Hillary Pollster Mark Penn: Obama More Likely To Suffer Fate Of John Kerry Or Al Gore

[ProSense]

Hillary Pollster Mark Penn: Obama More Likely To Suffer Fate Of John Kerry Or Al Gore

By Greg Sargent - February 11, 2008, 2:52PM
On a conference call with reporters just now, Hillary pollster Mark Penn sought to make the case for her electability by dredging up bad memories of the GOP and right-wing media's successful efforts to redefine Al Gore and John Kerry, arguing that Hillary wouldn't succumb to such tactics.

The "GOP attack machine," Penn suggested, "skewed the perceptions of such distinguished public servants as Al Gore and John Kerry" in a way that left perceptions of them "out of touch with reality."

Penn said that Hillary has "withstood" this process, while Obama would find that his independent support "would evaporate relatively quickly once he faced the Republicans." Penn added that the GOP "is already playing the national security card against Obama."

In addition to a straightforward electability argument, it's worth noting that Penn's appeal is an emotional one, too -- the obvious tactic being that he's raising fears of Kerry and Gore redux. Penn's implicit goal here seems to be to make Democrats worry -- without saying so outright -- that Obama will prove too weak to fight back effectively against the GOP slime machine, just as Kerry and Gore did.

[Freetospeak]

1. Not good, these guys need to get it together before too long.

[Big Blue Marble]

26. I hope you don't mean run together.

That would be a big mistake for Obama.

[Freetospeak]

28. I don't

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. Mark Penn : Sooooper Geeeeeeeeeenius

[Renew Deal]

10. Penn single handedly won NH for Hillary.

He's a Genius!

[jgraz]

17. He knows how to program voting machines?

Who knew?

[Araxen]

3. This is all they can come up with?

Sad state of affairs over there, imho

[jgraz]

4. I think I speak for Obama and Hillary supporters alike when I say

Shut the fuck up, Penn.

[Dr.Phool]

I hope Penn has to spend the rest of his life, locked in a cage with.

James Carville and Mary Matalin. And throw in Pat Buchanan to rub salt in the wound.

[XemaSab]

34. I volunteer to round up Rahm Emanuel

to join that merry crew.

We can charge teenagers $15 bucks to go see them at Halloween and make a bundle. :crazy:

[GodlessBiker]

5. Of all the hacks in all the campaigns, this guy is the worst.

[abburdlen]

6. well if there is one thing Mark Penn knows

it's right wing smears.

I really think Clinton let the wrong person go from her campaign.

[book_worm]

7. That will sure endear Al Gore to HRC's campaign.

[XemaSab]

35. No shit.

n/t

[Renew Deal]

8. Every day is opposite day for Penn.

This means that Obama is going to do great and rule the independents.

[TwilightGardener]

9. Ooops, dupe--DU is buggy for me today.

[Unsane]

11. Mark Penn: jowls and flop sweat

[NightWatcher]

12. is it too much to call Mark Penn, Hillary's Rove?

this guy appears to be at the bottom of a bunch of garbage from that side

[thereismore]

16. That's exectly what his "predictions" feel like. Unbridled bullshit. nt

[TwilightGardener]

13. I guess he can't figure out a good reason why we should vote for Hillary, so he's

coming up with reasons why we shouldn't vote for the other guy. And it's totally fabricated--when did Obama ever NOT hit back? He's fought, and fought smart, every step of the way.

[greguganus]

14. That's it? That's all the 4 Million-Dollar-Man's Got? n/t

[HeraldSquare212]

15. Penn: "Hillary wisely voted to kill people so the Reps couldn't play the national security card

against her."

[tularetom]

18. She "withstood" this process by voting for the Iraq war resolution?

Wow. She's really fuckin tough isn't she. She really knows how to "stand up" to those right wingers doesn't she. She showed them. She voted for their stinkin war. Even cosponsored a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning. She's one "tough" customer huh. None of that kumbaiya shit for her. If you trash her she'll vote for every fuckin thing you want.

And if that ain't enough she'll narc you oluot to her hubbys new BFF, daddy boosh.

If she's the nominee, you will NOT be able to distinguish between her policy proposals and McCains.

[TwilightGardener]

20. Here here! My thoughts exactly--why the fuck does everyone say

she "fights" the Republican machine, when she often ends up voting their way, or adopting their positions, on key issues?

[DUyellow]

19. I would rather go down in flames then to sellout. You can not scare us.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Interesting.

Because I was just thinking Clinton's just about to suffer the fate of Alan Keyes.

[ForeignSpectator]

22. Why doesn't he shut the f... up and go back to his PR firm BM and...

...work on acquiring the next client in PR needs after Blackwater, the Bush family...pig

[OHdem10]

23. Penn is not one of my favorites but he is is so so right on this.

[damntexdem]

24. What, actually win the election and have it stolen?

[damntexdem]

25. What, actually win the election and have it stolen?

[Araxen]

27. Hillary can pay me $4 million dollars

and I'm sure I can come up with better bullshit than Mark!

[mckeown1128]

29. Only in MarkPennworld would independent voter support

be a bad thing in the GE.

[Vinca]

30. This Mark Penn?

"Afterward, the first flack to waddle into the spin cave is Mark Penn, Clinton's chief mouthpiece, one of Washington's most depraved and expensive lobbyist-whores.
Penn is the Democratic version of Karl Rove. He even looks like Rove, only he's fatter and more disgusting. Up close in a forum like this, his eyes bulge out of his fat, blood-flushed head; his neck spills out of his too-tight shirt collar; and he generally looks like Jabba the Hutt, his suit bursting at the seams, with only the bowl of snackable live toads suspended at arm's length missing from the picture."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/18074823/the_new_nixon

:rofl:

[Unsane]

31. There is nothing good beneath the jowls and flop sweat.

[BenDavid]

32. One has to look at polling within the polling and from all I can

gather obama loses more democrats to mccain than hrc, and that is bad for obama and in some ways bad for HRC,

one thing does bother me, the Obama crowd doesn't seem to be real democratic and especially not Democratic. It's all "my way or the highway".

It looks like if Obama wins the nomination, Clinton's supporters will most likely support him; but if it goes the other way, Obama's supporters would prefer to see the Democrats lose.

Michelle Obama said quite clearly that she and her husband will "have to think about" supporting Hillary against the Republicans. They are refusing to take the pledge that would help THEM if they win.

[XemaSab]

33. You mean Obama's likely to WIN the general election?

:woohoo: