Hillary-kiri

There was a disturbing diary at Kos yesterday that despite remaining on the Rec list until today, hasn't seemed to inspire political discussion beyond the site. I'd like to hear some other discussion of what the facts that it reveals (assuming they are facts.)might mean, especially in view of the Hillary campaign over the past few days.

Here's the gist: Mark Penn, Hillary's chief strategist who has billed millions, is the CEO of the global PR firm Burston-Marsteller. The company has a Washington based subsidiary for lobbying, called BKSH. Its chairman is Charlie Black, a Republican who is John McCain's chief advisor. He travels with McCain and has gotten some recent press from admitting that he carries on his lobbying activities from McCain's Straight Talk Express.

Like other DC-involved PR firms, BKSH also has Democrats in its employ--its highest ranking one is Scott Pastrick, a Hillary supporter. So in one sense, nothing unusual. Except for the theory more or less offered in this diary, which I'll give in my own interpretation: since Hillary is shortly to become an ex-candidate, Mark Penn will lose big income he'd been counting on. But his firm is still working for McCain--so why not test some negative themes against Obama with Clinton? If she hits on one that works, great. If she doesn't, no harm done--except to her reputation and the Democratic Party--because she's on the way to tanking anyway. And when it's over for her, Penn can take anything that looked like it could work to McCain. Which also explains why Hillary sounds so much like a Republican, and her campaign so much like desperate bottom feeders, in their attacks.

That diary is a bit more conspiratorial than this, but after the last couple of days--the "shame on you" thing, the show Obama looking like somebody's idea of a Muslim photo, the sarcasm about inspiration and the less than subtle comparison to an untested G.W. Bush--this idea has some grim resonance.

Penn may be selling this to Hillary as her only chance to force Obama into making a big mistake at the debate Tuesday, which in turn is her only chance to turn back his amazing momentum. And if it turns out that all Clinton is doing is committing Hillary-kiri, what does he care? He's got her millions. McCain needs all the help he can get.