This diary has no substance; I just wanted to collect some of Mark Penn's greatest hits in one place, so we can deride him some more.
I can't wait to run this guy out of town on a rail. People keep comparing him to Bob Shrum, but that's an insult to Shrum, who actually has a fair record of successful campaigns. He didn't manage to win at the presidential level, but very few do.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, Penn was Bill Clinton's pollster from 1996-2000. He was chief strategist for Hillary's successful senate campaigns.
That's it.
Now on to Penn's greatest hits.
Impressionable Elites is my favorite.
Mr. Penn emphasized his distaste for the microtrend he calls "impressionable elites" —- supposed leaders of society who, as he sees it, show more interest in a candidate's personality than policies.
Mr. Obama enjoys the support of this chattering class, Mr. Penn believes, while Mrs. Clinton speaks more to working-class people who really care about policy because policy really impacts their lives. Worse still, Mr. Penn sees the "impressionable elites" growing in number, so much so that he has considered turning "that trend into an entire book someday, because it is becoming more and more evident."
Great meme: Hillary is like Mondale.
"It is not unusual historically to see these races seesaw back and forth," Penn said. "[Walter] Mondale in '84 lost a wide series. [Jimmy] Carter lost 24 states before winning Ohio and California."
Why have primaries?
"You know, winning Democratic primaries is not a qualification, or a sign, of who can win the general election," Mark Penn, her chief strategist, told reporters in a conference call. "If it were, every nominee would win, because every nominee wins Democratic primaries."
Are you a significant voter?
"Could we possibly have a nominee who hasn't won any of the significant states -- outside of Illinois? Chief Strategist Mark Penn said. "That raises some serious questions about Sen. Obama."
Clear contrast. Obama = running for president. Hillary = opening a Mail Boxes Etc. franchise.
Penn, who said this at least twice on the call, seemed to coin the phrase to encapsulate how they will try to frame the message going forward: Clinton will draw a "clear contrast" between herself and Obama by showing that she is in the "21st Century solution business and not the promise business."