Didn't see this one coming:
The Colombian Government announces its decision to terminate the contract with Burson-Marsteller. This firm conducts public relations and communications consulting services on behalf of Colombia in the United States for the approval of the Free Trade Agreement and the continuation of Plan Colombia.
Mr. Mark Penn, President and CEO of Burson Marsteller, reponded to claims by Union representatives who questioned his relationship with the Colombian Government by declaring that it was an "error in judgment" to meet with his client the Colombian Ambassador on March 31. The Colombian government considers this a lack of respect to Colombians, and finds this response unacceptable.The firm was retained by the Colombian Embassy in Washington in March of 2007 based on its track record in the field of Public Relations.
The Colombian Government will continue its efforts to show to different sectors in the United States, the dramatic improvements in the country's economy, social and security indicators, and will continue its efforts to obtain a favorable vote on the pending Free Trade Agreement with the United States, for greater wellbeing and prosperity for all.
What does it say about Clinton that she didn't see a conflict of interest, and as a result did nothing but defend Penn, where the Colombian government did see it and as a result fired him?
Matt Yglesias has the answer to that question:
The mighty Ambinder remarked that "One of the toughest tasks for a political journalist these days is to try and find someone in Clinton world who is willing to defend Mr. Penn or his sense of political optics."
Well, I would think it's easy enough to find someone -- Hillary Clinton who's stuck with Penn through thick and thin. And in some ways, I admire her for it. She knows perfectly well that a great many influential people in left-of-center circles don't like Penn, including many people in her inner circle. But she sincerely believes, and has believed for years, that Penn's advice about political strategies is immensely valuable. That's why he was an important strategist in the later years of the Clinton administration, that's why he was the chief architect of her Senate campaign, and that's why he's been one of the main architects of her Presidential bid. There's no sense in acting like he's some guy who for some crazy reason seems to keep popping up near Hillary Clinton -- they're not identical, but close association with Penn and Penn's approach is part of who she is.So if it's time for anyone to go, I think it's time for her to go. And, of course, I do think it's time for her to go. And Penn probably realizes that at this point nothing he does or doesn't do is going to put her in the White House so he might as well start transitioning back to his real job. Hence meeting with the Colombians.
Her problem hasn't been her decision to stick with Penn. It was her decision to hire him in the first place. His entire philosophy is based on the idea of Microtrends: soccer moms, NASCAR dads, and a million other little demographic groups that can be cobbled together to form a winning electoral coalition. Penn's not wrong to suggest that those sorts of groups matter - what would the conservative movement have been without the advent of microtrend targeted direct mail? - but in today's information environment they can only take you so far. Even if they are correctly applied - and judging from Penn's book, in his hands they are not - they simply are not nearly as powerful as they once were. In a way, its yet another example of how Clinton and her people simply do not recognize the way the Internet has fundamentally changed our political discourse, and as a result, has transformed the way campaigns can and should gather and organize support.
Short version? In virtually everything he does, Penn acts like it is still 1992. But its not. And that makes all the difference.
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