This is not helpful for party unity..what do you think?

according to one of her bundlers.

It seemed like a poke at the Clinton camp to me .

Thats how I read it.

Apparently they took it that way too.

I suppose he should have hired Penn instead.  He was incompetent, but was never fired.

There is another line of thinking that as her campaign manager she was anything but stellar. However, as chief of staff she was really excellent and worked well with Hillary in this position.  So could it be that Hilary will be on the ticket?

this makes no sense to me, but what do I know.

Well, this is disappointing.

For what it's worth: Obama is sending a message to the Clinton camp that he will be controling the VP process, not them.

How is this a slap in the face to the Clintons?

Enlighten me, please.

Wouldn't it be seen as a slap in the face for him to not bring in Clinton people?

Anyways, it's not a smart move either way. She apparently sat in her pricey office watching Spanish soap operas and bankrupted Hillary's campaign. He should have brought in Singer. He was a skilled spokesperson.

WHO

SHIT????

Really, this is getting ridiculous.

I'm reading anything from this, it could mean both, or nothing at all.

Doyle worked with Hillary for many many years, "not on speaking terms" is probably just something the MSM made up.

Obama also hired an Edwards staffer today.  

I think there's a desire for the Clintons to take offense. Hiring Solis was talked about months ago.

Thoughts:

1. Obama can bring in whoever he wants
   
2. A few hours ago, Jerome was touting this as evidence that Hillary was being considered as VP.  What changed?  Or was Jerome's analysis a complete misreading of the situation?  
   
3. Solis Doyle ran Hillary's 2000 and 2006 Senate campaigns, and her presidential campaign until February 10, 2008.  If she's so incompetent, why did Hillary leave her in charge of her campaigns for 8 years?  Or, just talking about the presidential one, for over a year?  
   
4. In 2004, Chris Lehane left Kerry's campaign and joined up with Wes Clark.  No one said this was a "slap in the face" to Kerry.  
   
5. After being ousted from the campaign, Doyle kept mum about it, only saying that she still strongly supported Hillary.  She wasn't disloyal, she just didn't win Hillary the nomination.

Doyle is clearly good at some things (like Hispanic outreach) that Obama could use some support in.  I don't think that Obama should be denied a staffer he thinks would be helpful just because some Clinton supporters find it irritating that a person who failed Hillary found another job.  I'd note that I read similar things about Obama appointing a female VP who isn't Hillary (the term "slap in the face" was also used).  

If Hillary were the presumptive nominee, I'd support her freedom of action, and be pissed if my fellow Obama supporters were presuming to act angered by her hiring ex-staffers for Obama.  The nominee has to be allowed the freedom to bring the people who they think will be helpful on board.

Geez, Louise, we got alotta armchair quarterbacks today, eh?

Can we just trust that Obama, who thus far has run a pretty much brilliant campaign, knows what he'd doing in hiring PSD?

Also - why are some buying into the "it was PSD's fault Hillary lost" meme?  (Wasn't that coming from Mark Penn????)

What about the fact that she's got Chi-town ties w/ Axelrod going way back?  Or that she's Hispanic and has a big fat rolodex?  

Let's not get our panties in a bunch!

Over on Open Left they see this as a clear signal that Nunn is ascendant.  

Horrors.

Must. Refrain. from saying.. Why is it always all about the.._____

There were talks from Obama's campaign immediately after Solis was fired.  They didn't agree with it and said they would hire her immediately after the primary is over.  I don't know why anyone would be suprised by this.

Oh, and by the logic of the author of this "piece", they really should have hired Mark Penn.  No one did more for Obama's campaign.

Here's a statement in response from the Clinton camp, via politico:

"Patti will be an asset and good addition to the Obama campaign. After nearly two decades in political life, she brings with her the ability to tap an extensive network that will be a huge asset to Senator Obama. As Senator Clinton has said, we're all going to do our part to help elect Senator Obama as the next President of the United States," said spokesman Mo Elleithee.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/

Best move Obama could make, Hillary would make Lieberman look like a good choice for VP.

"You're so vain, I bet you think this appointment's about you, your so vain..."

How did they both state the Absolute reverse of this and get away with it.

What is up with this reverse pyschology I keep seeing here.

It like when Hillary was conceding and people saying: "No big deal, she didn't want to run anyways"

I still think they decided to put her in a spot where she can't do much damage.

