February 11, 2008

I did not have campaign shakeup with that woman, Ms. Solis Doyle.

That's the position taken by Hillary Clinton, as Patti Solis Doyle steps aside and Maggie Williams assumes the role of campaign manager.

Who is this Maggie Williams, and why is she the one to take over the failing campaign? She's never run a political campaign before. Apparently, the big thing about her is that she's the ultimate fierce loyalist:
Even detractors agree with her admirers that Williams would go to the mat for Hillary.

A Kansas City native, Williams, 53, was a central player in the Clinton damage-control machine during the White House years.

In 1995, a uniformed Secret Service officer swore under oath he saw her leave White House lawyer and Hillary confidant Vince Foster's office carrying documents after Foster committed suicide. Williams denied it.

She ran up more than $100,000 in legal bills defending Hillary in various investigations.
Why is this what the campaign needs? (What are they planning to do?!) And, more generally, what does this say about how the Clintons, if elected, will populate the executive branch?

44 comments:

Paul Brinkley said...

So Williams is that woman whom Hillary can say is doing "a heckuva job"...

Roger J. said...

I suspect that Ms Doyle's stepping aside is much like political seppuku--dictated by campaign-do and designed to assure donors and super-delegates that the candidate is doing something.

dbp said...

"what does this say about how the Clintons, if elected, will populate the executive branch?"

It doesn't say anything good.

Unknown said...

Maggie is African American; Patti is Latina.

End of story.

For the most desperate move, watch this truly awful Hillary video.

Worst Ad EVer

Joe R. said...

And, more generally, what does this say about how the Clintons, if elected, will populate the executive branch?

There isn't a politician who doesn't have people like this around them. Besides, isn't the campaign manager supposed to be fiercely loyal? Could you imagine someone who wasn't loyal to Clinton and publicly criticized her decisions? Then everyone would be complaining about the incompetence displayed by *her* in picking someone so uncommitted.

We ought to be concerned with people she has picked as her advisers. One of the major criticisms of the Bush administration is its unwillingness to appoint competent people to positions. The only way we can judge if Williams is competent enough, is if Hillary wins the nomination.

If candidate wasn't able to inspire this amount of loyalty in someone, I'd worry.

George M. Spencer said...

As Patca said, Maggie is black...She can talk the talk to Michelle and her husband Barack and nobody can call her a racist.

Kirk Parker said...

Maggie Williams, eh? I'd better hope McCain continues to lead, so I don't have to make good on my vote-for-Hillary-over-Huckabee pledge!

rhhardin said...

It's endearing if you think of it all as organized crime.

Bender R said...

I am outraged at Hillary's blatent misogyny here. It seems to me that ALL of the blame goes to Mark Penn. Why wasn't he fired???

Moreover, Hillary has repeated had to have Bill come to her rescue this campaign. Does Hillary not think that a woman can campaign on her own? Does she think that a man has to run everything?

The patriarchy reigns at the Hillary campaign!

dbp said...

"If candidate wasn't able to inspire this amount of loyalty in someone, I'd worry" Fair enough.

There ought to be some limit to loyalty though. Does it inspire confidence when a candidate hires someone who would break the law to further their cause? Do we gain confidence when a black, female, Democratic version of G. Gorden Liddy is who Senator Clinton turns to?

Synova said...

I think the most important part of the post is this bit...


"...the Clintons..."

Bruce Hayden said...

Hillary! does inspire loyalty, and Maggie is one of the most loyal, doing a lot of Hillary's dirty work. Maggie and Blumenthal are her enforcers. Also, last time around, Maggie was in charge of trying to keep women away from Bill. Unfortunately, for the Clintons, Williams failed with Monica.

Peter V. Bella said...

Some of the reports on the "resignation" yesterday claimed that Solis-Doyle and Williams could not play well together. Solis-Doyle got thrown under the bus.

This happens in all campaigns. It says nothing either way about her except that her loyalty only goes as far as her poll numbers and vote count.

john said...

"Also, last time around, Maggie was in charge of trying to keep women away from Bill."

Well, no wonder: she was trying to keep the door locked from the outside.

Unknown said...

LEt's see if this works.

PatHMV said...

joe r. said:

One of the major criticisms of the Bush administration is its unwillingness to appoint competent people to positions

By that definition, Karl Rove was an exceedingly competent appointment by President Bush, and it's to his credit that he remained so loyal to the President. And it's a sign of the Administration's competence in general that so many people have remained loyal to it, including folks like Scooter Libby. Is that what you're saying, joe r.?

Ron said...

For those who have seen Downfall, perhaps Maggie Williams is the 'Mrs. Goebells' in the Clintonbunker...

J. Cricket said...

Vince Foster. Strippers. Another reference to pimping out.

Gee, is it sweeps week around here?

Are your ratings lagging?

What a lame and transparent attempt to get more traffic!

john said...

Dr. no -

Don't be silly. Has there been any breast references lately? No. When that happens, then you will know it's sweeps week.

Palladian said...

Man, AJD is cycling through screen names really quickly lately. Must need his medications adjusted.

michaele said...

Might be time to let Bill off his good behavior leash and let himself get caught messing around. Then Hillary can play the aggrieved wife and see if her popularity soars.

Joe R. said...

Do we gain confidence when a black, female, Democratic version of G. Gorden Liddy is who Senator Clinton turns to?

In a *political* position--yes. As head of FEMA, Justice,the Department of homeland security or a nominee to the Supreme Court--no.

and it's a sign of the Administration's competence in general that so many people have remained loyal to it, including folks like Scooter Libby. Is that what you're saying, joe r.?

