From The Road
April 6, 2008 7:00 PM

Clinton Chief Strategist Steps Down

By
Fernando Suarez
Topics
Hillary Clinton
(CBS)
From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The chief strategist for Hillary Clinton's campaign, Mark Penn, has decided to step down according to a statement from Clinton Campaign Manager Maggie Williams.

Penn, who also works for Burston-Marstellar, has been under scrutiny over the last few days when reports surfaced that he met with officials of the Colombian government in regards to trade deals, deals that Clinton has opposed for some time.

A source within the campaign said, "Senator Clinton was disappointed that the meeting with the Colombians had occurred. She is a strong opponent of the trade deal."

Penn has been part of the Clinton campaign since the beginning and has been a source of controversy within the campaign as well, particularly after Clinton finished third in Iowa.

"Over the course of the weekend he (Penn) recognized that he needed to step aside and Senator Clinton agreed. He will continue to provide polling and advice as part of the team," the source added.

Penn will be replaced by pollster Geoff Garin and Communications Director Howard Wolfson.

Add a Comment See all 14 Comments
by michael0004 April 9, 2008 1:57 PM EDT
If there was any doubt about the media''''s mysogynistic bias against Senator Hillary Clinton, the following youtube video should dispel all doubt (except for those who are so blinded by their own prejudices or brainwashed by the media):

http://www.youtube.com/result
s?search_query=Hillary+Mad as Hell&search_type=

(You can also type in "Hillary mad as hell" in the youtube search field to retrieve this video.)
Reply to this comment
by pamalleg April 7, 2008 11:15 AM EDT
I DO NOT TRUST HILLARY CLINTON. SHE IS PART OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. VOTE OBAMA FOR A CLEAN, FRESH START without the Washington lobbyists!
Reply to this comment
by jgunther7 April 7, 2008 5:34 AM EDT
Hillary is not doing very well as a presidential contender, she should go back to being Rocky Balboa.
Reply to this comment
by apprxam April 7, 2008 5:26 AM EDT
It''s the plural or possesive use they don''t like.
Reply to this comment
by apprxam April 7, 2008 5:25 AM EDT
Why did CBS censor the word gay....see they did it again. * + out the word g*a*y. Is Bob Schieffer and James Dobson x-ing out this word for Texans?
Reply to this comment
by apprxam April 7, 2008 5:18 AM EDT
Rove & Cheney have family members that were gay, but had no problem bashing *** and using them as wedge issues. Is this so different? Politics is, among other things, the art of lying. Penn isn''t very good at it and I do believe other conflicts of interest were raised before, and nothing was done then.
Reply to this comment
by jerryz7936 April 7, 2008 4:26 AM EDT
She should go with him. Just a set up to show she''s against NAFTA. Notice he will still advise her?
Such a fake.
The uneducated voters, the ones Hilliary & Bill can count on, will vote for her. They can''t see all the lies and scandals. They don''t know better. Thank God there are educated people out there. They see the lies.
Reply to this comment
by sistatee-2009 April 7, 2008 4:17 AM EDT
What did Penn Teller?
Reply to this comment
by lordmi April 7, 2008 3:49 AM EDT
NO, let her stay and LOSE.
Otherwise she would say : I might win, but they wanted me to get out.
Yes, we do want You to get out, but like Loser. With NO pride.
Reply to this comment
by jgunther7 April 7, 2008 2:27 AM EDT
Mark Penn did''t step down, he was fired. Now he better watch out he dosn''t commit suicide, shot in the back of the head.

Hillary Clinton couldn%u2019t run a popcorn stand, much less a campaign. This kind of experience disqualifies her as president.
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