Have we just had a taste of how influence might be wielded under a Clinton II Administration? In a very successful week for its most notorious client, Mark Penn's firm was able to get Blackwater CEO Erik Prince several major television appearances. Lob-ball questions were included at no extra charge.
Democrats have waited years for a consultant that can play the media as well as the GOP can. Unfortunately, most of them had hoped it would be for a better cause. And even if this is all coincidence, Mr. Penn's continued leadership of Burson-Marsteller - and the firm's indiscriminate choice of clients - creates a serious perception problem in a time when voters are yearning for change.
It makes sense that 60 Minutes and other news shows would offer Prince prominent spots, and would hit the talking points he and his PR firm want them to hit. After all, Hillary could be the next President of the United States. Who wants to get on the bad side of the man so many are describing as "Hillary's Rove," especially this early in the election season?
The sometimes-formidable Lara Logan offered a soft venue for Prince's unverifiable denials of the mass shooting in Iraq - denials that contradict both eyewitnesses and the United States military. (The State Department and the FBI are stonewalling the military and freezing them out of the investigation - presumably so they can prepare a more politically-influenced report).
Excerpts from Logan's interview can be found on the CBS News website, under the implausible title "Blackwater Chief Welcomes Extra Oversight."
Here's a typical hardball Logan question: "So, when you hear the Iraqi government complete an investigation in record time, I think, a matter of days and pronounce you 100 percent guilty, what's your reaction?" Logan asks. Did that Iraqi investigation really conclude in record time? The implication is, of course, that it was a rush to judgment. Yet the Pentagon has also drawn some of the same conclusions already. Were they hasty, too?
As if that's not enough implied "hating the troops," there's this Prince quote (not challenged by Logan): "I'm glad the FBI's investigating. I am glad they can be a neutral party." So the military isn't "neutral"? Apparently, Blackwater considers Gen. Petraeus "General Betray Us" when it comes to investigating them.
To be fair to Logan, she does follow up with a question about the military's report, and Prince responded with more unchallenged troop-bashing: "I think before, before the military starts releasing reports like that they should probably wait till the Justice Department completes their investigation."
An "is it true?" question was offered in order to elicit this statement: "No one under our care has been killed or injured." Remember that: you'll hear it again. (The ability to lay down indiscriminate blasts of deadly fire without legal restraint probably helped them accomplish this goal.)
Then the real stroking begins. "I know you said the loss of innocent life is a tragedy," Logan asks. "Do you regret it, do you wish it never happened?" What's the guy going to say? No? "Absolutely," says Prince. But then he wanders off-script, so Logan helpfully steps in again: ""People want to know from you," said Logan, "they know about the terrorist bombs, they know about the loss of huge civilian casualties, Iraqis have lived through all of that. When I talk to them they want to know from you, from Blackwater, that you wish those people had not been killed that you wish innocent people didn't have to die as a result of anything that you're involved in."
"It is absolutely not our wish that any innocent civilians should ever die," Prince says.
Charlie Rose's interview included a few more tough questions - but again, the talking points were all touched upon, as when Rose asked this now-familiar question: "No State Department official that you have been guarding has been killed or wounded?" "That is correct," Prince answers.
Then there's this Rose question: "Do you think there has been knee-jerk reporting about what happened on September 16?" And this one: "I realize that you are Americans, working for Americans, to protect America. That's the way you see it?"
Unsurprisingly, Prince allows that yes, that is in fact how he sees it.
Lara Logan and Charlie Rose are good at what they do, so what other explanation can there be for these gauzy, soft-focus appearances? As for Mark Penn, the Clinton campaign's argument is that he's not involved in the Blackwater account. Really? He's the CEO. Nothing happens there unless he wants it to happen. (The Clinton campaign also maintains that the Blackwater engagement ended recently, although no dates were provided.)
The Rose interview turned up a couple of other new talking points. One was Prince's suggestion that Blackwater might be the ideal force to resolve the situation in Darfur. Another was the idea that Prince only contributes to the GOP because he likes their tax policy. But here's my favorite:
Charlie Rose: So you're not the largest private army in the world --Erik Prince: By no means. Terribly inaccurate. We have a big database. We're a -- you know, imagine the security work that we do, okay? As a very robust temp agency.
Yep, that's it. They're just Kelly Temps with M-16s. Instead of filing and answering phones, they're wasting Arabs and forcing civilian cars off the road with their Humvees.
"Hi, I'm the new temp from Blackwater. How do you like your coffee?"
As for the Clinton campaign, they're letting this issue fester. That should give her supporters - and other Democrats - pause. The best way to address the problem would be to insist that her chief strategist take a leave of absence from his corporate job, and to act forcefully to ensure that the campaign's leaders avoid either the substance or the appearance of impropriety.
(NOTE: Some text in this post was changed for clarification purposes.)
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look out, look out
When eric the prince comes home again
look out, look out!
