Clinton replaces campaign manager

February 10, 2008

There were all kinds of rumors after the Iowa caucuses that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was poised to undergo a major staff shake-up. Soon after, the senator won the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucuses, and the rumors disappeared.

Apparently, the rumors were a month early.

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton replaced campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle with longtime aide Maggie Williams on Sunday, a staff shake-up coming just hours after presidential rival Barack Obama’s Saturday sweep of three contests.

Campaign aides said Solis Doyle made the decision to leave on her own and was not urged to do so by the former first lady or any other senior member of the team. But it comes as Clinton struggles to catch Obama in fundraising and momentum and faces the prospect of losing every voting contest yet to come in February. On Sunday, Obama also won the caucus count in Maine.

The message from the campaign casts this in the best possible light. Doyle wasn’t “fired,” there’s been no “shake-up,” and this isn’t a sign of internal “turmoil.”

But realistically, anytime a campaign manager is replaced, it’s evidence of a campaign that clearly is not where it wants to be.

Maybe Maggie Williams wanted to spend less time with her family. If there is momentum it does seem to be in Obama’s favor. It’s always felt like he’s been getting stronger though.

Call it prejudice but I hate for Texas to decide the Democratic nominee.

  • This shouldn’t bother anyone in Clinton’s campaign. Just pretend it’s a late-term abortion.

  • Just an observation in regards to those ‘shake ups’ – ‘turmoil in the campaign’ – ‘firings’

    IT just so happens to be in Hillary’s campaign this time around, but doesn’t every campaign (Repubs as well as Democrats) claim that the shake up doesn’t mean there is trouble with the candidate.

    If you think otherwise, maybe you can give me some examples where a candidate’s campaign is going so well, that he/she decides to shake it up, fire a few people – just for the fun of it.

    🙂

  • Aparently you all don’t read too well – Solis Doyle wasn’t fired – she’s still with the campaign; she stepped down and Maggie Williams, who has long been close to Clinton, is taking over.

    I think this is one of those things where, if things had continued on with the same staff, people would be wondering why no changes were being made, and now that a change has been made, it’s supposed to be a bad thing.

    If Maggie Williams can do a better job, then kudos to Solis Doyle for stepping aside; I wish it had been Mark Penn or Terry McAuliffe that stepped down – but no one from the Clinton campaign called to ask for my advice.

    As for her struggles with fundraising, I don’t think $10 million in 4 days is anything that indicates a struggle, and there doesn’t seem to be any sign that the funds are not still continuing to come in. Clinton apparently had done so well with larger donors that she had not tapped into the grassroots – and what you are seeing now is money coming from the same kinds of small donors that Obama has had from the beginning, because he had to have them.

    By all accounts that I have seen, she is still ahead in popular vote, still ahead in the delegate count – so all this gnashing of teeth and reading her demise in the tea leaves is silly.

  • Correction: 10 million since the 1st of Feb. Which is good. But, she’s not showing us where the money is coming from. Why not? And why is she lending $5 million when other people are donating money? Oh, and if she can’t seem to manage her campaign, I’m not so sure it proves to us that she’ll be “ready on Day 1.”

  • By all accounts that I have seen, she is still ahead in popular vote, still ahead in the delegate count – so all this gnashing of teeth and reading her demise in the tea leaves is silly.

    No, Obama is ahead in the popular vote. He is also ahead in the delegate count of delegates actually won in primaries and caucuses. Clinton only leads from super delegates who committed to her early when she appeared to be the the inevitable winner. They are free to change.

    The next several primaries favor Obama, which will result in an even greater lead for Obama in the delegates won. It will be hard for the super delegates to stick with Clinton if the voters are going with Obama.

  • For this WA voter, Hillary’s campaign gave me two pre-recorded robo-calls, one the former governor and one a county executive a day before the caucus. Obama’s campaign got me a call the night before the caucus from a recording of the current governor, and, the morning of the caucus, from a REAL LIVE HUMAN BEING, reminding me of the caucus, offering to tell me my caucus location, and asking me to go support Obama.

    For all her vaunted ‘experience’, Obama’s campaign did a much better job on this particular grass root.

  • By all accounts that I have seen, she is still ahead in popular vote, still ahead in the delegate count – so all this gnashing of teeth and reading her demise in the tea leaves is silly.

    I don’t believe this is “Anne” anymore.
    Not even Anne was this silly.

  • Ron Chusid is right, Obama has more popular votes than Hillary in primaries alone…when you count in caucuses, it’s not even close. He’s also won, what, 19 states to her 10? And significantly more pledged delegates at this point. There is no metric by which she is winning this contest. And the margins are only gonna get worse for her in the next week

  • Well thats ok, shuffleing deckchairs on the Titanic is fine. Replace anyone you want Mrs. Clinton. But please, please, please don’t fire Mark Penn. Penn is “Da Man”.

