 24-7 news cycle's insatiable appetite has ripped message control from the campaigns. The reality is - the Internet removes the need for the middle-men, the spinmeisters and the professional punditry to tell the audience (the VOTERS) who 'won the debate' or 'scored more political points.' The campaigns who continue to rely on the outdated practice of "spinning" the political reporters are behind the eightball. Through the power of the Internet the audience has arrived at it's own consensus as the debate occured.

TNR's delineates the different approaches taken by two high profile strategists (Joe Trippi from Edwards and Mark Penn from Hillary). Which one looks like the 21st century campaign? Which one seems to be playing by last century's political handbook? I'll let others decide.