Clinton Goes to New Campaign Manager

It wasn’t precisely a shock—word had been circulating for some time that a shake-up was imminent in the Clinton ranks. What wasn’t certain was who would win the battle for final say: the women hired by Hillary, or the guys from Bill’s side, affectionately referred to within the campaign as “the white boys.” The results are in, and the winner is a woman—a black woman, at that. But with strong ties to both the candidate and her husband.

Barack Obama’s primary/caucus tidal wave over the weekend swept aside Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager. Replacing longtime Hillary friend and campaign stalwart Patti Solis Doyle—who orchestrated Clinton’s successful Senate bids—is another longtime friend and Clinton staffer/confidant Maggie Williams. The move brings forward the first African American female presidential campaign manager since Donna Brazile directed Al Gore’s 2000 bid.

Maggie Williams has been a loyal, tested and true point person for both Clintons. A survivor of Whitewater and subsequent Clinton White House episodes, Williams recently ran Bill Clinton’s foundation, and from 1993-1997 served as one of 17 assistants to the President, and chief of staff for Hillary Clinton. A communications expert, she headed up the progressive PR firm Fenton, and is a well-respected political insider.

To backtrack a bit to see how we got here: after the surprise, if not stunning, loss in Iowa, word was sent from the Clinton camp that changes were in the air—that Williams was joining the campaign. With the New Hampshire win and run up to Super Tuesday, little more was heard externally about Williams, but she was on board. She is credited with Clinton’s new speeches, more inspirational and folksy, and the “re-introduction” of the candidate—friendlier, more accessible.

Instead of certifying Hillary’s front-runner status, as the campaign had promised, Super Tuesday sorted itself out as a draw. And this weekend, the states of Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington and Maine moved into the Obama column. The Maine loss was a particular blow. On Sunday afternoon, Solis Doyle, the daughter of Mexican immigrant parents, released a statement indicating she was stepping down to an advisory role:

This has already been the longest Presidential campaign in the history of our nation, and one that has required enormous sacrifices from all of us and our families. During the last month I have been working closely with my longtime friend, Maggie Williams. This week Maggie will begin to assume the duties of campaign manager.

Senator Clinton added:

Patti Solis Doyle has done an extraordinary job in getting us to this point—within reach of the nomination—and I am enormously grateful for her friendship and her outstanding work.…I look forward to her continued advice in the months ahead. Patti and I have worked with Maggie Williams for more than a decade. I am lucky to have Maggie on board and I know she will lead our campaign with great skill towards the nomination.

The change is meant to signal to donors and supporters that a necessary correction has been made. Maggie Williams faces an immediate hurdle: Potomac Tuesday is upon us, with Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. on the line.

Secret Visit with Edwards

In another effort towards the nomination, it was revealed that Clinton paid a “secret” visit to John Edwards in his Chapel Hill, North Carolina home last Thursday. It’s the second such meeting—the first, a closed-door conversation after his last debate appearance. Clinton presumably asked for his public support—something Barack Obama will be asking for as well when he makes the pilgrimage to Chapel Hill on Monday.

In the tight delegate squeeze she finds herself in, her offer of influence to Edwards: “I’ll ask John Edwards to help with anything I do in the White House.”

Clinton Rips MSNBC for “Troubling Pattern”

For the first time, Hillary Clinton responded herself—and forcefully—to what many have called sexist, and what she called “demeaning,” treatment on MSNBC. Last week, fill-in host David Shuster said that Chelsea Clinton had been “pimped out” to make calls to superdelegates on behalf of her mother.

Clinton staffers, on a call with reporters, threatened that she may not participate in a scheduled debate on MSNBC later this month. Shuster apologized on air and was suspended. NBC President Steve Capus called the senator personally to apologize, but the candidate still fired off a blistering “note”:

Thank you for your call yesterday. I wanted to send you this note to convey the depth of my feeling about David Shuster’s comments... Nothing justifies the kind of debasing language that David Shuster used and no temporary suspension or half-hearted apology is sufficient. I would urge you to look at the pattern of behavior on your network that seems to repeatedly lead to this sort of degrading language.

The Women’s Media Center has detailed the stream of inappropriate comments that constitute this “pattern of behavior” and has sent letters of protest to NBC. Most recently, WMC was signatory—with Media Matters, The Feminist Majority, NOW, and the National Women’s Political Caucus—to a public protest of MSNBC host Chris Matthews’ assertion that the only reason Clinton can run is that “her husband messed around on her.” Matthews apologized on air, and that time we each, like Senator Clinton in this case, got a call from Steve Capus.

While I do not doubt the network’s intention to curtail the offensive language, the third strike (following Don Imus and Chris Matthews) reinforces serious concerns that these MSNBC men feel too comfortable, too entitled to cross the line. Perhaps the time has come to give women a chance to host the primetime shows at MSNBC—and at the other networks as well, while we’re at it.