Clinton Appeal Together for Dem Unity
The Associated Press
Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton sought Friday to turn the page on their bitter, history-making fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, declaring the next chapter is about beating Republican John McCain. (June 27)
Clinton Looks Forward After Pa. Victory
(CBS/AP) Exuding fresh confidence after her double-digit Pennsylvania primary win, Hillary Rodham Clinton turned her attention Wednesday to contests in Indiana and North Carolina and pressed her case that she can still win the Democratic presidential nomination despite the odds against her.
"We worked so hard in Pennsylvania against some pretty tough odds, and to have a 10 percent win under the circumstances was just an amazing experience for me and for all of the people who worked so hard to make that happen," Clinton told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Wednesday morning.
In a round of morning television interviews, Clinton argued that her feisty act of political survival, defeating Barack Obama in Pennsylvania, confirms her contention that she would be the stronger challenger against Republican John McCain because she has shown she can win in big, swing states.
"At the end of the day, people have to decide who they think would be not only the best president, which is the most important question, but who would be the better candidate against Senator McCain. And I think the coalition that I've put together, as demonstrated once again last night, is a very strong base for us to beat Senator McCain," Clinton told NBC's "Today."
The New York senator also said she wants to schedule new debates before the May 6 contests in North Carolina, where the flush-with-money Obama is favored; and Indiana, where the two are close.
With nearly all of the votes counted, the former first lady led Obama 55 percent to 45 percent. CBS News estimates that Clinton won 82 delegates in the Keystone State while Obama won 73, with 3 delegates still unallocated. Obama now has an overall lead of 130 delegates.
Clinton said told Harry Smith that the campaign had raised $3 million on the internet since her victory was declared last night.
"Some counted me out and said to drop out," the former first lady told supporters cheering her triumph in a state where she was outspent by more than two-to-one. "But the American people don't quit. And they deserve a president who doesn't quit, either."
Her victory, while comfortable, set up another critical test in two weeks time in Indiana. North Carolina votes the same day, and Obama already is the clear favorite in a Southern state with a large black population.
"Now it's up to you Indiana," Obama said at a rally of his own in Evansville after Pennsylvania denied him a victory that might have made the nomination his. (Watch Obama video)
Obama criticized John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting, by name, saying he offers more of the same policies advocated by President Bush. He took aim at Clinton without mentioning her by name. "We can calculate and poll-test our positions and tell everyone exactly what they want to hear," he said. "Or we can be the party that doesn't just focus on how to win, but why we should."
Clinton scored her victory by winning the votes of blue-collar workers, women and white men in an election where the economy was the dominant concern.
She won despite being outspent heavily by her rival in a six-week campaign that allowed time for intense courtship of the voters.
"Hillary Clinton did what she needed to do in order to continue her campaign into North Carolina and Indiana two weeks from now, perhaps through the end of the primary process in June and potentially all the way to the Democratic convention in August," said CBSNews.com senior political editor Vaughn Ververs. "She almost certainly muted any calls for her to exit the race." (Click here to read Ververs' complete analysis).
The win gave Clinton a strong record in the big states as she attempts to persuade convention superdelegates to look past Obama's delegate advantage and his lead in the popular vote in picking a nominee. She had previously won primaries in Texas, California, Ohio and her home state of New York, while Obama won his home state of Illinois.
At the same time, even some of her aides conceded she is facing another likely must-win state in Indiana in two weeks time, particularly with Obama favored to carry North Carolina on the same day.
CBS News exit polls show that most Pennsylvania Democrats made up their minds a long time ago, while only 24 percent decided within the last week.
But voters who made late decisions broke to Clinton, with those deciding in the last week supporting the New York senator 58 percent to 42 percent. (See all exit poll data.)
New Democratic voters, who either switched from another party or registered as a Democrat for the first time, strongly backed Obama at a rate of 62 percent to 38 percent.
Women made up 59 percent of Pennsylvania Democratic voters, and they voted for Clinton over Obama 57 percent to 43 percent. Obama won a majority of men (53 percent).