  • the only way clinton can win is if she purchases more super delegates.

    The people want Obama. They are rejecting hillary.

    Obama is attracting so many new voters to our party, he is an incredible force which we should embrace. If the super delegates sell the election to clinton, that will be a long term disaster for our party.

  • A campaign that keeps losing has to reorganize. But Clinton’s loses aren’t the campaign’s fault. Obama’s support is primal, and there isn’t much a campaign can do to reverse that. She’s on the losing end of a tidal wave of support for her opponent. Dirty tricks might help. I sure hope the Clinton drive to win isn’t going to go into the sewer, but I’m not so sure. If she really is concerned about the future of the country she would graciously get out now, and become the Senate majority leader apparent. I have no problem supporting her for that job.

  • It seems to me that Clinton underestimated her competition, surrounded herself with the wrong people, didn’t come up with the right straetgy to win and doesn’t know how to get out of this predicament. Sound familiar?

  • It seems to me that Clinton underestimated her competition, surrounded herself with the wrong people, didn’t come up with the right strategy to win and doesn’t know how to get out of this predicament. Sound familiar?

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  • I think that the way candidates are handling their campaigns says much about the way they will handle the Presidency.

    Obama has found innovative ways to raise jaw dropping sums of money to reach specified goals and Clinton ran into debt…in spite of the fact that she should have needed much less money than Obama since she had the unbelievable advantages of immediate name recognition and an extremely well-liked former President for a spouse.

    Obama has organized an immensely successful grass roots campaign all over the country and Clinton was incapable of choosing, on the first try, the right person for the most important position in her campaign. Reminds me of Brownie, Wolfowitz and Gonzales. Part of being a good President is choosing the best people for important positions.

    I think the voters in this country have concrete evidence showing it is Obama who will not only be ready to lead on Day One of the Presidency, but who will also be able to do so effectively. Hillary doesn’t look so ready right now.

  • “It seems to me that Clinton underestimated her competition, surrounded herself with the wrong people, didn’t come up with the right strategy to win and doesn’t know how to get out of this predicament. Sound familiar?”

    Not at all a fair comparison. Nobody is dying because of Clinton’s understandable mistakes.

  • Brian,

    It’s about leadership.

    King George wouldn’t know it if it came along and hit him in the head, despite his MBA. Hillary has her “35 years experience” but what is that if you can’t execute a plan, or even plan effectively? Answer – nothing.

    Lou Gerstner, “Strategy is execution”.

  • I’m starting to think that the only way for Clinton to right her ship, as it were, would be to try and torpedo Obama (again).

    Although at this point it might look more favorable to club some baby seals and drown some kittens.

  • 8. On February 10th, 2008 at 9:05 pm, biggerbox said:

    For this WA voter, Hillary’s campaign gave me two pre-recorded robo-calls, one the former governor and one a county executive a day before the caucus. Obama’s campaign got me a call the night before the caucus from a recording of the current governor, and, the morning of the caucus, from a REAL LIVE HUMAN BEING, reminding me of the caucus, offering to tell me my caucus location, and asking me to go support Obama.

    Holy smokes Batman! My calling the good people in the State of Washington worked!

    I’m the Human Being who called! No really, I remember you. It was Me-me-me-me! I’m a diff maker! Me! Difference maker! Obama vote getter! Twas mememememe! Your name wasn’t the one listed on my phone list but I got you directions to the polling station because I didn’t care what your name was, I was pithching anyone who answered, even telling six-year-olds who always seem to answer the phone to go and remind their Moms to vote for Obama.

    I’m going to hit the phones for Obama tomorrow too. Watch out Maryland! Watch out Virginia! The Batphone is back on!

  • Does anyone beside me get the fact that the clintons are still playing the race card. Her move to take her Latino campaign manager from the office to Texas is only about getting her out there in texas and other places to drum up the Latino support and by posting the new office manager Maggie’s face all over the place (a black woman) is to drum the black woman black support,which has gone bye bye. Oh and all that jazz about having to lend the campaign money was all about getting the people to donate money because the chest was dry. What do you think we would see if her financialrecords/taxes was open to public scrutiny? And oh, all that crying on the campus where she did work during her college days, that was about having to find ways to cover up her worry over showing where the 5 mil she supposedly loaned her campaign came from. What is former president Billy Boy been up to? where is all that money gone/going in the recent deal talked about in the newspaper a few days ago?

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