Clinton: How to use Bill…
Posted: Monday, April 21, 2008 9:06 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Salon's Walter Shapiro has a great piece about how the Clinton campaign uses Bill Clinton. "Ever since Bill Clinton's red-faced off-the-cuff comments in South Carolina and his refusal to let his wife abandon the state even in the face of an impending rout, the former president has turned into something of a stealth surrogate, often less visible to the national press than his daughter, Chelsea. In Pennsylvania, in particular, Clinton has been exiled to places like Moon Township, Connelsville and Somerset, part of his Friday can-you-find-it-on-the-map itinerary. But there is far more of a coherent strategy here than simply enrolling Clinton in the Witness Protection Program. ‘You have to remember that Pennsylvania really only has six media markets – and you can't keep sending people to the same places every other day,’ said Nick Clemons, who is running Pennsylvania for the Clinton campaign. ‘So we're sending Bill Clinton to the kind of places which have never seen a president or a former president before. And it is making a difference.’”
Bill Clinton again criticized Obama's TV ads yesterday, borrowing a familiar line in saying his wife's rival is throwing "the kitchen sink" at her, NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli reports. "It's been a crazy campaign, and it started off in Pennsylvania with Hillary being typically outspent 5-to-1," he said on the front porch of a supporter in the northeast corner of the state. "Now there is a truly hilarious ad coming up saying that she's gonna force people even who can't afford it to buy health care. I don't know if you've seen it but it is a total hoot." Clinton said the argument is a familiar one that has already been "roundly discredited." "They used to be so ashamed of that argument that they only sent it out in the mail," he said.
But he said voters could still give her "a big victory," even "after all the blizzard of money and all these ads and the kitchen sink's been thrown at her."
"I doubt if there is any man who’s ever run for president who can put up with the kind of heat she has and keep going," he said. But with a big win, Clinton said, "You will be shocked what the world looks like Wednesday morning."
The Daily News’ analysis on whether or not Clinton will get out of the Democratic race. “Hillary Clinton quit? You'd have a better chance getting Bill Clinton to shut up.”
“A top expert on China has resigned as an informal adviser to Hillary Clinton's campaign, citing ‘grossly misguided accusations’ the candidate has made about China. Richard Baum, a political science professor at the Center for Chinese Studies at UCLA, said in an e-mail to Politico.com, ‘As a life-long Democrat, it saddens me that Senator Clinton has chosen to take the low road in her effort to gain our party's presidential nomination.’”
