ON the wall of his office, Mark Penn has framed The Washington Post’s front page with the headline, “Clinton acquitted”. It is signed: “Thanks – Bill”.

The master of polls has since moved seamlessly into the inner sanctum of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, where he serves as her chief strategist, developing the image and themes that he believes will make her unbeatable.

Penn advised Tony Blair in the 2005 general election but has yet to hear from Gordon Brown. “I’m a little tied up right now,” Penn said, “but you never know when people will call. He’s doing quite well. He’s had an excellent launch of his premiership.”

In America, Penn is being compared to Karl Rove, the architect of George W Bush’s two election victories. But whereas Rove energised the Republican party base, Penn is a centrist who argues that “swing is still king” in elections: “Pragmatic voters who have little allegiance to any movements determine who occupies the White House and . . . in Britain, who sits in No 10 Downing Street.”

Penn believes America’s elites are more interested in personality than issues. “Go to any upscale cocktail party and I guarantee they will start off dissecting the character traits of every candidate,” he writes. “There is good reason for this – today’s elites are far removed from the mainstream concerns like heathcare, college affordability, job loss and childcare.”

But while broadsheet papers are gossiping about Barack Obama’s suits or Clinton’s hint of cleavage, he claims that “the so-called herd in America is more issue-focused than ever”.

According to a recent poll conducted by his firm, people earning more than $100,000 valued character over issues by 45% to 37%. Those earning under $100,000 chose issues over character by 51% to 30%.

Clinton, he argued, “really is a champion for those who need one”. Penn oversaw her two election campaigns for the New York Senate and helped her to win over sceptical voters.

“She worked hard for those upstate voters who needed economic help. Many of the chattering classes only came in during the last 10 days. What she did in the six years that followed confirmed that they had made the right choice,” he said.

“She is winning the Democratic primary and she is beating her Republican opponents in the polls. To those who say, ‘She can’t win’, I say, she is already winning.”

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