11 year-old unknowingly donates to Mark Penn
Mon May 12, 2008 at 10:36:51 AM PDT
Pro-Clinton blogs are trumpeting this would-be inspirational story today:
WILLIAMSON -- Everyone who knows 11-year-old Dalton Hatfield sees it. There's something special about the young man. His mother Vickie says all who come in contact with the Kentucky elementary student look at him and say "He's going to be something'' when he grows up.
Apparently that goes for former presidents, too.
When Hatfield presented former President Bill Clinton with a check for $440 after Friday's rally at the Williamson Fire Station, the man who was once the leader of the free world seemed to nearly come to tears.
But I for one feel bad for the kid, not because I think donating to Hillary Clinton is a bad idea, or that I think its bad for a kid to want to be involved in politics. In fact, if this had been a few months ago, I would have thought it was truly inspiring. Sure, he didn't give to my candidate of choice, but the fact that he wanted to sacrifice in order to make an impact on the presidential race and the future of the country is extremely admirable and its incredible to see someone so young, and so many years away from being able to cast his own vote, getting involved.
But what disappoints me is the fact that it seems the Clinton spin machine and others have led this kid to believe that his donation of $440 will be spent making this country better. Perhaps it will. Perhaps it will be used for positive campaign ads, or ads attacking John McCain. Perhaps it will be used for Hillary Clinton to continue to tour the country and deliver a Democratic message.
But it seems more likely, in light of the recent news that Clinton is even more in debt than ever before, that this money is much more likely destined for the bank account of Mark Penn. DHinMI quotes WaPo on the front page as saying her campaign is now $20 million in debt. A few weeks ago we learned that Mark Penn was still owed a few million dollars.
Additionally:
With nearly everyone -- including, privately, many on her own team -- contemplating when, not if, she will quit the race, the questions surrounding Clinton now go largely to her motivation. Publicly, her campaign argues that victories in West Virginia and Kentucky could shift the growing tide of momentum for Obama back to her by demonstrating that she has appeal in states that Democrats must to win to take back the White House in November. What is unclear is whether she hopes strong performances will make Obama consider her for the No. 2 slot or at least help her retire her growing debt.
If Clinton's real motivations now to stay in the race are jockeying for VP or for retiring her debt, I'd say Dalton Hatfield probably doesn't know that. Its more likely that he believe the campaign spin, that a win in WV may yet renew her momentum and give her a shot at the nomination.
For me, this is sad to see. Perhaps when Clinton drops out, she will return Dalton's money. I think that would be nice. Or perhaps she will use it to put forward a positive message in the next few weeks that supplements, rather than attacks, that of Obama. This is a great story: an 11 year-old who truly (and rightly) believes he can make a difference in the country. I just hope the Clinton campaign allows him to make that difference, rather than using his money to attack Obama or pay off Mark Penn.
Note: For those commenters who really seem to want this to be an attack on the kid, it isn't. I'm not really sure how you could see it that way after reading the diary. I think what the kid did was amazing, and I of course don't blame him for being tricked into believing this thing is still competitive, plenty of adults still believe it. I just don't think its fair to him that the campaign and a lot of the media spins this to the point where someone like Dalton thinks his money is going directly to getting Hillary elected, which it very well might not be.
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