In one of the most revealing moments of the 2008 presidential campaign, The Atlantic has got hold of what it calls the Clinton memos, a series of in-house communiques from Sen. Hillary Clinton‘s failed presidential campaign.

The day after the March 4 Texas primary, campaign chief strategist Mark Penn sent out a memo that explicitly laid out the strategy for taking the next few primaries and caucuses: Play the commander-in-chief card, and play it heavy. “In Texas,” he wrote, “The 3 am ad raised the stakes, brought back men and helped neutralize (Obama’s) Repubican and independent vote which otherwise would have crushed us there.”

Penn’s memo also stresses that the campaign should “shift at least 50% if not more of all media to negative or implied negative like 3 am.” Which is all interesting, because he also pushed for trying to claim the “Change” mantle from Obama. But the biggest change many Democrats (and fans of the constitution in general) were pushing for was an end to the imperial presidency that had been extended by cramming every power possible under the commander-in-chief banner.

This article appears in August 8 • 2008.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.