Word: penne
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...Hillary Clinton, by contrast, never insisted on any such promise from her political guru, Mark Penn. Indeed, the potential for conflict only increased when - as Clinton was launching her Senate reelection campaign in 2005, in a test run for a potential presidential bid in 2008 - Penn was named worldwide CEO of Burson-Marsteller, one of the largest firms in the world of public relations, a field in which Washington advocacy has been playing a bigger and bigger role. Last year, Bloomberg News reported that Penn's private blog for his Burson-Marsteller colleagues included an entry titled: "Workin With Hillary...
...Penn has long been the most controversial figure in Clinton's political orbit, in part because his other relationships have repeatedly placed her campaign in an uncomfortable position. Among his firm's clients have been drug companies, a tuna industry group, a tobacco firm and the controversial military contractor Blackwater USA. What finally forced Penn's demotion was a Wall Street Journal report last Friday that, as part of a contract Burson-Marsteller had entered into, he had met with the Colombian ambassador to discuss promoting a free-trade agreement with that country - even as Clinton was denouncing the deal...
...Penn's outside work does not represent the first time that this kind of conflict has arisen in a presidential campaign. In 2000, for instance, Al Gore drew fire over the fact that a key aide, Carter Eskew, had done work on a tobacco industry advertising campaign that was aimed at undermining the Clinton Administration's tobacco settlement deal. (The work had been done before Eskew joined Gore?s campaign, and he left the firm at Gore?s request when he came on board...
...Campaign officials expect Garin to work on bringing consistency to a message that has been too focused on the daily give-and-take between their candidate and Barack Obama. "Where exactly was the grand strategy?" one grumbled when asked about Penn's tenure. "He had one playbook." A source close to the campaign said Garin has been a welcome addition and a big morale booster. "He's got that gentle manner and everyone feels much better," the adviser said. "But at this point, I'm not sure how much he can do" to dig the struggling campaign...
...What's more, though Penn has been demoted, he has not entirely departed from the campaign. As one associate put it, Penn has been "slapped in the head and will have a smaller role." Despite the removal of his formal title and role, he will continue doing polling, and both Clintons have called him for advice. One source said Penn was even on the campaign's message-of-the-day call on Monday morning, and was expected to participate in a debate preparation session with the candidate in the afternoon...