Oh-eight (D): A Nader sighting
Posted: Thursday, June 21, 2007 9:10 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Democrats
CLINTON:
No national reporter may know the Clintons better than the
AP's Ron Fournier, and that's why his "Slick Hillary" lead today has to hurt the folks in Rosslyn. Fournier notes that her answers this week in front of AFSCME, where she ducked answering many questions were reminiscent of her husband, "Slick Willy." "Former President Clinton earned the nickname ‘Slick Willy’ for his mastery in the political arts of ducking and dodging. He had a knack for convincing people on both sides of an issue that he agreed with them. His wife may not be as smooth, but Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is doing a passable impression of the ever-parsing former president."
The Washington Post's Lois Romano profiles the women who run Hillaryland. "Once seen as a tight little sorority, today the group -- happily self-described as ‘Hillaryland’-- is at the center of a front-running presidential campaign. Never have so many women operated at such a high level in one campaign, working with a discipline and a loyalty and a legendary secrecy rarely seen at this level of American politics. Older and tougher, they have formed a closely knit Praetorian Guard around Clinton that plots strategy, develops message and clamps down on leaks. But their extraordinary protectiveness also contributes to an ongoing perception of insularity around the candidate and the campaign."
Another Washington Post piece also observes that she wasn’t booed as much at the “Take Back America” confab as she was a year ago. "Whatever her motives, Clinton's moves on the war have improved her political prospects in Iowa and New Hampshire. As she has emphatically called for troops to be withdrawn, a stance Edwards had adopted earlier, he has had to make more subtle points to show the distinctions between their records. And on a recent trip to Iowa, only one voter asked Clinton about her position on the war. Of course, resistance to her remains."
Clinton is not being untouched by the Bloomberg boomlet, obviously. Check out Ed Koch's sudden endorsement caveat. "Then there are those like Mr. Koch, a Democrat, who noted that his endorsements tended to come with a short half-life. ‘My position is that I’m being very careful,’ he said. ‘My endorsement of Hillary, who I like, is for her in the Democratic primary. My options are open in the presidential campaign.’”
And check out Ralph Nader’s comment of Clinton, per the Politico: “‘She is a political coward,’ Nader said. ‘She goes around pandering to powerful interest groups on the one hand and flattering general audiences on the other. She doesn't even have the minimal political fortitude of her husband.’” The article adds that Nader is mulling an ’08 bid “because he foresees another Tweedledum-Tweedledee election that offers little real choice to voters.”
EDWARDS:
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In his speech today at Cooper Union in New York, Edwards will unveil his plan to reduce the rising debt that affects middle-class and working families, the campaign tells First Read. Edwards will also talk about his familiar “Two Americas,” but will also discuss his vision for “One America.”Per excerpts, Edwards will say: “There are still Two Americas. One America that lives by the paycheck calendar; another that never has to look at the calendar before writing a check. One America that’s afraid it won’t be able to leave its children a better life; another whose children are already set for life… I have learned something in the last four years, though. It’s not enough to talk about the Two Americas. We also need to talk about what we need to do to build One America – and to do that, I believe we have to build One American Economy. We should start with the Wild West of the credit industry, where some abusive and predatory lenders are robbing families blind. It’s time for a new sheriff in town.”
OBAMA:
The campaign is touting a speech Obama is giving on Friday on government reform in New Hampshire. The setting and issue seem a bit familiar. Clinton gave her government reform speech in New Hampshire as well. Perhaps tied to his speech on Friday? The
Chicago Tribune notes that "Obama, one of several senators running for president, will become the first White House hopeful to detail his earmark requests when his office posts his 113-item list online Thursday."
A soon-to-be-released biography of Obama, written by a Tribune reporter, details the candidate as “a far more calculating politician than his most ardent supporters might imagine.”