Clinton won the support of 62 percent of white voters, while Obama was the overwhelming choice of black voters (92 percent). Clinton won the crucial demographic of white men, garnering 56 percent of their vote.
Clinton Keeps Spotlight On Disputed Votes
(AP) Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton Saturday strengthened her pitch to allow disputed primaries in Michigan and Florida to be counted in the nominating contest, noting the vote totals had been officially recognized in each state.
"Some say their votes should be ignored and the popular vote in Michigan and Florida should be discounted. Well, I have a different view," Clinton said at a rally here. "The popular vote in Florida and Michigan has already been counted. It was determined by election results, it was certified by election officials in each state, it's been officially tallied by the secretary of state in each state, and the question is whether those 2.3 million Democrats will be honored and their delegates seated by the Democratic Party."
Both the Michigan and Florida primaries were essentially nullified after they were moved into January in violation of national Democratic party rules. The party voted to strip both states of their delegates and all the candidates, including Clinton and rival Barack Obama, signed a pledge not to campaign in either state.
Obama and several other Democratic candidates also removed their names from the Michigan primary ballot.
Both states saw record turnout in their primaries and the former first lady won both contests. Her campaign has pressed hard for the results to be recognized, even as the Obama campaign has argued Clinton is trying to circumvent rules she agreed to long ago.
Clinton's latest comments came a day after Michigan Democrats announced there would be no do-over of that state's Jan. 15 primary, vastly dimming the New York senator's chances of catching Obama in the popular vote and in pledged delegates. Democrats in Florida had already announced there would be no revote there.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has been conferring with party leaders in both states, hoping to find a way to seat their delegations. The Obama campaign has proposed a 50-50 split of both states' delegations, an option Clinton advisers have resisted.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton dismissed Clinton's latest call to recognize Florida and Michigan's results.
"Senator Clinton herself said these contests 'didn't count for anything.' But now that it serves her own political self-interest, she's trying to change the rules and count the results of contests where she and every other candidate pledged not to campaign," Burton said. "In Michigan, Senator Obama wasn't even on the ballot. Our focus should now be on seating the Michigan and Florida delegations in a fair manner."
It was Clinton's first campaign visit to Oregon, whose primary is May 20. The state holds a largely vote-by-mail primary with ballots mailed starting April 28.
At a rally in Eugene, Clinton tangled with an Obama supporter who asked whether she feared her criticisms of the Illinois senator would damage his chances if he became the party's nominee.
"I obviously see it differently," Clinton replied. "For those who are new to politics, you can take very personally anything anybody says. I have to tell you that there have even been some things said about me. I don't take any of it personally, or most of it seriously. That's what happens in politics."
Also Saturday, Clinton campaign officials acknowledged that an anecdote Clinton has made a staple of her stump speech in recent weeks may not have been true and wasn't thoroughly checked for accuracy before she began repeating it on the campaign trail.
Since competing in Ohio's March 4 primary, Clinton has shared the story of an Ohio woman who worked in a pizza parlor and died after giving birth to a stillborn child. The woman was uninsured, Clinton said, and twice denied medical care at a local hospital because she couldn't pay a $100 fee.
Clinton said she learned of the story from a deputy sheriff whose home she visited while campaigning in Ohio. She told the story as recently as late Friday, at a rally in Grand Forks, N.D.
Officials with O'Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio, have disputed the story, saying the woman, Trina Bachtel, was insured and did receive care through an obstetric practice affiliated with the hospital, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Hospital officials did not immediately return phone calls Saturday from The Associated Press.
Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee acknowledged that the campaign had tried but hadn't been able to "fully vet" the story before she began repeating it on the campaign trail.
"She tells the story as it was told to her by the deputy sheriff. She had no reason to doubt his word," Elleithee said. "If the hospital claims it didn't happen that way, we certainly respect that and she won't repeat the story. She never mentions the hospital by name and isn't trying to cast blame."
