Clinton's taking responsibility
Posted: Friday, January 04, 2008 2:07 PM by firstread
From NBC’s Andy Merten
In her first major press conference since a third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses last night, Hillary Clinton said that she takes responsibility for not fully tapping into the power of the youth vote in the Hawkeye state, and reiterated past statements about her difficulties there.
“I did very, very well with people over 45,” she told a slew of reporters at the Gala Diner in Manchester. “I didn’t do as well with people under 30, and I take responsibility for that. So I’m going to, in the next five days, do as much as I can to talk about my record in creating opportunities for young people.”
And when questioned about her spiral from presumptive frontrunner to third-place finisher, Clinton rebuked the notion. “I was never a frontrunner of any significance in Iowa; I knew it was always going to be hard for me,” she said, citing Edwards’ near-constant presence in the state since 2004 and Obama’s proximity in Illinois – excuses that she and her husband used in the weeks leading up to the caucuses.
“This is a new day, a new state,” she went on, saying that the New Hampshire primary process does not leave voters “disenfranchised,” in the same way Iowa’s late-night caucusing process does.
