MARK PENN'S DEPARTURE
"The professional demise of Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's pollster and top campaign strategist, has been predicted, expected, and demanded for several months now, but to no avail. Despite having lost the support of key Clinton supporters and staffers, despite questionable advice and tactics, and despite fairly obvious conflicts of interest, Penn maintained the confidence of the one person who mattered: the candidate."
STEVE BENEN,
Thecarpetbaggerreport.com
"Many Clinton allies blame Penn for the parlous state of Clinton's chances. But consider . . . that this election hinges on voters' desire for 'change' is clear. Whether Penn or anyone in Clinton's world could have realistically turned Hillary Clinton into the candidate of change is very much an open question.
"Even if you contend that Penn's strategic advice was bad - and my contention here is that it wasn't really that bad - Hillary Clinton was the one to actualize it and follow it. There's plenty of blame to go around, and history will probably accord Penn his fair share, but tempting as it will be for Clinton allies to throw Penn under the bus, they probably shouldn't."
MARC AMBINDER,
Marcambinder.theatlantic.com
"Penn chose to sell Clinton as a hawkish, technocratic quasi-incumbent - a terrible strategy in a change election. His bite-sized approach to the electorate and pro-corporate centrism represented the Democratic Party of the past, not the future . . . Yet reports of Penn's demise may still be premature. Will his departure represent a real change of strategy inside the campaign or more of a PR move to push Penn out of the spotlight while he continues to have the Clintons' ear? That's the real question worth asking. The buck stops at the top."
ARI BERMAN,
Thenation.com
OPENING DAY
"So here we are again, months after Boston won their second title in four years, geared up to watch another campaign unravel before our eyes - another set of storylines, another 162 regular-season games. That number, 162, is the central component of a baseball mantra that is reiterated annually as teams emerge from their spring training camps. In most seasons we can expect all teams, regardless of their star power, or lack thereof, to win 60 games and lose 60 games - it's what happens during the 42 remaining contests that will determine baseball's best, worst and most mediocre clubs."
DAVID LENGEL,
Blogs.guardian.co.uk
"The return to Fenway: is it really going to hold a lot of significance for the players? I say yes. There's nothing like playing in front of a raucous home crowd and I know that there's always a mental sigh of relief when I go away for an extended period of time and then come home. That sigh of relief will be there for the players, and being reminded of their successes last year during the ring ceremony should only bring more confidence into themselves. Fenway baseball is [today]. What's better than that in April?"
EVAN BRUNELL,
Mvn.com
