Oh-eight (D): Move over, Oprah
Posted: Thursday, July 12, 2007 9:16 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Democrats
CLINTON:
Des Moines Register's Beaumont delves into Clinton's Iraq stance, and it's exactly how the campaign wants nervous anti-war activists to view things. "Clinton's speech in Des Moines this week about the future of Iraq was an attempt to convince influential Iowa Democrats that she is best suited to lead on this defining issue, rather than an effort to placate anti-war activists in the leadoff caucus state. Top campaign aides to the New York senator say they chose Iowa to lay out her plan to withdraw U.S. troops and stabilize the region in part because she trails in the race for the caucuses, with six months to go."
Being on the anti-Iraq side is clearly necessary in Iowa, Beaumont adds: "Senior campaign aides say Clinton's vote to authorize the Iraq war does not appear to figure significantly in primary voters' opinions, although they insist internal polling shows Clinton's support increases when voters associate her with her plan to get out of Iraq."
So is Clinton getting a free pass on her evolved position on the war or is this shift been done subtlely enough that she's escaped criticism? One of us explored the issue yesterday. Surprisingly, Clinton's opponents have NOT done a good job of trying to push back on Clinton on this issue. Of course, her opponents would argue that it's not their job but the media's. You be the judge.
Salon's Scherer examines the gender issue in the contest between Clinton and Obama, and it determines that Clinton is running the more "muscular" or "macho" campaign. Writes Scherer: "On the stump, Clinton repeatedly tells people that they should let her take control of the country, eschewing Obama's more abstract calls for national soul-searching… They are fighting for undecided female voters who are attracted by Obama's feminine appeal, but still drawn to the macho performance of the only woman to ever have a real shot at the Oval Office. May the best woman win." This is one of the more fascinating psychoanalysis pieces on the campaign so far.
The New York Sun: “Senator Obama is joining John Edwards in calling for hedge funds and private equity firms that go public to pay higher taxes, increasing the pressure on Senator Clinton to take a stand on an industry facing mounting scrutiny in Congress.”
EDWARDS:
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The campaign sends out numerous releases every day on issues of the day (perhaps more than any other campaign). But this one caught our eye because of whom the release was from. It was not from the candidate for some reason. On the reports of "Al Qaeda rebuilding its operating capability," Edwards deputy manager Jonathan Prince issued a statement, not Edwards himself. From Prince: “Today's report that Al Qaeda has rebuilt its operating capability to a level unseen since just before 9/11 is an unsettling reminder of the failures of President's Bush's ‘War on Terror’ doctrine. Months ago, John Edwards stepped up as the only major candidate to call the ‘War on Terror’ doctrine what it is -- a sledgehammer that the Administration uses to beat down their domestic political opponents, a bumper sticker to distract from a host of policies that have compromised our moral leadership of the world, and a military doctrine that has badly backfired against terrorism -- as today's report reveals."
Shouldn't this statement been in the candidate's name? The release is not yet on their web site, by the way.
After watching virtual townhall forums with the Democratic candidates, MoveOn members have voted Edwards the greenest of the presidential hopefuls. “Mr. Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee, outlined his plan to ‘fight global warming and create a new energy economy’ and was the preferred candidate of 33 percent of the more than 100,000 voters.”
OBAMA:
In one of his flash reports,
Nevada political analyst Jon Ralston reports, "In a futile effort to keep up with Hillary Clinton in this department, I hear the Obama campaign is about to announce its Nevada endorsements. On the list is sure to be state Sen. Steven Horsford, but my guess is there are some surprises on the list, including a female lawmaker or two who might have seemed a natural for Hillary." Obama hasn't been as active in Nevada as other Democrats have been so far. Taking some cues from Oprah, Obama has
launched his own series of
book clubs in a dozen New Hampshire towns and online. As part of a campaign effort to familiarize people with Obama, the clubs’ first assigned reading is Obama’s memoir “Dreams from My Father."
RICHARDSON: Richardson spent yesterday at the Field of Dreams in Iowa. Per NBC's Lauren Appelbaum, he said he made a "mistake" when he accidentally hit a photographer while batting. "So there's going to be a story tomorrow -- ‘Richardson hits a photographer,’” he said. "But, I'm a pull hitter. He should have gotten out of the way." All in all, however, Richardson was happy because he had the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream.
Per the Des Moines Register, Richardson “got a laugh after he assured the crowd the photographer was OK.”
