First, Patti Solis Doyle. Now, Mark Penn.
Folks inside the Clinton campaign have been looking for scapegoats for awhile now, and in the wake of Mark Penn's clumsy meeting with the Colombian ambassador to strategize on how to push for a trade deal Hillary opposed, they've found another one.
In addition to getting fired as PR advisor by the government of Colombia, Penn has been demoted from chief strategist to mere pollster for the Clinton campaign. Statement from campaign manager Maggie Williams:
"After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as Chief Strategist of the Clinton Campaign; Mark, and Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc. will continue to provide polling and advice to the campaign.
"Geoff Garin and Howard Wolfson will coordinate the campaign's strategic message team going forward."
So, we have a microtrend: Guys who start paying more attention to foreign clients and their PR business than to Hillary Clinton's campaign and embarrass her get dumped fast.
But it doesn't alter the real problem: She's a candidate who decided to hire a pollster to craft her message, and it's hard to pretend you're a leader when you're obsessively trying to follow the twists and turns of public opinion.