Mark Penn's Post-Mortem Interview

GQ's Lisa DePaulo has posted a long interview -- one might call it a post-mortem -- with Mark Penn on Hillary Clinton's failed campaign bid. The whole thing is worth a look; here are few excerpts to whet your appetite:

How did you underestimate [Obama]?

I think I never underestimated it, that once you had that kind of candidate, that that kind of candidate could be real trouble. And that if that candidate... You know, if Obama won Iowa, it would really change, dramatically change, the situation going forward. And consequently, I really wanted to question Obama as early as possible.

Okay. But you had to have underestimated him at some point.

No. Internally, I spent a year and a half fixated on this issue--from the moment he preannounced, when you saw the kind of money, the kind of support, what could happen with the African-American vote--rest assured.

You wanted to hit him harder?

Well, I wanted to question the basic underpinning of his campaign.

Why didn't you?

Well, I started down that road.... President Clinton took on the Iraq back-and-forth. But the rest of the campaign didn't want to tackle Iraq. They always felt that that was a losing proposition for her, and they always pulled it back.

Read the full interview.