In a way, yes. It has made them extremely effective at blocking attacks from the democrats. While the democrats have made alot of noise, they haven't been able to *do* anything.

There incompetence, however, has far outweighed their competent decisions. Not even the conservatives would support bush on the Meirs appointment, the heckuva FEMA director and the initial military plan in Iraq.

Fen said...

Janet Reno + CS Gas + children's lungs

JohnG said...

Paranoid suspicion: The Clintons are moving to Plan-B: If they can't win, launder as much money through the campaign as possible. For that, you need a loyalist.

I don't think Hillary Clinton has ever paid for something with her own money in her life. If she wrote her campaign a $5M check, you can bet there was >$5M coming in from somewhere else.

Mortimer Brezny said...

[W]hat does this say about how the Clintons, if elected, will populate the executive branch?

Yes, this scares me. She bills herself as an uber-manager, but has a habit of relying on incompetent cronies who cannot manage finances well. Bad for governance.

Anonymous said...

Doyle takes the hit and another member of the posse comes out of the woodwork. Of course the campaign problems cannot be the Clintons' fault, even with Willie as a principal advisor and Herself as a notorious micro-manager.

Maggie's one critical trait is blind obedience, and so goes the Clinton machine - flat tires, bad gas and four sweaty hands on the wheel.

paul a'barge said...

what does this say about how the Clintons, if elected, will populate the executive branch

Not much. These things are dirt common, and Hillary is flailing.

If you want to know how these folks will act in the oval office, remember the Whitehouse Travel Office scandal, when Hillary fired an entire non-political staff just to free up a few jobs for political patronage.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Peter V. Bella said...

No wonder she is such a harridan.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8453.html


—Clinton said she eats hot peppers because “years ago, I was told that hot peppers would keep me healthy.”

– “Jalapenos, banana peppers – any kind of hot peppers,” she said. “I eat them raw, I eat them cooked. I don’t whether it’s for everybody, but it’s worked for me.


It is not her tart tongue, it is her flaming...

Maxine Weiss said...

If Christopher doesn't have a problem with it, why does Christopher's mother?

JohnAnnArbor said...

Wow, the Clintons ARE good! They got someone to plant a Cuban flag--complete with Che portrait--in an Obama field office!

Seriously, how stupid could those office people be? "Hmm. Let's decorate the field office! Well, what's appropriate for an election campaign?" "I know! I'll bring my old Che Cuban flag in that I had in my dorm room in college!" "Perfect! Che's all about hope and change, just like Obama!"

knox said...

What a lame and transparent attempt to get more traffic!

Even if it were, why the hell do you care? If you are so disgusted by high traffic on this blog, commenting is a stupid way to show it.

Tim said...

"And, more generally, what does this say about how the Clintons, if elected, will populate the executive branch?"

Is there anyone 34 years or older who really does not already know the answer to that question?

somefeller said...

Wow, the Clintons ARE good! They got someone to plant a Cuban flag--complete with Che portrait--in an Obama field office!
Seriously, how stupid could those office people be? "Hmm. Let's decorate the field office! Well, what's appropriate for an election campaign?" "I know! I'll bring my old Che Cuban flag in that I had in my dorm room in college!" "Perfect! Che's all about hope and change, just like Obama!"


You know, just when I start thinking that maybe the Obama people might really have it together, they go and do something like that, and in Houston, no less.

Amateurs. Morons. That sure as hell wouldn't have happened in a Hillary Clinton field office, I can assure you.

MadisonMan said...

Clinton Fatigue.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Anyone else know that Patti Solis Doyle is the daughter of illegal immigrants from Mexico? She grew up in Chicago, is married to a Harvard Law school grad and managed a presidential campaign.

What a great country we live in! And all we ever do is bitch about how f'ed up it is- go figure.

Peter V. Bella said...

AJ Lynch,
You left out that her brother is a corrupt Chicago Alderman.

Peter V. Bella said...

Amateurs. Morons. That sure as hell wouldn't have happened in a Hillary Clinton field office, I can assure you.


They would have posters of their real American heroes; the Black Panthers and the SDS.

Maxine Weiss said...

"You may have heard that blogs don't pay; that's no longer the case. We offer salary and benefits commensurate with your level of experience. So if you think you've got what it takes, please send me a short letter by week's end (February 15th) explaining your qualifications. Be sure to include links to any writing samples you'd like to share and then send to jobs[AT]defamer.com."

http://defamer.com/tag/bring-us-your-tired%2C-huddled-applicants/

Maxine Weiss said...

I wouldn't want to work for Gawker Media. The amount of money they pay doesn't outweigh their negative reputation.

You'd be better off going to work for the National Enquirer, and they're in legitimate print !

Maxine Weiss said...

WHERE IS EVERYBODY?

When Althouse goes to bed, we must all go to bed? What bunch of sheep !

There's nothing wrong with staying up all night, so as not to miss anything.

Things like this:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/10/usa

Maxine Weiss said...

WAKE UP, EVERYBODY !!!

I DEMAND YOU ALL WAKE UP AT ONCE !!

Wouldn't you all hate living with me?, bursting in at all hours of the day and night, with every little thing I think needs noticing.

Not to mention the 24-hour screaming, and endless shrieking.

I won't be ignored.

Anonymous said...

"corrupt Chicago Alderman"

Isn't that redundant?

Clark said...

Why are you posting recycled Carl Rove propaganda? Get real!