Penn sidelined

The knives have been out in Hillaryland for Mark Penn for years, but today they finally cut through.

In a statement, campaign manager Maggie Williams linked the departure to Mark Penn's meeting last week with the government of Colombia, a private client, but that was just the latest in a long series of distractions triggered by his private work, and his departure also reflects Clinton's obvious dissatisfaction with elements of her strategy.

Says Williams:

After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as Chief Strategist of the Clinton Campaign; Mark, and Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc. will continue to provide polling and advice to the campaign. Geoff Garin and Howard Wolfson will coordinate the campaign's strategic message team going forward.

See Also