Moving the goal posts?
Posted: Friday, December 14, 2007 11:10 AM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC’s Andy Merten
Are the Clintons highlighting Hillary’s challenges in Iowa in order to brace against the possibility of a second- or even third-place finish there? Today in Johnston, Iowa, at a rare press conference, in which the candidate took questions, Clinton spoke about some of the difficulties she has had in the Hawkeye state.
“I always knew it would be hard,” she said. “There’s no surprise about that. I don’t live in a neighboring state; I haven’t been here for years.” Obama is the senator from neighboring Illinois. Edwards has been a steady presence, campaigning in Iowa since his 2004 run.
She also went on to say her experience in Iowa is lacking, due to her husband’s decision to never campaign there, while going up against Tom Harkin in 1991 and 1992. Compare this with the former president’s remarks in New Jersey earlier this week.
“Of all the states in the country, Iowa’s the most challenging one for her to start,” Bill Clinton told an audience at a campaign event in New Brunswick, N.J., Wednesday night. He went on to draw the same comparison to her two chief opponents, saying, “Senator Edwards has worked hard there for seven years; he did very well there four years ago,” and continuing, “Senator Obama is from a neighboring state, has had television exposure there for three years, and there are thousands of Illinois students who go to school there, and they may caucus for the first time.”
