Mark Penn, long-time Clinton adviser and pollster, has resigned as Hillary's "chief strategist" after his PR firm met with their client, the government of Columbia, to discuss lobbying efforts for the free trade treaty pending before the Senate, which Hillary opposes. David Wiessler reports for Reuters:

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's chief political strategist, Mark Penn, stepped aside on Sunday after news that he lobbied for a free trade treaty with Colombia that Clinton opposes.

A meeting between Penn and Colombia's U.S. ambassador over the trade deal posed political problems for the campaign of the New York senator, who is vying with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama to become the Democratic nominee in the November election.

"After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as chief strategist of the Clinton campaign," the campaign manager, Maggie Williams, said in a statement.

Read the rest at the link above. Rumors of Penn resigning/being fired have surfaced repeatedly during this campaign - perhaps not uncoincidentally, just after almost every big setback: Iowa, South Carolina, Super Tuesday . . . and considering Hillary was the odds-on favorite going in, and right up to Super Tuesday, the lackluster results of the campaign would indicate some top strategist NEEDED to be fired.

Oddly enough, every single time one of the major Democratic candidates has had to distance themselves from an adviser's policy statement, the adviser has been the one who was right. Obama had to eat their words on NAFTA, Iraq policy (twice), and FISA, and the advisers were offering a more reasonable policy in every case.

And so here was Penn, although he wasn't actually making the case out of conviction - he was being paid to do it. The free trade agreement with Columbia is different from previous treaties on trade. In this one, every single request by leading congressional Democrats for protection for labor rights and wages and environmental issues was incorporated into the deal. There is NO rational reason to oppose it, other than the words "free trade" cause a rather Pavlovian response in the mind-numbed morons who oppose it (out of fear, ignorance, and stupidity).

God forbid a Democrat ever advocate a rational policy - their base would never stand for it.

UPDATE: Statement from Hillary's campaign manager, Maggie Williams:

After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as Chief Strategist of the Clinton Campaign; Mark, and Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc. will continue to provide polling and advice to the campaign.

[emphasis added] . . . so the separation isn't complete, it seems. Via K-Lo at The Corner