Hillary Clinton's Pollster Under Fire...From Bill Clinton

This post helps explain a previous post on the rise of the Clinton smear machine. Hillary Clinton's pollster Mark Penn has made a series of ridiculous statements during the early part of the campaign, including his unbelievable clain that 25% of Republican women would vote for her just because she was a woman. Penn's emphasis on poll-driven answers has gotten Hillary into trouble. Her campaign's downward slide was started when she danced around a relatively simple question on drivers licences for illegal aliens.

This report suggests that Bill Clinton wants the campaign to skip the poll stuff and go negative big time on Obama:

DES MOINES - On the eve of the final Iowa debate before the Jan. 3 caucuses, Clinton campaign insiders are increasingly questioning the cautious, poll-driven approach taken by Mark Penn, Hillary Rodham Clinton's top political aide, sources familiar with the situation say.

With Clinton barely holding her own against Barack Obama and John Edwards in Iowa, dissatisfaction is growing with Penn, who some say has mistakenly run Clinton as a de facto incumbent.

"There are two people who have come up with this strategy -- one Hillary Clinton and one Mark Penn," said a top Clinton ally, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Mark wanted to run her, basically, for re-election, and we are seeing what happened."

Said another Clinton camper: "The heat's on Mark. ... He's got a lot of enemies." ...

Clinton's aides insist that no shake-up is imminent and that Penn still has her ear. But they concede Bill Clinton has taken a more active behind-the-scenes role as her campaign flags.

For months, tension has been building between the "Hillary" and "Bill" parts of the team, say several people familiar with the situation. Bill Clinton -- along with former White House hands -- have counseled her to adopt a far more aggressive approach with Obama.

Penn, sources say, has counseled moderation, believing an attack would elevate her already-high negatives and drive her too far to the left to win a general election.

I think that Penn's silly statements and attempts to triangulate Clinton's positions has already damaged the campaign, quite possibly beyond repair. Going negative is the sign of desperation and at that point the campaign is effectively over.