Hilary says she can lead them too
Blackwater, oh- theyre gonna get you
Whether Bush or Clinton
leads the mighty horde
Against the true Americans
they'll fight, they'll fight
They'll shoot ya down if you're in the way
get 'Right', go 'Right'
Your survival
depends on God
So shut up and pray
for they say you are flawed
And they all have guns and
hate you for what you are
I digress, so more to the point of this blog. If I understand your point, you're stretching a tenuous line between Mark Penn, Prince & Clinton? Let me see..Penn gets the friendly interviews for Prince; Rose follows his talking points, so that "down-the-road", Rose/ other news pundits will have full access to Clinton, having greased Penn's palms with soft-ball questions for Prince? (and other clients that may follow?) I say He**, yeah! If indeed, Mark Penn is Hillary's Rove, so be it. FINALLY, the politicos, pundits & media are being manipulated by the other side. FINALLY, the liberals have learned how to checkmate the conservative punditry of Rovethinc. Hillary's campaign need only make sure all is transparent, so more blogs don't connect the invisible dots.
BTW, as I write this..I am watching Mark Penn on Charlie Rose. NO questions on Blackwater. He doesn't hesitate to quote data/numbers in polling. It is clear he knows what the agenda has to be and who their target voter needs to be to get Hillary elected. If that means manipulating the media pundits as well as crunching poll numbers, YAYAH! And, NO!..I am not a Hillary supporter, just someone who wants to fight republicans, fire with fire.
The "fact" may be that the military in Iraq has become dependent on the likes of Blackwater and other such outfits but that dependence is as bad as crack. And pardon me but I think that quote should be paraphrased as "A turd blossom by any other name would still stink to high heaven." The effect of such reliance is damaging to the military itself, the people of Iraq who so foolishly live there and happen to wander into their line of fire and our reputation abroad. It also has poisonous and potentially fatal consequences for our own Republic here at home. Would you advocate our high school students use crack because they can stay up late to study longer? If your kids were doing so and still seemed to be getting good grades would you just call it "A fact" and move on.
You don't want them in Darfur. I don't want them ANYWHERE.
I guess you did your part. Marched in protest when the invasion began and well . . . now that they're use is a fait acompli . . . And IT'S A FACT . . . well that's just the way it's gonna be . . .
Sorry if this post is also not directly spot on point with the blog, but I just can't let such statements about the use of . . . wait for it . . . MERCENARIES . . . go uncommented upon.
Instead of fighting fire with fire (which to not be too cute) tends to result in everthing getting burned to the ground around us, I'd like to see them fight the fire by turning the firehose of truth on it.
Time to start calling their bullshit what it is. There are reasoned ways to respond to the crap they dish out without having to sling the same mud. That takes a little more brains and courage as you've got to believe you can frame it in a way that the people will understand. A strech I know, given the attention span and appetite for sound bites in America these days.
One thing privatization of various industries has in common is the cherry picking that has allowed private investors to muscle in to the most profitable segments of a market and leave the less profitable segments for the tax payers to pick up the bill.
Rumsfeld wanted a privatized military and Blackwater, a close ally of the Bush Administration, was given no-bid access to a billion dollar contract where Blackwater employees picked up various support functions that our regular military was trained for and received 100 times the pay. Blackwater has top of the line equipment to chauffeur around State Department officials and political guests while our soldiers are fighting the real enemy and dying because of substandard and out dated equipment.
Yet you hear few Democrats rail against this travesty that contributes to the enormous flow of wealth to the top. Their next target is the public water supplies that provide the very life’s blood of our country; drinking water, irrigation, and sanitation. Manipulation of the public water systems in this country for profit will be the final nail in our coffin as many find the cost of a glass of water out of reach and sanitation systems are deprived of water leading to the reemergence of many diseases that had been obliterated in years gone by. We established various entities to be public to insure everyone has equal access to the most basic requirements, private owners will be far less charitable with their eyes solely on the bottom line !
Rove, for all of his blindness, idiocy and mad-eyed rightist rhetoric, has been able to play whatever tune he wishes on what passes for the press in the states. Another of his ilk, albeit painted with a different color, should be able to do the same.
I AM surprised to sense a bit of confusion on your part as to why Clinton uses his services. The Clinton dynasty has never shyed away from playing with the facts nor has it shown itself to be anything other than part and parcel of Bletway Culture.
"Change" and "Clinton" may both start with the letter "C," but that's about as far as the relationship goes.
Both Clintons have a long record of having a voracious appetite for anything that promotes their position and elevates their public status. Concern for others who may be harmed by their actions doesn’t seem to be a priority. Hardly a model of progressive philosophy!
If the Iraqis would just let us have our way with their woman we wouldn't have to shoot so many of them.
"You mean your gonna pay me 500-1,000 bucks a day and I get to shoot anyone I want? Oh man there is a god".
I'll keep saying it while all of you out there bicker about
"viable" (meaning perfect) candidates.
Replacing one set of Bozo's with another set of Bozo's simply gives you more BOZO's.
Argue all you want. It's good therapy to release anger and frustration.
