New Hillary Ad Touts Experience Firing Top Aide

In the wake of this weekend’s removal of her chief campaign strategist, Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign launched a new TV ad touting her leadership and experience in shaking up staff and firing loyal friends.
Mr. Penn, who has steered Clinton family strategy for 12 years, quit over the weekend after revelations in The Wall Street Journal that he had signed a deal with the Colombian government to promote a free-trade agreement with the U.S. that Sen. Clinton opposes. His departure comes as Sen. Clinton trails Sen. Barack Obama in the delegate count, the popular vote and in fund raising.
Fewer than 60 days ago, Sen. Clinton replaced her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, in the wake of poor performance in the Super Tuesday primaries. Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro left the Clinton campaign less than a month ago, after sparking a firestorm of controversy over racially-insensitive remarks.
In a reprise of a now-famous ad, written by Mr. Penn, the narrator in the latest TV spot says:
“It’s 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep, but there’s a phone ringing in the White House, because the president’s top adviser is working with a foreign government to promote a trade agreement that the president opposes. Who do you want to answer that call? Or perhaps the president’s popularity has plummeted and her staff can’t rally support for her ideas. Or maybe a key supporter, or even the president’s spouse, has made racially-insensitive remarks. It’s 3 a.m. and there’s a phone ringing in the White House. A longtime adviser and friend needs to be cut loose. Who do you want to answer that call?”
A spokesman for presidential rival Sen. Barack Obama said the new Clinton ad is a backhanded attempt to draw attention to Sen. Obama’s failure to disown his controversial pastor, Jeremiah Wright.
To combat the accusation that Sen. Obama lacks the executive experience to make such tough decisions, his campaign has introduced a new slogan that emphasizes his stable leadership qualities: “Obama: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same.”