Campaign in Crisis? Hillaryland Tensions

Feb. 14, 2008 — -- After losing eight straight presidential nominating contests, campaign staff shake-ups, and fundraising problems last month, Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign is facing tension within its ranks.

Numerous Clinton campaign insiders tell ABC News there is unhappiness inside the Virginia headquarters right now, with staffers aligning themselves into factions.

One source said there is "increasing frustration" with Mark Penn, Clinton's campaign strategist and pollster, and the closest thing to a Karl Rove-type figure within the campaign.

Some are unhappy that former Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle was replaced last weekend with Maggie Williams, the senator's former White House chief of staff.

Clinton's deputy campaign director Mike Henry, who was loyal to Solis Doyle, resigned from the campaign Monday, writing in his farewell letter to the staff that he was stepping aside out of respect for the "new leadership team."

Two other staffers from the campaign's Internet operation have also left the campaign this week.

Overall, there is a sense of melancholy in the Clinton campaign, and among some a "lack of confidence" in leadership.

Shouting Match

Clinton campaign insiders confirm that when campaign advisers gathered at headquarters last week to preview a television commercial called "Free Fall" — this is the scene that unfolded, as first reported in today's Wall Street Journal:

"Your ad doesn't work," Penn said to ad maker Mandy Grunwald.

Grunwald fired back that the problem was maybe his message, not the ad.

The clash got so heated that political director Guy Cecil left the room, saying, "I'm out of here." the Wall Street Journal reported this morning.

Clinton campaign insiders tell ABC News the shouting match happened as reported, and while this was an extraordinarily heated exchange, it's not uncommon for Penn and Grunwald to bicker.

"They're constantly at each other's throats," said one campaign source.

Pressure Mounts

But with mounting pressure on the campaign to win big in upcoming primary contests in Ohio and Texas, to stop Sen. Barack Obama's momentum toward the nomination, the Penn-Grunwald shouting match highlights tensions within Clinton's inner circle.

The fact that the scene was leaked to reporters is perhaps another sign of further problems in Hillaryland — a moniker given to the loyal cadre of staff that worked for Clinton at the White House.

The New York senator, who wrote in her autobiography how she abhored the leaks that came out of her husband's administration, has long prized fiercely loyal staffers.

Clinton wrote in her memoir "Living History," "My staff prided themselves on discretion, loyalty, and camaraderie, and we had our own special ethos … While the West Wing had a tendency to leak, Hillaryland never did."

While few have actually departed the campaign, some advisers have been added, including Roy Spence, an advertising guru, brought on after Iowa and New Hampshire, to help with Clinton's message to voters and ads.

But Clinton supporters dismiss reports of turmoil inside the campaign, arguing many campaigns go through periods of change.

"This is systemic to any presidential campaign," said Democratic strategist Chris Lehane. "It is the nature of the business."

Clinton has appeared to adopt a far more aggressive tone in recent days, which some credit to Williams, who has been chief of staff to both Hillary and Bill Clinton, working for him at his foundation.

"Speeches don't put food on the table. Speeches don't fill up your tank, or fill your prescription, or do anything about that stack of bills that keeps you up at night," Clinton said today in Ohio.

Taking a direct swipe of her opponent, Clinton continued, "Some people may think words are change. You and I know better. Words are cheap. You can't just talk about the special interests. You have to take them on."

With a new campaign manager and an apparently new, more aggressive strategy, the Clinton campaign appears to be trying to quell internal turmoil within the campaign, and focus on winning states that can provide the campaign with an edge in delegates going into the Democratic party's August convention in Denver.

A Clinton campaign insider said Penn and Grunwald's "influence has been circumscribed," or reigned in, with the addition of Williams, who has a reputation of working well with people.

One Democratic strategist said things may not be as bleak as they seem for the Clinton campaign.

"No one wants to be in this position at this stage of a campaign, but this isn't fatal," said Democratic strategist Paul Brathwaite, who isn't working for a campaign but voted for Obama. "There is still plenty of time to recover."

ABC News' Eloise Harper and Eileen Murphy contributed to this report.