Then step back, take a good shot of booze, and look what you've accomplished. Precisely ZIP, ZERO, NADA, NOTHING.
If real change and by that I mean what a lot of people would probably consider just a THIRD set of Bozo's isn't affected then ABSOLUTELY NOTHING will indeed change.
I've been in this "Third Party" Independent movement for fifteen years and I've seen very little actual change.
People talk big but when actualy confronted with the viable third choice they follow the so called Two Party system like the good mindless sheep they are.
I see nothing actually changing in 08.
If HRC is the Dem candidate and that has already been decided then she'll get shellaced in the general. You'll get a Bush clone which is what you'd get anyway with HRC. So what's the difference.
Like I said. Garbage In-Garbage Out.
Talk is cheap. Action dear. You want change then do something about it.
Please,please keep giving us updated information on the Hillary machine.
thanks so much
she splits hairs regarding why she VOTED FOR this illegal and immoral war--even though she KNEW FOR A FACT there were no more wmds in iraq, and that sadam husein had no love for al quaeda, due to HER EXPERIENCE in the white house. she allowed her advisors to advise her to go with the most heated and ignorant sector of her constituency, and i believe that she would continue to make decisions in the same way as the first female american president.
ergo: i will vote for her ONLY if she is the lucky winner of the dem's nod--with a throat full of bile. in the primary, Barack Obama gets my one vote, and i only wish i could vote a million times.
investigating the claims in Iraq..The head man is a Bush/Cheney appointee and the FBI answers to the Justice (?)
Department also under the control of a Bush/Cheney
appointee. In other words they have stacked so many decks we don't know which deck is in play. I think that the military in Iraq should arrest and in-prison all non-military personel in Iraq. Then we may have progress
without more reason for the Iraqi people to feel like prisoners in their own counrtry.
I don't know how this is going to play out, and neither does anyone else. The Democrats have a very good field of candidates, and I hope several of them find their way to cabinet positions. We need their strength. Hillary is the most prepared candidate, and is not falling for the bait, to her enormous credit. She isn't self absorbed or unloyal like Joe Leiberman, and she isn't wedded to special interests. She doesn't fall for traps and she doesn't make mistakes. She knows that politics is a dirty game and she has been steeled by the white hot crucible of criticism that has dogged her every day of public life. No one has had more scrutiny or has suffered more enemies. But she stands there undeterred: Strong and invincible. I think if she gets the nomination, she will be make an excellent President.
The Goldwater Girl has not changed. She hasn't even grown up.
I hate to disagree with Janelynne who has often given us such good comments, and is certainly the kind of American one can be proud of, but we must not believe that anyone claiming to oppose Bush is really concerned for the same things we are.
Why didn't we learn from the Neocon take over of the Republican Party? Calling themselves conservative didn't make them so. They certainly do not represent the old GOP values. And now the same forces are moving to the Democrats and expect that in our eagerness to rid ourselves of Bushist policies, we will support anything calling itself anti-Bushist.
Voting war powers is not anti-war.
No one single person can run the White House by herself or himself. So we need to see the people behind the president. e.g. How many attorneys in the Bush White House (over 400) were from religious right university law schools?
Wake Up America! Keep your eyes on friends and supporters of the candidates this time.
Boycott
Look to Stephen Colbert's run for the presidency in South Carolina (his home state where is the self proclaimed favorite son)
for the first primary where he will be splitting votes with Hillary.
I love him but if he follows through with what he said on his show tonight..the same thing that Ralph Nader did, I will never watch the Colbert report again. Boycott forever
Get over the pettiness or the republican party looks more appealing me.
Get behind a candidate that can win and lets get her there already. What is the problem this is so basic and obvious does anybody think big picture anymore or it all minutuae.
While you are at it democrats you might help pump the congress up to get more active and more aggressive on issues. We have the power of email. That is positive and necessary action they need to be rev'ed up. Why tear down and not build up it pointless just like war.
This is a plea of desperation-please democrats and independents don't let the repubs stay any longer. Uniting is the only ticket we have to get in the White House. Lets do IT!
I've been a PR person for 20 years, and I have arranged plenty of interviews for clients. The piece of paper that one poster claims to have seen Prince looking at was probably his talking points, and is hardly proof that the reporters were given the questions in advance. Would it really be that challenging to predict what questions would be asked?
I haven't seen either interview, but it seems clear that people's ire should be directed at the reporters tossing softball questions. After the way we've seen the media perform for the last eight years, why is it so shocking that they blew the Prince interview? All of a sudden it's Mark Penn's fault that the press has no spine? Was it his responsibility to make sure the reporters asked all of the tough questions and made Prince look as bad as possible?
Ask yourself this: if Mark Penn didn't work for Hillary, after seeing those interviews would your first response have been "Boy, whoever runs his PR firm sure is evil"?
These guest will never show up if the interviewer has a reputation for asking those kind on questions.
The programs are there to sell ads, and to fill air time.
The master of soft ball questions is Larry King, don't waste you time !
You are in the bs business, somebody that didn't make it as a journalist. What else is there?