More oh-eight (D): Young feminists split
Posted: Friday, January 11, 2008 9:09 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Democrats
The Washington Post looks at the dilemma young feminists are facing in deciding between Clinton and Obama.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011003941.html
CLINTON: The Wall Street Journal looks at Clinton's attempts to woo Latinos in her bid to win Nevada and some key Feb. 5 states. "Feb. 5 is the firewall, and the Latino vote in California is the most important part of the firewall," says Sergio Bendixen, a political consultant from Miami who heads Mrs. Clinton's Latino strategy. "If she can win California, no matter what happens the race is on."
NBC’s Christina Jamison says that after Clinton canvassed a neighborhood in Las Vegas yesterday, the campaign set up an impromptu media avail in front of a residential garage. The light faded fast and it was dark by the time Clinton was in front of the cameras. When asked about the comments she made in New Hampshire that the caucuses disenfranchise people, Clinton said she'd never thought about it before. "I had never focused on it before to be honest because I've only been in elections," she said. "So when I realized that you had a limited period of time on one day to have your voices heard, that is troubling to me. You know, and in the situation of a caucus, people who work during that time, they're disenfranchised. People who can't be in the state or who are in the military like the son of the woman who was here who was serving in the air force, they cannot be present. And I have never really thought about it before. Because if people feel like there's no reason for them to participate or they can't, then that's the same thing."
"It's a challenge. Elections are challenging, I think caucuses are doubly challenging." (Note: Nevada, where was campaigning, holds its contest next week exactly like Iowa does.)
Clinton also commented on John Kerry's endorsement of Barack Obama, saying she's proud of the endorsements she has. "I have a lot of regard for him. And that's his decision to make. I'm very proud to have the support that I have… And the people who endorse me really roll up their sleeves and work for me. That's what I have seen and I'm very grateful for that."
Apparently, the Clinton campaign will not air any negative TV ads against Obama. "Unions and political groups are likely to be the first to unveil hard-hitting spots in Nevada and South Carolina, if anyone chooses to do so. The first serious negative TV foray on the Democratic side in Iowa and New Hampshire came from a union," AFSCME.
Hillary's not-namesake, Edmund Hillary, passed away yesterday. You'll recall this from a year ago in the New York Times: "For more than a decade, one piece of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s informal biography has been that she was named for Sir Edmund Hillary, the conqueror of Mount Everest. The story was even recounted in Bill Clinton’s autobiography. But yesterday, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign said she was not named for Sir Edmund after all.”
“‘It was a sweet family story her mother shared to inspire greatness in her daughter, to great results I might add,’ said Jennifer Hanley, a spokeswoman for the campaign. In May 1953, Sir Edmund and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, became the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest. In 1995, shortly after meeting Sir Edmund, Mrs. Clinton said that her mother, Dorothy Rodham, had long told her she was named for the famous mountaineer. ‘It had two l’s, which is how she thought she was supposed to spell Hillary,’ Mrs. Clinton said at the time, after meeting Sir Edmund. “So when I was born, she called me Hillary, and she always told me it’s because of Sir Edmund Hillary.’”
EDWARDS: In South Carolina yesterday, Edwards reiterated that he still believes his former running mate, John Kerry, is a good man even after he endorsed Obama, NBC/NJ’s Tricia Miller reports. "I don't know of any big thing we don't agree on," Edwards told reporters after helping volunteers at a food bank. "I have great respect for Sen. Kerry. These are decisions individuals have to make for themselves. And my view of him, my very high opinion of him, hasn't changed."
Edwards' staff confirmed that he never sought Kerry's endorsement and didn't expect to get it. The former North Carolina senator spoke to reporters at the Lowcountry Food Bank, where he helped about 100 volunteers from his One Corps campaign sort food. Spokeswoman Teresa Wells said this Charleston chapter of One Corps is the largest of the 27 chapters in South Carolina and members help at this food bank once a week. She said One Corps serves as a way to get Edwards supporters and undecided voters involved with the campaign while volunteering in their communities. Asked whether his appearance at the food bank or Kerry's appearance with Obama was more important, Edwards said he was dealing not with politics but with "real life" in Charleston.
OBAMA: Lots of folks tried to read Kerry's mind about the Obama endorsement. The L.A. Times: "And he is said to still be smarting over criticism from Clinton over a campaign gaffe during last year's congressional elections. In a speech in California, Kerry told a group of college students that they could either work hard in school or ‘get stuck in Iraq.’ Amid a firestorm of criticism – ‘inappropriate,’ said Clinton -- Kerry apologized for his ‘botched joke,’ meant to target President Bush, not U.S. troops."
The New York Times: "As the Democratic presidential race moves into a nationwide primary fight, the timing of Mr. Kerry’s endorsement was intended to send a message by Mr. Obama’s campaign that some Democratic leaders are coalescing around his candidacy, despite a loss in New Hampshire to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton." More: “South Carolina was selected by Mr. Obama’s campaign as the site for the endorsement, aides said, to bolster his effort to win the state’s primary on Jan. 26. It was designed to send the explicit message to voters here that Mr. Obama is a stronger candidate than Mr. Edwards, who was born in the state.”
The Boston Globe: “Kerry bolsters Obama's fund-raising clout.”
The Columbia State on the Kerry endorsement: “A crowd of about 4,000 people stood elbow to elbow, packed in the courtyard of the College of Charleston as they waited an hour and a half for Obama to arrive. The courtyard was where some scenes in the Mel Gibson film “The Patriot” were shot.”
The Obama campaign is using the loss in New Hampshire as a way to send a wake-up call to its supporters. "Let's put more urgency in the minds of our supporters," Hildebrand told the Chicago Sun-Times' Sweet.
The Nation's Melber looks at Obama's youth following and wonders if it's a not-so-secret weapon on Feb. 5.http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080128/melber
Has Hollywood made the country ready for a black president thanks to positive portrayals by Morgan Freeman and the show "24"?
