Clinton Staff Throwing Mark Penn Under the Bus

I think we can all see the writing on the wall...

Said Ickes: "Mark Penn has run this campaign. Besides Hillary Clinton, he is the single most responsible person for this campaign... It’s pretty plain for anyone to see that he has shaped the strategy of the campaign. He has called the shots. Mark Penn has dominated the message in this campaign. Dominated it."

In a campaign, when a senior strategist is actually giving someone else credit for something, you know it's because the Apocalypse is coming. (Granted, Harold Ickes has been off his meds lately, but like Indira I'm skeptical that his presence will make much real difference one way or the other. There's nothing left to do now but spin.)

...Now, in the event of an unbelievable last-minute turnaround -- which is possible, this is American politics we're talking about -- watch how quickly our boy here would run to the cameras claiming responsibility...

Above: "Guess where I'm calling from? My CELLULAR PHONE!"

Will it help?

He's back on board, but I don't think he can make the difference.

As Ickes succintly puts, "She is better than her campaign." But, at this point, this isn't enough. How can she compete with the viral-like effectiveness of Obama's campaign? I mean, take a look at "Viva Obama" below. It's brilliant. If she continues losing it, I think it might because of her campaign and the way its run...

Check it out.

Fox "News" Boycott

What does everyone thing of '08 candidates Clinton, Edwards and Obama's decisions not to participate in a debate on Fox News, which they are justifying by saying that there's simply no point, given the obscene biases of the channel?

On the one hand, I think it's a bit childish, and only adds fuel to Fox's fire. Biased or not, Fox is still one of America's primary news sources, and Democrats aren't winning any swing votes by cutting them out.

But on the other hand, now that nutjob Michelle Malkin is on the airwaves, I think they have a point. Watch this priceless exchange between the pundit and the General Counsel of the Black Panther Party (Malkin quips: "how many members do you have sir? Fifteen?" What grade is she in?), They proceed to call one another whores, and the segment ends with Malkin's sarcastic "uh huh, okay, bye now.. buh-bye..." She then moves into reporter mode.. "now onto reports..."

That's fair and balanced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9vadcdgzjI&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwonkette%2Ecom%2F%3FrefId%3D252555

Campaigning in the Age of YouTube

Grip & Grin 101: Syllabus now available

Does your hand feel like a mass of mashed pulp at the end of a hard day's work? Does the sight of a ropeline appear in your nightmares? Does the phrase "grip and grin" make you want to amputate the terminal part of the vertebrate forelimb when modified (as in humans) as a grasping organ?

Fear not you bruised baby-kisser, the American Occupational Therapy Association has published a guide on "proper handshaking skills."

So excercise your fingers, click on the link for my favorite parts of the guide...

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