The Clinton Camp's Silent Shake-up

The New Republic: Stunning N.H. Comeback Not Enough To Keep Democrat's Inner Circle Intact

(The New Republic)  This column was written by Michelle Cottle.

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The morning after is never pretty. In the wake of defeat in the Iowa caucus, it was a sad and sorry Team Hillary that assembled for a conference call with the candidate. Campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, in transit back to Washington, was absent. Top strategist Mark Penn was dazed and subdued, waiting for the candidate to come on the line. When she did, Hillary Clinton gave a brief greeting making clear that there would be no navel-gazing and that she was ready to look ahead, according to a participant in the call who was already on the ground in New Hampshire (desperately seeking guidance). Adopting the same ready-for-business tone, message guru Mandy Grunwald tried to spur conversation by asking other top advisers if they wanted to share any thoughts. Nothing. After a pregnant pause, Hillary jumped back in to talk for a few minutes about what she saw as the next step. Again, she was met by silence that stretched out awkwardly until a displeased Hillary snipped, "This has been very helpful talking to myself," and hung up on the group.

Post-Iowa, even the most blindly devoted members of Team Hillary could see that a shake-up of the campaign was in order. The peculiarities of Iowa's caucus system aside, broad structural and tonal problems needed to be addressed. So, as a devastated top leadership struggled to make sense of what had happened, the candidate went to work: Plans were made to bring in new blood; rumors circulated about who among the senior staff would be booted after New Hampshire. But then -- surprise! -- Granite State voters smiled on the Clinton clan once more, delivering Hillary a political resurrection even more stunning than Bill's 1992 comeback. The troops were elated. The generals were relieved. The candidate was glowing and crowing about her found voice. It was a grand and glorious triumph. Except...

The campaign still needed shaking. The percolating trouble brought to the surface in Iowa could not be ignored. But how to accomplish this without damaging the campaign's miraculous new momentum? Especially when much of the discord, say multiple insiders, flowed from decision-makers at the very top of the pyramid.

For all Team Hillary's gifts, it is not known as a happy group. "I've never seen a campaign where everyone feels so bad about themselves," says one campaign staffer, echoing others. This may be somewhat unavoidable: Too much is on the line. Everyone is exhausted. The public scrutiny (damn those scrounging reporters!) is relentless. But compounding these generic stressors, say insiders, has been the fear-inducing, high-handed leadership of the coterie of überadvisers known as "the Five."

High atop Hillary's disciplined, leakproof operation, Solis Doyle, along with Penn, Grunwald, policy chief Neera Tanden, and communications director Howard Wolfson, have kept an iron grip on everything from ideas to access. Characterized by their colleagues -- and even themselves -- as a collection of brilliant but not especially likable political talents, the Five are seen by many insiders as contributing to the candidate's image problem. Even those who profess fondness for individual members admit that none makes a compelling Face of the Campaign. So, when Team Hillary hit its Iowa speed bump, the thoughts of many immediately turned toward shattering the hold of the Five.

In any given situation, the first member of this inner circle to be targeted for abuse is Penn. The reasons are legion: his high profile; his right-of-center politics; his myopic focus on issues; his dismissal of the need for Hillary to get personal and address her likability problem; his unusual dual role as top strategist and pollster; and, of course, his famously rough manner. It's little wonder that all those insiders who didn't care for Penn when the team was riding high were salivating at the idea of prying the campaign from his cold dead hands as things turned south in Iowa. But, despite political watchers crediting Hillary's comeback to her at last getting personal (a move Penn had fought against in favor of more Iron Lady messaging), New Hampshire bought Penn a reprieve.

Instead, the adviser most damaged by Iowa may be the one closest to the candidate: Hillary's longtime scheduler and alter ego, Solis Doyle. Among the most devout members of Hillaryland, Solis Doyle is cheered by supporters as an "unconventional" choice for campaign manager. Detractors are less kind, noting that even some of Hillary's most trusted advisers have long questioned Solis Doyle's readiness for the job. Clinton money man Terry McAuliffe is said to have expressed reservations early on, including in a conversation with the Clintons during the couple's January 2006 trip to the Dominican Republic, according to someone there with the group. (McAuliffe denies this.) Similarly, several weeks before the campaign's official launch, a handful of the most senior Hillarylanders met with the senator to express eleventh-hour doubts about Solis Doyle, says someone Hillary spoke with after the meeting.

