Atlantic Gets Hold Of Internal Clinton Camp Memos

Just when you thought everyone had moved on... former advisers to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are in a tizzy over an upcoming piece in the Atlantic Monthly that chronicles the inner workings of the now-defunct campaign.

Of particular concern are nearly 200 internal memos that the author, Josh Green, obtained -- 130 or so of which he plans to scan in and post online. When the piece is published sometime next week, readers will be able to scroll through the memos, from senior strategists such as Mark Penn, Harold Ickes and Geoff Garin, and see what exactly was going on inside the infamously fractured Clinton organization. That has some former team members in a panic.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Cherlesq]

Make no mistake Clinton leaked these memos to give McCain ammunition to fight Obama. She wants to run in 2012. She is completely untrustworthy and I would not want her or Bill anywhere near Obama or Democrats who want to win this fall.

[abby4ever]

Have you seen the memos--or seen the article on Politico that claims to have some of the contents of them? They are all about H's inability to make a decision, inability to control her staff, and B's taking over on at least one occasion and calling the shots for her. She comes out looking less prepared to lead---be president--- than she said O was. She would not have leaked much of what Politico has, be sure of that, here's the link:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12420.html

Be sure and read the whole thing, the title is misleading, it's about much more than O being a foreign, in fact it's hardly about that at all.

[SaddieMcCall]

Maybe Mark Penn is upset that he hasn't been paid? Hasn't he always been a republican strategist before? This could be a way to try to divide the dems again, to try not to have a unified party at the convention.

[AdamND]

Politico has a new story out on it: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12420.html

To me it sounds like the whole story is about the dysfunctional Clinton campaign and about how they would smear Obama as foreign. To me if there was explosive new dirt on Obama that would be making the headlines. This just shows how bad the campaign got.

[abby4ever]

Adam, it shows more than how bad the campaign got. If B doesn't have a heart attack when he sees or is told about this politico piece, it will be a miracle.

As for H, if this doesn't finish her off, nothing will, there is so much there about her inability to lead, decide, etc.

Leak, leak, leak, drip, drip, drip...

[AdamND]

my guess is he probably already knew about it. Also since Obama is taking in insiders from Clinton's camp all this info was already known to him so he has something planned out.

[justwaitandsee]

Well it looks likes Mark Penn handed over his play book to Johnn Mccann and Rethuglicans Party because it appears to be the exact same blueprint

You talk about Benedict Arnold and a Traitor well that would be definition of Mark Penn. This man would sell his soul to the devil if he could profit from it.

[TFitz]

Has anyone considered that these memos are being leaked to UNDERMINE Hils' power play at the convention?
Right now my candidate is bodysurfing in Hawaii. Perfectly appropriate activity for these times. Have a bit of faith children!

[Obama08Supporter]

It is always an alterior motive with you all isn't it? That motive always ends up being something that Obama is doing or not doing, isn't it! People should get a life and move on. Who cares what is in the memos, I surely don't. Hillary is not and will not be our nominee, if she does, then God bless her.

People need to actually start thinking maturely.

[blueskybigstar]

You say that now. Let me tell you that I have a feeling that these memos will be explosive. There were other reasons why Hillary kept campaigning; it is because of a court case where she and Bill will finally have to face all of the charges. They sought to avoid them by running for office and to completely avoid them by getting into office. I believe it is that simple and explains all of their unseemly behavior.

[abby4ever]

If that's true, who on H's staff leaked them, and to whom, and who asked for the leak? You are opening a can of worms here.

[belief08]

What can of worms are you talking about. There are people out there that don't want Obama or Clinton to succeed as President. I bet the first person to air them on cable television will be Faux News. You will have your conspirator at that point.

You have people out there that will sell their own mother & children if the price is right. The ReThugs are always up to no good. I say open those cans and let them fly and if we find that Faux News or the ReThugs are behind it then the Dems can handle it accordingly.

I always knew the Clintons were behind what was happening to Obama and I am sure the e-mails will prove it. Now she telling the Nevada voters she wants Obama to win, what a load of crap. I am praying that those emails will put the Clintons in their place once and for all, they have to be held accountable.

[abby4ever]

You were right, TF, see Adam's link to politico, above, and read the whole 2 pages.

[abby4ever]

To wang:
I just remembered something. In that interview where B said O was smart as a whip and could learn what he didn't yet know about being president, the woman interviewing him asked what he had meant when he said, in another interview, that he would have to wait until next year to tell the truth. He answered that he couldn't say now what it was 'because it would be harming to O'.

