Am I just confused, or does it make no sense that Ms. Hughes referred to a shared lawyer? How is that a selling point for either themselves as individuals or their new venture? (Leaving aside all of the other reasons that are negative selling points for themselves and their company…)

Is this an example of poor communication, or poor humor that I just don’t get?

Is the motto in DC really ”F*ck up, move up?

Condi Rice, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney—the list goes on and on.

>>Is the motto in DC really ”F*ck up, move up?

If there are four words that better personify the life of George W. Bush, I’ve yet to hear them.

I’m actually quite happy about this.  These two incompetents are exactly the kind of people I’d like to see advising corporations how to handle embarrassing crises.  If these Penn/Hughes had been advising the telecoms the FISA bill would never have passed.

I tend to assume they manage to stay in business in large part because of their connections.  Particularly since neither Penn nor Hughes were particularly cut off from their prior employer, Penn’s ‘demotion’ notwithstanding.  People will probably hire them to use them to influence the people they know.

I tend to assume they manage to stay in business in large part because of their connections.  Particularly since neither Penn nor Hughes were particularly cut off from their prior employer, Penn’s ‘demotion’ notwithstanding.  People will probably hire them to use them to influence the people they know.

Who needs skills when you have “access”? It’s same thing with beltway reporters too. It’s the Washington Way.

Neither of these people got where they are because an unbroken series of failures. Also, someone always loses in politics. Basing your opinion on one primary season (one that in many ways is without precedent) is your prerogative, but my opinion is that such a perspective is rather shortsighted. In both business and politics, failure can often be viewed as a positive career experience. As for their political differences and going into business together, that is known as diversity.

This is quite scary. Those 2 separate are bad enough…but combined? It’s like an evil version of Voltron…

http://liberalretort.blogspot.com/

I’m betting on Greg’s explanation. When you can get op-eds favorable to your client inserted in whatever paper you need, get your client’s shills on all the bobblehead shows, and peddle oppo-research “facts” about your client’s situation to scores of willing reporters, who cares how evil and stupid you are in some reality-based sense?

Actually, they are NOt setting up a separate firm.  Hughes is joining Burson-Marstellar as Vice Chairman.

“Both Penn and Hughes denied that Burson is perceived as a Democratic party-leaning firm, despite Penn’s work as former chief strategic to Sen. Clinton’s failed presidential campaign. Founding chairman Harold Burson, Burson US president and CEO Pat Ford, and worldwide COO Rick Powell all have longstanding ties to the GOP, Penn and Hughes noted to PRWeek.

“But the point of coming together is not about politics; it’s about taking people that have been through the toughest situations and bringing them together in a way that goes across politics,” Penn said. “That will be useful for clients out in the marketplace facing what are often very unique problems today.”

The agency is just looking to get more biz from everyone - Dems, GOPers, politicos everywhere.

To paraphrase Dogbert, con + insult = consult.

In my daytime identity as a mild-mannered trade mag editor, I have to deal with a lot of PR firms. Burson-Marsteller is one of the biggest pains in the ass among them.

This is like the old University of Illinois motto - “we cheat, we lose, we’re Illinois”.  WTF - how many times do you have to fail to start being ignored.  I didn’t realize incompetence was something you listed on your resume.

In a sense this is no different than any other industry.  It just seems odd because, one would think, that at one time these two were rivals.  In any industry there is a conservation of human resources.  Fail or succeed, chances are you as an insider have a better chance of getting another job in that industry if you’ve been there before.  Maybe it’s a case of the “devil you know”?  I don’t really know but I know this, it’s true in a lot places.  Maybe it’s some kind of weird tribal thing.  Once you’re in the society, you’re in for life loser or otherwise.

That said, I can only echo what Pam said.  Who in the fuck would pay these people to sink themselves?  I mean holy shit.

People here seem to think that failures at a previous job should lead to an inability to find work in the same industry - or at least should topple you from a position of high esteem in that industry and force you to start at the bottom and work your way back up again, regaining respect as you prove yourself once again.

This attitude shows that the commenters here are people who work for their paycheck.

At higher levels of power - corporate CEOs, politicians, heck even the high levels of local school administration and academic administration - failure just means that you have prior job experience.  Failure at a previous job has no bearing on whether you’ll be hired to do the same job again for someone else - the fact that you held the job before shows experience, even if you ran the company into the ground or destroyed your client’s chances for a Presidential victory.

Competence is only a requirement for us non-elites.  Elites fall upward.  That’s why they’re elites.

Deep down, I think every American has a “Baldwin Line” that cannot be crossed.

This is mine:

If it turns out Penn and Hughes have formed this professional relationship merely as a smokescreen to hide a torrid romantic affair between Penn and Hughes, I am moving to Canada

Pam,

I don’t think anyone should be surprised by things like this. The entire parasitic class of Washington statist elites are essentially all the same:

Barrack=McCain=Clinton

Barrack recently proved the he is more than willing to support, advance and expand George Bush’s fascist police state by voting for the un-constitutional FISA regs.

I recommend voting for Ralph Nader, Chuck Baldwin or writing in Ron Paul.

You know who they really need to hire to complete the company’s Dept of Epik Fail?

“Brownie”