NPR: Clinton Adviser Met With Colombian Free Trade Officials

Clinton Adviser Met With Colombian Free Trade Officials

Mark Penn, the chief strategist for Sen. Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, met Monday with Colombia's ambassador to the U.S. to discuss a bilateral free-trade agreement. The Wall Street Journal reports that Penn "wasn't there in his campaign role, but in his separate job as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, an international communications and lobbying firm."

Sen. Clinton has repeatedly said she is against the deal with Colombia. But Penn's company has been hired by the Colombian government to promote congressional approval of the free-trade agreement, according to documents filed with the Justice Department.

A spokesman for Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe said the ambassador met with Mr. Penn to discuss the bilateral agenda. "There have also been meetings with the advisers to the campaigns of Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain," he said. "It's the embassy's job to explain Colombia's reality."
The spokesman said he didn't know if Mr. Penn was representing Sen. Clinton or Burson-Marsteller, which signed a $300,000, one-year contract with the Colombian Embassy in March 2007 to work on behalf of the trade deal and anti-drug-trafficking initiatives, according to the Justice Department filings.

A McCain spokesman said a team of policy advisers had met with the ambassadors of 20 Latin American countries recently. An Obama spokesman and the Colombian Embassy spokeswoman both said the Colombian ambassador had never met with an Obama representative.

If anything, the situation shows just how closely intertwined the campaigns are with top lobbyists. The Journal reports that Penn has raised eyebrows because the contract with the Colombian government is just one example of his firm advising clients on causes that Clinton opposes.
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UPDATE: Marc Ambinder at theAtlantic.com has an interesting update on the story;

"I've asked several Clinton aides and advisers for their reaction. Some declined to comment. Others responded with pejoratives, but since I don't print anonymous pejoratives as a policy, I will refrain from sharing them.

"It's true that other campaigns have consultants with day jobs. The closest analogy is that of Charlie Black, a senior McCain strategist who resigned from his lobbying/PR firm in order to devote his attention full-time to McCain. (The irony: Black's firm falls under the umbrella of Penn at Burson Marsteller.)

"One of the toughest tasks for a political journalist these days is to try and find someone in Clinton world who is willing to defend Mr. Penn or his sense of political optics."
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ANOTHER UPDATE: Sometimes you can win for losing. TalkingPointsMemo reports that the government of Colombia has fired Penn's firm. apparently it didn't take to Penn calling the meeting with the ambassador "an error in judgment."

"The Colombian government considers this a lack of respect to Colombians, and finds this response unacceptable," according to a statement.

11:24 AM ET | 04- 4-2008 | permalink

Comments

Of course those in the deep pockets of big unions would oppose a free trade deal with Colombia.

But while the communist thug Chavez is inevitably ruining his country, Aribe has improved the lives of Colombians in leaps and bounds. Having a trade agreement with them is good diplomacy and good economics.

Of course Obama hasn't met with any Colombian officials. Most likely that is due to President Aribe smacking "The Messiah around a bit.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g0QWd0hI_BMCPs0zeVkg0oenx6RAD8VQ2HJO0

Sent by deek | 12:23 PM ET | 04-04-2008

seems the concern for joe union worker has somehow dissipated. guess he's no longer momentarily a convenient sympathy ploy.

as for the "sound bite" on the comparative economies (which ignores the effects of oil revenues in the current climate), i realize that uribe is the current poster boy for neoliberal economic policies, but what part of having a higher unemployment rate translates into "leaps and bounds" exactly?

chavez is very heavy-handed, no argument there. but since he won re-election by about the same percentage as americans who currently disapprove of mr. bush's performance (63%), where does one get off calling him a thug? or has respect for democratic elections (or is it democrat elections, i get so confused) also become inconvenient?

Sent by tim in exile | 5:53 PM ET | 04-04-2008

Colombia will be fine with out the tlc but usa will loose a good friend in south america this desicion is a big mistake.

Sent by hector pedraza | 8:19 PM ET | 04-07-2008

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