At first I thought: this is good, it shows he isn't really bent on harming O himself. But I now wonder if it was another one of those innuendos the C's are so good at, that he wanted to suggest that there was something that COULD harm O, if it came out now.

I just can't trust either H or B, I never will, for I think they will never change: they are, in my view, ambitious to a fault and even amoral, in that they will justify any action on their part if it will get them what they want and never seem capable of seeing any wrong in that action.

Abby

[belief08]

Abby;

I saw that interview and he did not say it would harm Obama.

[rightbackatyou]

Who leaked it? I say its between
1. The Rep, so they can try to smear Obama while keeping their hands clean.
2. A teed of ex-employee, who wants revenge.
3. The Clinton's themselves or a close supporter to get sympathy before the convention in their last ditched effort to steal the nomination and prove Obama is not ready, while keeping their hands clean. (Especially since there is a push for her to place her name in for "history sake", not forgetting she has easy access to them.
Obama isn't that crazy to leak something like that, running a clean campaign and staying on the high note, this would be political suicide.

[doctorwang]

I can see your first 2 points as valid possibilities. For C!inton to have leaked them in order to garner sympathy I find a bit hard to swallow. If the campaign members are, as the article states, in a 'tizzy' I would have to believe that the memos are going to have a negative effect on Hi!!ary and Co. If she has future political aspirations why leak anything that may be prove to be detrimental to those aspirations?
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[wakupmagy]

I may be wrong and these emails may really have a negative fallout on the Clintons but it's worth remembering that there is an old, tired Clinton trick. Remember the release of the tape of his deposition in '98? The spin they put out was how damaging it would be and then, when the tape hit the MSM, it wasn't that bad.
It's worth noting that the term "spin" was coined during Bill Clinton's administration.

[abby4ever]

If it'sany of the ones you mention, it's 2. I don't mean they'd do it for sympathy but only that they arte capable of doing it, they would do it to cast doubt on O's viability, cause a little panic, offer themselves as the alternative just by being there at the convention with two good speeches and a reminder of their former glory, etc. If it's them, they will never get caught, they will just behave as if something unfortunate happened to O, nothing to do with them, and they were there to save the day...and the party.

It may never happen. But if it---or something---does, it won't shock me, I half expect it. I just don't believe that H has accepted that she lost, I think she is a 'Hail Mary pass' kind of person.

[belief08]

Why don't you people look at it this way. You're soooo eager to think it's something bad about Obama.

It's the Clinton's e-mails and it's going to be political suicide for them, which is why they are scrambling to get them back. She will never be President.

[CharlesJ]

Obama has given more wiggle room to Hillary than any candidate has given any other candidate during and after the primaries. I hope and pray for Hillary's sake as well as for Bills, that they wander off into the sunset before it is too late. I have always known deep down inside that this was going on, and now the proof will be coming out. Maybe not in full but out enough to really see what the Clinton's are all about and how underhanded, mean spirited they really are. These two people believed they were entitled and could not stand that a junior senator, a black man from out of no where came on strong and started handing them their a$$ on a platter.

[abby4ever]

They'll never wander off into the sunset as long as people are filling their heads with the notion that O can't possibly win without them and their supporters. It just just inflates their already over-inflated egos. These are two people who just won't let go.

[closetodemfection]

Uh, have you seen the polls? Mc Cain is +1 today again in the national. Exactly how is his un-electability a notion?

[trinity]

I am not sure these memos would even matter...many of us who originally supported Hillary then switched to Obama, did so because we knew that this garbage was going on her campaign. It was obvious in the obsession over Rev. Wright and his so-called "anti-white, anti-american" sentiment (My white self personally met this former Marine and never got that impression of him), and the other pandering to the "white working class", hoping that they would never vote for a black man. As a long time admirer/supporter of the Clintons, I had hoped they were above that.

I think it would be a waste to publish it, the PUMAs will end up trying to destroy Obama with it anyhow (with the Republicans watching gleefully from the sidelines).

[doctorwang]

Atlantic Monthly will have the option whether to publish the memos. If the memos are published, it will have nothing to do with O or the Democratic Party. The PUM@s are already trying to destroy O....I don't see how the outing of these memos will increase or decrease their attacks. What I do feel is important is, that if these memos do cast Hi!!ary and her campaign in a negative light, that O and his campaign ignore them. If need be, they should even do what they can to lessen the 'blow' to HRC & Co. O needs to stay positive in his attitude and message. If O and his campaign are even perceived to be taking advantage of a bad situation for Hi!!ary, it will only fuel the fires of those who are opposed to O. Be kind, and let them have nothing but Hi!!ary to blame for what is eventually revealed.

