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Clinton campaign in crisis mode
07/04/2008 14:44 - (SA)
Washington - The presidential campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton was in crisis mode on Monday after her top strategist was forced to quit amid a political firestorm sparked by disclosure of his lobbying ties to Colombia.
The departure of Mark Penn rattled the campaign struggling to match the soaring clarion call for hope and change ignited by Clinton's Democratic foe, Barack Obama, who leads her in nominating contest wins and the popular vote as they tussle for the party's nomination.
Penn quit after admitting he erred by meeting, in his capacity as a Washington lobbyist, with Colombian diplomats who backed a trade deal with the United States that Clinton opposes.
Penn is a top executive in US public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, and has his own consulting firm.
His thick contacts book was one of the factors that prompted Obama to claim Clinton's White House bid was fuelled by a bankrupt Washington political system that had failed the American people.
He had also been criticised for framing Clinton's electoral message, which positioned her as the candidate of experience, while Obama, a 46-year-old Illinois senator, claimed a mantra of change.
Aides said Penn's consulting company would carry on providing polling to Clinton's campaign, as she struggles to catch up with the Illinois senator in the party's intense White House race ahead of the November general elections.
Conflict of interest
Burson-Marsteller's work for Colombia raised conflict-of-interest questions for Clinton's campaign, as she had feverishly worked to court working-class votes in states which believe free trade has hammered their manufacturing base.
In addition, when details of the Penn-Colombia meeting became public, some labour unions angrily called on Clinton to fire Penn.
Clinton triumphed in the Ohio primaries last month, in a victory credited with reviving her White House campaign, which polls suggested was based on backing from white, blue-collar voters attracted by her populist economic message.
Penn came to prominence during former president Bill Clinton's triumphant re-election effort in 1996 and he also advised the former first lady when she captured a Senate seat in 2000.
- AFP
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US Elections Special Report
