Posted by Jed Lewison on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 10:42 PM Pacific

What is it about Mark Penn that Hillary Clinton likes so much?

Tonight on Countdown, Keith Olbermann was pretty tough on Clinton chief strategist Mark Penn for saying that Barack Obama "can't win the general election."

Overall, it was a damn good effort from KO -- worth watching if you haven't seen it already.

But there's one item I wish he had mentioned that he did not touch upon: Mark Penn's lobbying shop is headed by John McCain's top adviser. That raises a question: if, as expected, Hillary Clinton does not win the nomination, is Mark Penn more interested in electing John McCain in 2008 or Hillary Clinton in 2012? Whichever the case, I guarantee you this: if (when) Barack Obama wins the nomination, Mark Penn will keep on trying to stop him from becoming president.

As John Aravosis at AMERICAblog noted, Penn will have company: 25% of Clinton supporters will vote for McCain if Obama wins the nomination compared to 10% of Obama supporters who would do the same if Clinton wins the nod.

What is it about Mark Penn that Hillary Clinton likes so much?

Tonight on Countdown, Keith Olbermann was pretty tough on Clinton chief strategist Mark Penn for saying that Barack Obama "can't win the general election."

Overall, it was a damn good effort from KO -- worth watching if you haven't seen it already.

But there's one item I wish he had mentioned that he did not touch upon: Mark Penn's lobbying shop is headed by John McCain's top adviser. That raises a question: if, as expected, Hillary Clinton does not win the nomination, is Mark Penn more interested in electing John McCain in 2008 or Hillary Clinton in 2012? Whichever the case, I guarantee you this: if (when) Barack Obama wins the nomination, Mark Penn will keep on trying to stop him from becoming president.

As John Aravosis at AMERICAblog noted, Penn will have company: 25% of Clinton supporters will vote for McCain if Obama wins the nomination compared to 10% of Obama supporters who would do the same if Clinton wins the nod.

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