[mypov123]

You're right, let Hillary's campaign goons, I mean advisers, have the burden of doing damage control.

[abby4ever]

Words, whether they are about facts, are quotes, or just mere opinion, are some of the most damaging things on the planet. Whatetever is in these memos doesn't have to be true, or, where it's opinion, even reasonable. It only has to plant little seeds of doubt. Voter are very impressionable, if they weren't, nobody would bother to campaign.

Words can be like bombs: once they drop, the damage is done, and sometimes all the clean-up in the world can't make it right again.

Atlantic knows that.

If, suppose, they want to hurt O, they might, as I said before, wait until the last possible moment, at the convention or just before, to say what's in these memos. Depending on what it is, it might take O more time than he will have left, to fix it. Even when false charges are made against someone, it takes time to convince voters that they ARE false.

Atlantic knows that, too.

[mypov123]

That's true. Some people here were wondering how the release of these memos could hurt Obama, but you've described it exactly.

[goldnchyl]

Ok. I jumped in on the middle of this and as I scrolled down, I'm wondering, "just how will this hurt O?" Spin abounds!

[doctorwang]

These are Hi!!ary's campaign memos. If there is anything in them that is negative towards O anyone with any sense will consider the source (of course that would exclude PUM@s). Most Democrats will not forget the unflattering way Hi!!ary ended her campaign. The things she said about O that are now being used by McC in his campaign ads. If I were you I wouldn't worry about a C!inton coup at the convention. These memos will likely end that hope for anyone who was still praying for a HRC nomination.

[goldnchyl]

There can't be anything in the memos that hurt O. H and B hurled everything ... incl the kitchen sink! If there were ANYTHING to be told, they would have

[belief08]

PUMAabby4ever;

Like convincing you that they are false.

It's not working. All your comments slyly insinuating and slyly accusing Obama is something. You people continue to amaze me with your ignorance. Get a life lady.

[mshazen]

All I know, is none of this is good for our party period, those of you hoping it makes the Clintons look bad and my guess is it probably will campaign tatics on the inside are I am sure not pretty. Will be happy for a moment but it will just cause more drama and make the party look terrible once again in the midst of Edwards one more srong voice for our party being torn apart is bad new for us all.

So I would not be happy about any of this no matter what side you have been on. Our goal is to win in November and the MSM has found another underhanded way to do that.

[nellie]

I actually think this might make her look better. She got rotten rotten eggs rotten advice from her consultants. And I don't think the campaign reflected at all the best she has to offer. Or her resume. Or her political philosophy.

My question is why she would hold onto these crappy advisers. Her trust was misplaced. I think the Clinton machine took over. And we never really saw Hillary.

[aflyinyoursoup]

I certainly hope you are right, but you know the MSM will run hard with this one while they run interference for Gaffe-and-Lie a Minute Johnny.

[closetodemfection]

The guy who's releasing these emails wrote an earlier article about Patti Solis Doyle's backstabbing of HRC. HRC trusted her deeply because of their 20 year friendship and Solis Doyle completely betrayed her - mismanaged funds (i.e. "the debt) and lied to her. Then oddly she went to work for O. My guess is these emails have something to do with her or that time in the campaign. And possibly O or Axlerod having something to do with it. Just my guess. And you are right - HRC didn't fully take control of her campaign until after Iowa - which is when she started winning.

[goldnchyl]

Hill's "crappy advisers" were, for the most part, folks that she has worked with for years. "Friends"

[doctorwang]

"none of this is good for our party". I don't see how Hi!!ary's campaign (and it's memos) has anything to do with O's campaign and the Democr@tic party. If the memos show Hi!!ary and her friends to be unscrupulous, it will only prove the point that the Democr@tic voters made the right choice in picking O for their nominee. Good thing, too!

[FACINGREALIT]

I agree - I believe this will affect Hillary and her supposed supporters more than anyone because it will probably give insight to the campaigns thinkin that some states count and other don't. It will probably expose a lot of infighting and how the money was wasted. Strategy plans to lie about this or that to get the sympathy vote.

I really believe this will put PUMA to an end as Hillary and Bill's thinking will be exposed to the negative. It will probably clear Obama in a lot of ways and actually unite the party even more as people realize they have the right candidate.