No one denies that Solis Doyle's authority stems less from her expertise or political savvy (though defenders insist she has an abundance of both) than from her bond with Hillary. The result, say critics, is a toxic blend of insecurity (about her abilities) and arrogance (about her proximity to the boss). As they tell it, an overwhelmed Solis Doyle has become increasingly temperamental -- playing favorites and abusing her relationship with Hillary to control information flow and enhance her own power. "It's become 'The Patti Show,'" snipes a former member of the Clinton White House who remains close to both Clintons. Solis Doyle is said to allow unaddressed issues to pile up, failing to do things like return calls to surrogates in need of direction or contributors in need of stroking. "People are constantly complaining to the senator and other members of the campaign family that their calls aren't being returned," notes one observer who often hears from such people. At the same time, over the course of her management career, Solis Doyle has developed a reputation for mucking around in the weeds, insisting upon signing off on even low-level decisions, such as where to hold a minor event and whether bagels or donuts should be served. (That's not a hypothetical.) She is brutal to staffers who try to circumvent her with a request, and she is not shy about reminding others of her position: When dispatched to Iowa headquarters in the final month, Solis Doyle demanded that in preparation for her arrival walls be erected around the section of the giant bullpen where she would be working.

[user168-2009]

One of the most important questions we must ask is: Are we a "me" generation or are we a "children and society" generation.

Obama is HOPING FOR A BETTER, MORE PEACE-ORIENTED FUTURE for your children and society.

But the Clintons are ingenious. They have come up with this absolutely incredible idea that no scientist could have ever thought of - a 100% effective mass destruction without nuclear weapon - JUST LET THE NEXT GENERATION LIE, HATE, ATTACK, and DO ANYTHING AT ALL COST TO SECURE SELF-GAIN and you will be sure your children get what they want.

[rdnearthezoo]

Has The New Republic ever admitted that the ridiculous story (Shock Troops) by Scott Thomas Beauchamp was entirely false?

I didn''t think so.

Until then I wouldn''t even trust them if they told me the sun would rise in the East.

[sharncedar]

Don''t overestimate the intelligence or the honor of the American voting public. the Clintons don''t. The thing we hate the most about them is they understand exactly who we are, that we are selfish and stupid, with short attention spans, and a willingness to sell out our better natures for some appealing hatreds or petty desires. They understand us, and they pitch their message exactly to us. It is low-brow message, and they fully expect you to forget tomorrow the lies they tell today. And you do. they have manipulated this country into giving them ultimate power before, and they can do it again, because they understand us, and they believe we are worthless, gutless, soulless, spineless trash, and they are right. Of course we hate them for it.

[p-syrus]

Barack NEEDS to be the Democratic Candidate and NEEDS to be our President, there is not "fairy tale" about it.

Posted by davidheyburn


It ain''t about Obama, baby.

America doesn''t need an inexperienced first term senator whose principle qualification for the presidency is "charisma". Save it for Hollywood.

Consolation: Obama will make an excellent vice president.

Hillary/Obama ''08

[user168-2009]

We tend to vote for our belief, value, and goal. I just hope all parents and educators vote with children in mind and for what they preach: honesty, integrity, and peace. Imagine being a parent or an educator but vote for LIES, HATRED, ATTACKS, and GREED - the Bill and Hillary birds of a feather?

[bluestardad]

THE VOTE WAS FUNNY IN NH OBAMA WON THE PAPER BALLOTS AND SOMEHOW THE MACHINES GAVE IT TO CLINTON? GO FIGURE...WITH OBAMA HAVING A 15 POINT LEAD?

ONLY IN AMERICA CAN THE PEOPLES VOTE BE STOLEN AND STILL THEY DO NOT MARCH IN THE STREETS!

AMERICA YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE....

