Top strategist for Clinton quits post amid uproar

Trade meeting irks unions

WASHINGTON - Hillary's Clinton's chief strategist, Mark Penn, stepped down last night from his highly paid, high-profile role on the campaign after reports that he met with Colombian government officials to push a free trade agreement the Democratic presidential contender opposes.

Penn's meeting with the Colombian ambassador had nothing to do with the presidential campaign and was related to his work for Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, a public relations firm where Penn is chief executive. But the meeting rankled labor union activists, who questioned whether the meeting undermined Clinton's pro-labor message at a time when she must hold on to the working-class vote.

"After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as chief strat egist of the Clinton campaign," Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams said in a statement, not detailing the controversy. Penn and his political consulting firm will continue to provide advice and polling to the campaign, she said.

Penn is one of the most prominent consultants in Democratic politics and his political consulting firm has already collected some $10.8 million in fees from a campaign struggling to get ahead in the waning array of primaries and caucuses.

His departure as chief strategist marks the third major staff shake-up of the Clinton campaign. Patti Solis Doyle left as campaign manager and was replaced by Williams. Mike Henry left as deputy campaign manager in February after Clinton suffered a string of losses to Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

Penn has been a longtime adviser to both Hillary and President Clinton. As with Doyle, who remains a member of the campaign, Penn is retaining a role in Clinton's quest for the White House, underscoring the premium the candidate and the campaign put on loyalty.

But with Pennsylvania's primary looming April 22 and the votes of working-class Democrats crucial to securing a win there for Clinton, Penn came under increasing pressure to step down from his post.

"This is just another example of Hillary Clinton being ill-served by her campaign," said Peter Fenn, a Democratic strategist not affiliated with a presidential campaign. "It might actually have been a wiser strategy at this point to make a clean break, rather than have one foot in, and one foot out," Fenn said, referring to Penn's continued role as pollster and adviser.

Penn apologized Friday for the meeting with the Colombian ambassador after it was disclosed by the Wall Street Journal. "The meeting was an error in judgment that will not be repeated and I am sorry for it," Penn said in a statement.

But his apology annoyed the Colombian government - which issued a statement calling Penn's remarks a "declaration of a lack of respect towards Colombians, which is unacceptable" - and failed to mollify union activists wanting Penn out of his pivotal role. Colombia announced Saturday that it had fired Burson-Marsteller.

"Labor people are not happy," said an official at a union which has endorsed Clinton. Penn's high fees and inability to make good on the early campaign strategy presenting Clinton as the "inevitable" nominee irritated some in the campaign, and the union official said the meeting with the Colombian government aggravated the internal rancor.

James Hoffa, president of the Teamsters Union, also criticized the March 31 meeting. "How can we trust that a President Hillary Clinton would stand strong against this trade deal when her top adviser is being paid by Colombia to promote it?" Hoffa said in a statement.

Change to Win, a conglomeration of labor unions that have endorsed Obama, last week called for Penn's resignation.

Clinton plans to vote against the Colombian trade pact, which was completed by the Bush administration in 2006 and still needs congressional approval. The agreement would eliminate certain tariffs and set rules for investment.

Trade has been a testy issue between Clinton and Obama. In Ohio, where many of the state's displaced workers blame the North American Free Trade Agreement for their economic troubles, Clinton blasted Obama over reports that one of his advisers told a Canadian government official that Obama was not as opposed to NAFTA as he appeared to be in his speeches.

Clinton has led in polls in Pennsylvania, another state where jobs and trade are important issues to the working-class voters who make up a critical part of Clinton's base. But Obama has been closing in on Clinton in recent polls, and political analysts said Penn's meeting - even though it was not part of his job as Clinton's chief strategist - could weaken Clinton's attacks on Obama's trade policy.

But while Penn's departure might mollify some labor union leaders, the career move will not likely have an effect on voters in the April 22 contest, said Larry Ceisler, a Pennsylvania-based Democratic political consultant.

"In Pennsylvania, it's about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It's not about who the strategist is," Ceisler said.

"I think it's a shame. What you are telling people who are savvy and want to be involved is that you can't have a professional life, and I think that is a very bad message to send," Ceisler added. "I think you're going to end up having advisers that don't have a real perspective and a mature perspective on the world."

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