April 8, 2008 Campaign staff shake-up in the Clinton camp Play video

(NECN) - Hillary Clinton called on President Bush to boycott the Olympic opening ceremonies Monday, one day after a major shake-up in her campaign staff made headlines. The Pennsylvania primary is now just over two weeks away and many Clinton supporters are hoping a win there will provide a fresh infusion of energy, momentum and good press for their candidate.

NECN’s Alison King explains.

Script:

Chief Strategist Mark Penn is the latest casualty of the Clinton campaign. The owner of a Washington public relations and lobbying firm, Penn was forced out after it was disclosed he had met with the Colombian government to help promote a free trade agreement that Clinton opposes. Meanwhile, Clinton has also seen Barack Obama chip into her once substantial lead in Pennsylvania -- even while Obama raised a whopping $40-million in March to her $20-million.

In short, it has been a rough couple of weeks for Senator Clinton and the cumulative effect is starting to trouble even some long-time supporters who find themselves re-evaluating who to support going forward.

Tripp Jones is a co-founder of the bi-partisan think tank, Mass Inc. He has recently concluded that the superdelegates will most likely reflect the will of primary voters -- and that Obama will be the nominee.

Jones: “What I’ve heard a lot of people say is, 'the way that Senator Clinton can pull this off is by effectively tearing down Senator Obama' -- that would be a shame.”

Jones,

who worked for Michael Dukakis' failed 1988 presidential campaign, is concerned that the story of the controversial comments made by Obama's pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, could do for Obama in the general election what the now famous Willie Horton ad did to Michael Dukakis: fan the flames of racial division says Jones and distract from the important issues.

Jones: “I’m a big fan of a good old-fashioned campaign fight in the primary, but I’m real worried about the potential for this Reverend Wright stuff which has become so divisive and unhealthy, to become a real problem.”

Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein: “I think Hillary Clinton has every right to stay in this race.”

State Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein, a Clinton supporter, says Clinton, as the first major female presidential candidate has had an uphill battle from the start -- often receiving unfair media coverage.

Reinstein: “But it's past that, it's beyond that. It's literally about letting people, men, women, white, black, Asian, Latino - vote for who they want to vote for.”