DO SOMETHING OR SHUT UP!

[cs4466]

GO HILLARY 08! WOOHOO! YOU GO GIRL!

[idlepugilist]

The non-liberal Hillary haters have posted. This could be a time for thinking outside of the Repbulican purgatory box, put the White House in the hands of an actual intellectual who doesn''t shoot from the hip, cause irrational men to briefly drop their jaws in sexist disbelief until they see the country is in comptetent hands, and focus on the struggles of the American family - instead of finding new Republicans to enact larger tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy to enable more 20% pay increases for CEO''s who shovel jobs overseas.

[bmsbms29]

Maybe now more people will look at Hillary Clinton as just being a wife to a former governor & president.
Just being a woman will not make her a good president.
She has no real work experience except as Senator now! She & Bill are very liberal & all they seemed to care about in the White House was party, party, party - usually using our $$.
As a Democrat she can do anything & people forgive her - they do all other Democrats.
Has everyone forgotten about Whitewater & the fact that Hillary was very, very, very involved it it! They stole $$$ from U.S. citizens causing many to file bankruptcy. Some had their dreams taken away because of this Savings & Loan tragedy.
Do you honestly want a president who steals from you...
I pray that people will begin to see her as she really is.
A lot of us already do -
signed: a female & an ARKANSAS native***

[idlepugilist]

bmsmbs, seriously, are you still trying to dredge up the Whitewater bs? They were cleared, end of story. But wait, there''s more: you say Hillary has no work experience? Hmmm, let''s see, attorney prior to being Mrs. President, then Senator. No, you''re right, she''s just a silly woman who should be barefoot, preggers and in front of the stove as you like it.

[idlepugilist]

The Hillary haters are back to Swift-boating. What''s incredible is that with enough repetition, some people start to believe it. Like Dubya''s claims about WMD''s. Trance-like, many conservatives joined in the mantra, WMD''s WMD''s, liberate Iraq, etc. The Whitewater allegations were just that, and their names were cleared. As for the Savings and Loan fiasco, check Jeb Bush''s ties to his failed S&L, there are facts, not guesswork.

[truthspeake2]

OBAMA / CLINTON 2008....

[hypnotoad72]

Well, she needs her hubby to prove how wonderful she is - that alone should set off red flags. I mean, he didn''t inhale, did not have sexual relations with (Monica), and other statements proved to be less than sincere.

http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/Archive/Hillary5.txt

Amusing how she says Americans will compete against anybody if they had the will. Talk about an empty statement; the quality of products declining and the only impetus is the "Made and Assembled in (not the USA)" label stuck on it. It''s about lopsided greed. If globalization was about expansion, no American worker would have lost his job in favor of lower paying areas. Areas whose cost of living is lower, which is how their economies are skyrocketing. And that''s where the imbalance comes in.

Right now, I prefer McCain over Hillary; at least I can find other perspectives to justify his $50/hr remark. I can''t find anything of legitimacy coming out of her mouth. Especially when, while saying Americans will compete, she''s giving helping hands (and jobs) to everyone else; a major contributor to the current financial distress our economy is in. This is the sign of a candidate for an AMERICAN political office?

Want real globalization? When will the "underdeveloped" countries become sufficiently developed? All the polls and charts and prostitutes on the streets all agree: America is sinking. For 2008, we need to choose a candidate properly. I have real doubts about Hillary.

[rational_1]

The Hillary haters are back to Swift-boating. What''''s incredible is that with enough repetition, some people start to believe it.
Posted by IdlePugilist at 05:24 PM : Jan 26, 2008

Ya, like Hillary''s oft repeated assertions of her vast experience. Talk about fairytales! When she was in the White House she didn''t even know Bubba was getting BJs from the chubby interns.

[user168-2009]

The Clintons are ingenious. They have come up with this absolutely incredible idea that no scientist could have ever thought of - a 100% effective mass destruction without nuclear weapon - JUST LET THE NEXT GENERATION LIE, HATE, ATTACK, and DO WHATEVER IT TAKES AND AT ALL COST TO SECURE SELF-GAIN.