I can't imagine how anyone could be upset about this.  It's not as if Sen. Clinton is dying to have her back; from what I understand they haven't spoken in months.  Clinton doesn't own everyone who has ever worked under her, her former hires are free to continue a life of politics elsewhere.  If Sen. Obama had poached Doyle from Clinton's campaign staff it would be another story but Doyle is an unemployed person who is free to work for whomever she wants.

I don't if any upset Clinton fans will believe me but I can tell you with 100% honesty that if Obama had fired Axelrod or any other major campaign player and Clinton picked him up after she reached "presumptive nominee" status then I would have been happy she was clever enough to snag a well-known political player who already has strong connections to a group of people you really want to bring on-board.

To be honest, I'm sure the announcement pissed a lot of people off, but it's better than two months of "Will he or won't he?" from the so-called "liberal" media (which seems to have the goal of amplifying any division within the Democratic Party as much as possible).

Clinton insiders are increasingly unhappy with Barack Obama's practice of referring to himself as the Democratic nominee, as an unpleasant reminder of the primary campaign. Word has it they would prefer he take the title: "Not quite as good as Hillary Clinton" until such time as he may be able to be called "the second, inferior black president."

Upon being asked what business they had deciding such matters, said insiders explained that their feelings were exceptionally fragile.

Wait, wait, wait.

They were speaking with her about coming to Obama's camp well before Hillary even dropped out of the race.  She said she would be interested in the VP position after Doyle was linked to Obama.

This is the press simply stirring the pot.

- Matt

I just want to add that Obama is probably considering more than one potential VP candidate.  Are people going to take the position that he can do nothing to possibly offend one potential candidate until he selects a VP?  

I don't know what Clinton's chances of being VP are, but certain partisans' attempts to dictate his staff can't be good for those chances.  It's just like Lanny Davis with his strong-arm petition.

Everyone is jumping to conclusions here. Let's get a dose of reality.

First, the reporter involved is Anne Kornblut of the Washington Post. The Post has had a wretched year in covering politics so far, and its reporting staff seems to have caught the Fred Hyatt disease. What about this reporter in particular? Anyone follow closely enough to state an opinion?

Second, Kornblut states as fact a lot of recent acrimony regarding Solis Doyle. How reliable is it? There are very identifiable factions within the Clinton campaign. Is the one named source, Susie Thompkins Buell, in a pro-Penn camp? Another camp?

Beyond all this, the action itself is that Obama hired an unemployed former Clinton aide to fill a position that at most is something like number 25 in his campaign organization chart. This looks a lot like manufactured political theatre to me.

...a month ago when some HRC supporters were irate about the RFK comment and how it had nothing to do with Obama, and I agreed...Now when Obama makes a hire it has everything to do with demeaning HRC.  I disagree with this also.  He hires people who will help his campaign, this has squa-doosh to do with HRC.

I support Obama. But I am flabbergasted at how dumb this appointment is. She has not proven herself on merit. And what connections does she bring? She has burned bridges. Hillary was just being polite with that statement.

I really fail to see why Obama would risk the ire of the Clintonites over someone as insignificant as Doyle.

Agreed, this is a manufactured controversy. Who is Buell, and why is she projecting an outrage that the Clinton campaign itself doesn't share?

At least that's how Clinton loyalists see it. "It's a slap in the face," Susie Tompkins Buell, a prominent Clinton backer, said in an interview.

Guys, we are going to see a ton more of these.  Someone will do something innocuous, and then someone on the other side (either GOP or dead-ender) will try and use it to spin everyone up.  It's called driving a wedge between us.

If we let them do it every time, then yes, there won't be any party unity... on the blogs.

So we can freak out, or we can calm down, think about things LOGICALLY, and go forward.

Reading through these comments, it seems like an awful lot of people seriously believed Barack Obama's team would hire someone "incompetent" who "bankrupted a campaign" and "watched Mexican soap operas in her office all day" to work on his campaign, just so he could stick his finger in the eye of someone who he has already beaten and who has already announced her support for Obama.

Now- if you breathe, and step back- does that seem logical even for one second?  Obama has one goal- to win.  Clinton dead-enders feelings are not a factor, either way.  Let's relax, or it's going to be one long summer.

who can blame Obama for rewarding Patti? He would never be the nominee without her," one person who has worked for both Clintons and remains close to them said

Uh.... Mr Penn...? Can I call you Mark?.... How 'bout Jabba? Oh, sorry, just a little internets humor.

