The Politico should identify the “veteran Democratic operative” who believes that President Obama should “deftly pin [the Arizona shooting] on the tea partiers.” That is a repugnant thing to contemplate, especially in light of the facts already known about Jared Loughner, the alleged shooter. He’s clearly a troubled, incoherent young man, not a rational political actor.
If President Obama follows that advice, it will be a bad political mistake for him, and do nothing for the good of the country. It will not help him “reconnect.”
I’ll tell you who I believe this “veteran Democratic operative” is: Mark Penn. After the November shellacking, Penn, who was among the top strategists in Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008 and has been a major Democratic operative for a few decades now, suggested that President Obama needed an Oklahoma City tragedy to “reconnect” with the voters. And here we are, after the tragic events in Tuscon, with an unnamed Democrat pushing that very strategy. Here’s the video of those disgusting remarks.
If this isn’t Penn’s work, he should step out and disavow it.
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