Blame it on JP

Hillary Clinton is on her last breath, and the blame game has begun. She and Bill must accept the bulk of the blame for losing the Democratic nomination for U.S. president, but close behind them is former Chief Strategist Mark Penn. His main mistake, according to the Wall Street Journal, was how he positioned Hillary as the experienced Washington insider instead of the candidate of change. This is pertinent to Czech voters, because Penn's firm, PSB, is also helping with ČSSD's election campaign. Czech voters, like their American counterparts, are craving change, but how is it possible to sell ČSSD as the party of fresh wind if the same stale Jiří Paroubek is at its helm? This conundrum hasn't escaped ČSSD insiders, who are saying privately that dumping Paroubek next year is a done deal. Alas, these same ČSSD insiders are much more laconic about who their own Barack Obama will be. [Czech Republic Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates United States of America pollster]