Anway, Mark, if Obama wanted to reward the Clintonite most responsible for her losing the nomination (after, of course, the candidate herself) you'd be on Krispy Kreme's Dozen-a-Day-Delivery roster.

it seems apparent that some people will always need something to sulk over. They won't be satisfied unless the Obama campaign consults them before making any decision regarding the management of his campaign.

Too bad, that's not going to happen.

But the appointment is very good, since this does seem to indicate that she probably is not on his short list for veep.

I really don't think it is a big thing.

who really cares.

Who really knows if Hillary is in good speaking terms with Doyle.  She has known her for decades and maybe she is.

The Hillary campaign didn't seem that upset by it.  Perhaps this is a manufactured problem by the media.  

Patti took the sword for Mark Penn's idiocy. For some reason, the Clintons could never part with Penn and Terry mac, who were just as awful, if not worse than Doyle. Doyle just happened to be the one they could conveniently throw under the bus.

Even if Hillary was fine with it, there'd be no reason to put Solis-Doyle in as Chief of Staff for the VP if Hillary wasn't part of the equation. Hillary is talking to her fund-raisers on Wednesday to start donating to Obama - guess what exciting news she's going to give them. Obama knows better than to piss on her shoes 2 days before.

[And I think the reported animosity between Hillary and Solis-Doyle is way overwrought. Hillary not talk to her since February? Nonsense.]

PUMA group Bashes Hillary.

Watch this before dinner or contemplating intimate relations for the next 3 weeks.

Watch as the right winger who runs all the PUMA sites like Nobama comes right and shits all over Hillary.

If I could post I would write a diary, so feel free to do it yourself.

The moment where she trashes hillary is at 3:30

More FP articles on HRC, and how the hiring of former HRC staffers will effect her.

Its freaking self-parody at this point.

For all we know Obama and Hillary worked this out together because Solis-Doyle was the Hillary advisor they both agreed on the most.

Does anyone have any actual information that Hillary now hates Solis-Doyle? I thought I remembered her stepping-down as being very face-saving. They may still consider each other friends. Maybe this is a way they came up with for Mark Penn not to have to be Hillary's chief-of-staff as VP without her having to say no to his face; or maybe Hillary's just happy to help her old friend get a position in the new administration whether she's going to be VP or not. (She may not even want to, you know.) This is a weird thing to jump to conclusions about. It could mean anything.

Already pissing off more Clinton supporters.  Next he should pick a different woman as VP- and that way he can lose them all. Obnoxious.  

This is not a big deal. He is merely adding Doyle for outreach efforts to latinos, and he wanted to give her a title. All the major titles in his campaign are already taken.  Senator Clinton is most definitely in the running for VP.  Obama is a pramatist and a politician.  He respects Clinton as a political competitor.  You can tell.  Her personal supporters need to chill out and stop acting like spurned dates at a prom.  I would say the same thing if she were the nominee as well.

Her insiders and "buddies" are trash, but HRC since her concession has been a team player and done what needs to be done for Obama. It's probably not surprising that they discussed it at some point in the future.  I think once she gets past the influence of Bill and their/his advisers (like Penn) she can be a real force for Democratic unity.

And for the record, I would donate to a fund to retire her campaign debt, not as payment for being a team player but her personal shows of good faith have inspired me to do the same.

Consider: this might be a way to throw people off the scent even if he is leaning towards Clinton.  That way, when it happens, no one can say he was bullied into it. They can always move Doyle to a different position within the campaign if Clinton and her are really unhappy with each other.

And that is an "if". We really don't know if there is any real animosity.  Doyle's been in politics long enough to know that it gets harsh sometimes.  She might not have liked it, but she also might understand.  In fact, she might even appreciate that Clinton kept her on long after many started calling for her to be dumped.  We don't know.

This is all to say that the only thing we can really see in the tea leaves is tea.

I guess annoying the rest of the world with their petty grievances is all the joy that's left to them.

After the letter she sent Pelosi anything that makes Susie Tompkins Buell angry makes me happy.  She needs to take her hands off the party and go be a socialite attending charity events in SF.