Clinton insiders question top aide's approach

BY GLENN THRUSH | glenn.thrush@newsday.com

8:36 PM EST, December 12, 2007

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."

Penn didn't respond to requests for comment. Campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson downplayed the dissent.

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.

The division wasn't a major issue when Clinton enjoyed a modest edge in Iowa and big leads in South Carolina and New Hampshire. But the acrimony has grown as all those races have become toss-ups.

On Wednesday, a CNN-WMUR poll found Clinton and Obama in a dead heat among New Hampshire Democrats, just weeks after polls in the first primary state showed her with leads approaching 20 percent.

CNN polling director Keating Holland said Clinton had lost a surprising amount of support from women but could rebound. "This race is not over by a long shot," Holland said. "Forty-three percent of Democratic primary voters ... say they are still trying to make up their minds."

To sway women voters, Clinton has begun campaigning with her daughter, Chelsea, and mother, Dorothy Rodham. And she's gone into attack mode on Obama, a trend that's expected to continue at today's debate, over his alleged lack of experience and episodes from his Illinois State Senate tenure.

Clinton's Iowa swoon has also revived the internal campaign debate over whether she should have staked so much on Iowa -- a mercurial state her husband bypassed in 1992. In addition, some insiders have complained about a lack of communication between campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle and the campaign's Iowa guru Teresa Valmain -- one reason Solis Doyle relocated to Des Moines last week.

"The top officials on the campaign have never had a real understanding of Iowa," said a Clinton operative.