[abby4ever]

It may be that the Atlantic is not more specific at this time because they know that timing is everything and that, supposing they have anything really damaging to O, it will have much more impact if they wait until just before the convention starts.

[oxford]

Wouldn't this be the perfect time to release just the ones that put down Obama with suggestions, innuendo, rumors, whatever. Then the stuff will be around in the media, and the damage to Obama will be fostered by the PUMAs. Convention time and the coup will begin. HRC forces a roll call and guess what?? Be prepared for what happens next. WHEW!!!

[superbust]

My guess is when these memos come out there will be much in them referring to playing the r-a-c-e card.
Time will tell.

[olivia]

Leaked so far:
.

3. Something about him being black. Cn plese Mandy and Howard meet on this and get back to me with somethingg sculpted but definitive? "Don't vote for teh black man" tested well in Chicago malls but won't play on coasts.

.

If Clintons are not racists, they are willing to promote racism and exploit it for their personal ambition.

[superbust]

Oh, I dont think the C's are ra=ci-sts. I concur with your post that they had no problem using ra-ce for political gain. But I will say there are many people who will view the use of ra-ce for political gain as -r-a-c-i-sm. They might be right, after all this is a very subjective subject.

[hydenorhare]

Hillary must be absolutely furious that any memos critical of Lil' Bama were written, let alone leaked.
It's just not like the Clintons.
BWAAAAAH !

The memos aren't going to say anything we don't already know. They were saying he's unelectable.

Besides, if any of the memos had any really juicy op research that wasn't already used, Atlantic likely won't tell you now.

[superbust]

what a du-mb post. you dont know jack sp-it

[olivia]

The Clintons will have to denounce these memos, and thereby the people who worked on their campaign - people they hired.

Just like they have to denounce the PUMAs.

The "we can't control it" baloney doesn't fly. Nobody believes it. They hired these people.

[mypov123]

Lil' Bama is actually a grown man named Barack Obama. And if Hillary receives the nomination, if she steals the nomination, I will sit back and watch the Republicans shred she and Bill to pieces, because that's what they're going to do. They were hoping for a chance to defeat them because they felt that they could. And WHEN Hillary loses, I'll be waiting for your response after Election Day.

[goldnchyl]

from that sample, it looks like they were trying to find a way to MAKE him unelectable hence they have no reason that is inherent to O. Only that this was supposed to be Hillary's time. That, I believe, is the only reason that the Clintons will not give up. If it was ever about us, it certainly isn't now and their chronic narcissism has a damaging effect on everything they touch.

[NotMcCain]

If the Penn/Ickes emails in anyway undermine OBAMA or the Obama-Clinton appearance of unity at the convention, suspicions WILL be raised.

Specifically the questions, "Did Mark Penn himself give these email to Atlantic Monthly?" and

"Have Mark Penn and Charlie Black been working together ALL ALONG to help McCain beat Obama?"

This kind of STAGED "leak" to the press definitely says "Karl Rove" all over it.

[abby4ever]

No it doesn't, if it happens it will, have H and B themselves written all over it.

[Kally]

Gee I guess flaming and slurring and lying on Hillary Clinton trying to sneak the sneak obama in, wasn't enough for this site they have to continue to slur and flame and lie....but then that's what we have come to expect from obama supporters. The worst.

[PoliJunkie]

Those C's can never do anything wrong in your eyes? Just goes to show you how unbelievable that HRC's supporters call the O supporters kool-aid drinkers. Projection at its worse. Did you really pay attention to the primaries, or listened to everything she told you?

[abby4ever]

There is never any need to slur H and B or lie about H and B, there are enough facts about them, most all of them negative, to work with.

[superbust]

Umm, in case you have forgotten it is both B-ill & H-ill who are the notorious li-ars. It was H-ill who def-amped O during the primary. But of course Hi-lls supporters seem to be cut from the same silk as her...di-llu-sional, h-y-poc-ritical, l-i-ar-s like yourself.

[goodtomeetyou]

Please stop your sniper fire.

[stepintothelight]

GOT BITTER???

[abby4ever]

Yesterday I did a little imaginary story, in a post, about H and B having something on O and letting it leak out just days before the convention...just days, so that he wouldn't have time to fix it before the vote. So that H would end up getting the nomination.

I now wonder just how imaginary that really was.

[olivia]

You're prescient. It would be so like them.

[stepintothelight]

And so began the Revolution Redux!!!

[goldnchyl]

"I tried to get her to stop," he said. "I tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn't stop."

-Gabriel Saez, Jockey, Eight Belles