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)  As the leadership regrouped in the wake of Iowa, Hillary loyalists both inside and outside the campaign began contacting the candidate, offering opinions on What Next. "I've never seen such a sense of empowerment and excitement," recalls the Clinton White House veteran. "The Five disappeared, and it was like the fence that had been stopping ideas from flowing disappeared." Once that "overarching power structure was gone," the person adds, the rest of the team "went into overdrive." So strong was the desire for change that the Granite State miracle, while obviously a godsend, left some staffers deflated as it became clear that the planned overhaul had been derailed.

This is not to suggest that nothing has changed. Despite no heads having rolled, several advisers have been "layered on." Some are veteran Bill Clinton hands, such as former political director Doug Sosnik and ad man Roy Spence. Others are longtime Hillarylanders who had been unofficially pinch-hitting for the campaign all along, including Melanne Verveer (now helping with faith outreach), Lissa Muscatine (speechwriting), Lisa Caputo (surrogate management), Jen Klein (a policy expert lending an occasional hand with speechwriting), and the formidable Evelyn Lieberman, who may be best remembered as the White House deputy chief of staff who booted a certain intern from the West Wing to the Pentagon. Lieberman is often praised as a "grown-up" with the brains and backbone to go toe to toe with any of the Five.

Among insiders keeping score, the new additions mean greater accountability for the Five. Spence is expected to affect the fiefdoms of Penn and Grunwald. The addition of communications mavens like Caputo and Kiki McLean (a veteran of the 1992 campaign who was drafted pre-Iowa to help with surrogates) is a recognition that Wolfson's shop needed reinforcements. Muscatine and Klein, meanwhile, can reinforce Neera Tanden's department, which handles speechwriting.

Then there's Maggie Williams, who refers to herself simply as a "utility player." But no one on Team Hillary questions that she is far more than that. Having served as chief of staff to both Hillary (in the White House) and Bill (at his foundation), Williams has the trust of both the former president and the aspiring one. Hillarylanders point to her as one of the candidate's closest confidantes, the person who "sees into Hillary's soul," "knows what makes her tick," and is arguably more of her "peer" than many other members of the inner circle.

When I asked Williams about her new role, she downplayed it, explaining that she will be doing a little of everything but nothing of note. And, above all, no matter what I may have heard, in no way has she been brought in to manage the team. Her friend Solis Doyle, she said, continues to make all the decisions befitting a campaign manager. As for her broader impact on the office, Williams demurs, "There are so many people over here that I don't think people have even noticed me."

Williams's history with the Clintons is a fraught one. Of the original Hillaryland crew, arguably no one bore the brunt of the scandals and political storms as fiercely. Twice, Williams became the object of intense public and legal scrutiny: first, when the Whitewater probe raised allegations that she had helped obstruct the investigation into Vince Foster's suicide by removing files from his office on the night he died; and, again, when the disputed details of her acceptance of a $50,000 political donation from Johnny Chung earned her an invitation to testify before Congress during the Democrats' 1996 fund-raising scandal. For many political watchers, Williams stood as the poster child for the Clintons' careless disregard of those close to them. At the end of Bill Clinton's first term, a scarred and exhausted Williams, having racked up $350,000 in legal bills, resigned her White House post and fled to Paris for a couple of years with her new husband.

Williams admirers see it as a testament to her devotion to Hillary that she has returned to the fray. It is also a testament to how desperately Team Hillary needed a jolt. And, by all accounts, Williams wasted no time in providing one -- her self-deprecating protestations notwithstanding. The Wednesday after New Hampshire, Williams moved into the campaign's Ballston, Va., headquarters. Having already reached out to many of the aforementioned Hillarylanders, she promptly began meeting with pre-existing members of every department to assess their problems, ideas, and needs. "It doesn't get any better than to have somebody of her stature come in and say, 'What do you need, and what can I do to help you get things done?'" says one Hillarylander now consulting with Williams. Word from inside HQ is that morale has already improved since Williams's arrival.

Whatever specific tasks they tackle, Team Hillary's latest additions are more broadly intended to open the lines of communication and loosen the grip of the Five. The veteran Hillarylanders in particular -- Williams, Verveer, Muscatine, Lieberman -- all have direct lines of communication with Hillary, making it that much harder for information to get roadblocked. Unsurprisingly, not everyone is thrilled with the new order. Williams's appearance on the scene, after all, was widely viewed as a vote of no-confidence in Solis Doyle. And, although Williams stresses that she came aboard at Solis Doyle's behest, other insiders report that the wounded campaign manager took the arrival of her old boss rather badly. It provoked considerable comment when, for Williams's first day at HQ, Solis Doyle steered clear of the office, missing key strategy meetings that included the former president himself.

Even so, change proponents remain nervous that, with the sting of Iowa fading, the situation will regress as the Five reassert their primacy. "New Hampshire dulled the sword," sighs one staffer. And, now, with the Nevada wind in its sails, it seems all the more unlikely that an organization that fears revealing internal disunity like most folks fear bird flu will risk dramatic restructuring. But this is the corner into which the campaign has painted itself. Self-defined as a venture marked by stability and discipline, it can't very well start hurling bodies overboard without provoking a media feeding frenzy. Barring another Iowa-sized iceberg, staffers weary of the current direction may need to take solace in whatever minor course corrections can be made. Change may make for a snappy campaign slogan. But, as an organizational strategy, it poses something of an existential dilemma for Team Hillary.

[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.