A Momentum Swing?
Hillary Clinton's campaign feels optimistic going into Tuesday's vote, but has there really been a 'tipping point' for her candidacy?
After enduring weeks of a slipping campaign, Sen. Hillary Clinton seems to be enjoying a shift, however slight, in momentum toward her candidacy. Whether her sharpened attacks on Sen. Barack Obama are too little, too late is up to the voters going to the polls Tuesday in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island. "I feel really good about today," Clinton said Tuesday morning at Henderson Elementary School in Houston's East End. "We think we're gonna do really well here in Texas and in Ohio."
The former First Lady has been helped by a stunningly unlucky news cycle for Obama. For starters, his friend and fund-raiser, the indicted Chicago Democratic power broker Antoin (Tony) Rezko, began his federal fraud trial on Monday. While the Rezko probe and criminal proceedings are several years old, the timing of the trial's start is beyond inopportune for the Illinois senator. On a conference call Tuesday morning, Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson pointed out that an Obama staffer sat in on the Rezko trial Monday taking notes, which he called "rather curious," noting that the "Obama campaign was concerned enough they had a staff member dispatched to court."
Then there's the broadening flap over allegations that Obama's chief economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, told Canadian officials to disregard Obama's protectionist trade message as pure campaign rhetoric. A Canadian government memo obtained by the Associated Press says that Canadian officials believed Goolsbee told them that Obama's promises to revamp trade policy were "more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans." Obama's campaign has said that the Canadian officials misconstrued Goolsbee's comments.
But the story has given Clinton ammunition to fire at Obama, who has criticized Clinton's previous support of NAFTA, a treaty unpopular in Ohio's factory towns. Wolfson laced into Obama for what he has taken to calling "NAFTA-gate" and demanded that his campaign make Goolsbee available to answer questions.
It's hard to miss that Clinton's advisers smell blood in the water, even as they protect their own legacies by selectively leaking reputation-enhancing tidbits to reporters lest their candidate fail miserably on Tuesday. "Polls show an extremely active and competitive race in both Ohio and Texas," Clinton's chief strategist Mark Penn told reporters on a conference call Monday. "We feel there are some very good reasons here why we'll be successful in the two states." But over the weekend Penn issued a none-too-subtle statement to the Los Angeles Times minimizing his role in the campaign-which some observers took as a sign of dissent within the Clinton camp. Penn later told reporters his comments to the L.A. Times had been taken out of context.
Penn and Wolfson also trumpeted the success of Clinton's criticism that Obama is too inexperienced to effectively protect the country from terror and other outside threats. Clinton just launched a new ad in Texas highlighting Obama's failure to "hold even one hearing" on Afghanistan while serving as chairman of a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee that has oversight of NATO and its anti-Al Qaeda operations. The ad promises, "Hillary Clinton will never be too busy to defend our national security" and notes that Obama was "too busy running for president" to do his job.
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Member Comments
Posted By: Perplexedin CA @ 03/10/2008 10:58:11 AM
Comment: In reply to Interested! In theory, I like your response. In fact I do feel the same way about our roads and air quality. I have in fact filed my taxes, and yes, I do agree that the infrastructure could and should be better managed to keep costs down. My point really was that everyone should be responsible for their own, and NO ONE should have to pay for others. If everyone was held accountable for their decisions, (ie: if you "decide" to have three kids and a Lincoln Navigator YOU are the one who is responsible for paying for them), then our collective tax burden to "power" the infrastructure you refer to would be less. As long as we allow people to sponge off the system we will never lessen the costs. Lest I be accused of being too conservative let me say that I do NOT condone cutting people off of welfare, and benefits if they are ACTUALLY qualified for it. No, just because you aren't working, and decided not to continue your education and have 4 kids does NOT qualify you. Again, we come back to accountability. Those things were decisions YOU made, so now you live with the consequences.
Posted By: Cliff n WA @ 03/05/2008 11:52:29 PM
Comment: I want to take a break from the referendum on gender, race and white guilt, but it is like what they say about train wrecks; horrible yet irresistible to watch. In my wildest thoughts I did not think we would be analyzing (later in 2009) the role hate politics, reverse racism and white guilt had in electing a President.
So now Barak???s middle name is off limits? What are Republicans going to do without the time honored strategy of saying an opponents??? name with derision? When they sneer the label ???liberal,??? and they will, is that going to be racist too? White Democrat guilt made experience and qualifications off limits for awhile. I think things will change come November, but not like Barak hopes.
Posted By: Cliff n WA @ 03/05/2008 4:10:55 PM
Comment: Evil laughter nation wide as we here news of a Florida election.
Even from me as I race to copy-past old material
In all fairness the DNP should step up and admit signals were given before the nomination process even began that Florida and Michigan delegates would be seated no matter who won the state.. Especially Florida since it was republicans in control of moving their primary up and breaking the rules. The party can ill afford to have Florida feel alienated in the general election. Instead they let Clinton take the heat.
No one thought then these delegates could determine the nomination and I do not think they will or should now. But to bash Sen. Clinton for trying to do what is best for the party while giving Obama a pass for trying to change the super delegate rules put in place long ago is the height of hypocrisy!
Super delegates were put in place when the party decided to make the nomination so open to outside influences. To offset potential sabotage. They were created for exactly the situation we now face, when a movement threatens to co-opt the political party and/or voters are swayed toward someone who may not be best for the party or country.
We are seeing the price to be paid for opening up the nomination to the general public. What is next; a general election for the democratic nominee, then another in November? Let Republicans choose the Democrat opponent?
In all likelihood this will be decided on popular vote, I only hope Florida's count does not have an impact. God help us if (shades of 2000) the overall popular vote is thwarted because of a technicality involving (not counting) Florida!
I blame the Democrat National Party for this fiasco and for not having the courage to defend their position(s). They should not fear being called bigoted if they are seen as questioning Barak???s qualifications; it is their job (and voters), and the role of super delegates. Truth hurts? Grow up!