Clinton Touts Plan To Stop Foreclosures
(AP) Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed several remedies to the nation's home mortgage problems Monday, including one tool more often associated with Republicans than Democrats.
The New York senator proposed greater protections for lenders from possible lawsuits by investors, a variation of so-called tort reform. For years, GOP leaders have called for restrictions on what they consider unwarranted lawsuits against businesses. Democrats have often resisted them on grounds they limit injured parties' legitimate rights to redress.
"Many mortgage companies are reluctant to help families restructure their mortgages because they're afraid of being sued by the investment banks, the private equity firms and others who actually own the mortgage papers," Clinton said in what she billed as a major address on the economy at the University of Pennsylvania.
"This is the case even though writing down the value of a mortgage is often more profitable than foreclosing," she said. Clinton said she would offer legislation "to provide mortgage companies with protection against the threat of such lawsuits," but provided no further details.
She also called on President Bush to appoint "an emergency working group on foreclosures" to recommend new ways to confront housing finance troubles. She said the panel should be led by financial experts such as Robert Rubin, who was treasury secretary in her husband's administration, and former Federal Reserve chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker.
Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are campaigning heavily in Pennsylvania, which holds its presidential primary April 22 to allocate 158 delegates, the largest single prize left in the campaign season. There were 34,000 foreclosure notices issued in Pennsylvania last year, Clinton's campaign said.
Clinton said she supports pending legislation to establish an auction system for hundreds of thousands mortgages in default. Under the plan, drafted by Democratic lawmakers, lenders "could sell mortgages in bulk to banks and other buyers," Clinton said, who in turn would "restructure them to make them affordable for families, because they know the government will guarantee them once they're reworked."
The Federal Housing Administration, she said, "should also stand ready to be a temporary buyer to purchase, restructure, and resell underwater mortgages" if the auction plan falls short.
Clinton said a recently enacted $168 billion stimulus package "did next to nothing to help homeowners and communities struggling with foreclosure."
"If the Fed can extend $30 billion to help Bear Stearns address their financial crisis," she said, "the federal government should provide at least that much emergency help to families and communities address theirs."
Clinton's remarks built on her earlier proposals on the housing issue. Last week she called for a new stimulus package to include $30 billion to help state and local governments buy foreclosed properties, restructure mortgages, and undertake "anti-blight programs." She proposed another $10 billion for state housing agencies to refinance "unworkable mortgages."
Clinton also has called for a five-year freeze on interest rates for all subprime mortgages, which often go to borrowers with poor credit ratings.
Obama was not campaigning Monday because he is spending some down time in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Obama was keeping such a low profile that his campaign would not say where he is staying, and local officials were also mum. An official at Government House in the capital, Charlotte Amalie, would only confirm that Obama was in St. Thomas, the most populated island.
His campaign manager, David Plouffe, played down Obama's chances of winning Pennsylvania.
In a phone call with reporters, Plouffe called Clinton "the prohibitive favorite" in the state, and said Obama would try to do "as well as we can there."
Clinton Supports Michigan Revote Proposal
(AP) Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton Saturday said she supported a plan being developed by Michigan Democrats to hold a new primary in June.
"It needs to get resolved and hopefully Michigan by the end of this week will have done that," Clinton told reporters on her campaign plane between stops in Pennsylvania. "I think they are moving in an appropriate direction to have a revote."
Under the plan being finalized by several Democratic members of Congress and other party leaders in Michigan, the state would hold a new primary in early June - most likely on June 3 - that would allow its delegates to be seated at the party's national convention this summer in Denver. The state Legislature is expected to take up the matter next week.
The Democratic National Committee punished Michigan and Florida for moving up their primaries before Feb. 5, stripping them of all their delegates. The two states have been struggling to come up with alternative plans, but Michigan appears closer to resolving the matter.
Clinton won the Michigan primary on Jan. 15 and has said she would like those results to stand. But Obama removed his name from the ballot after the DNC stripped the state of delegates for moving up its primary and did not campaign there.
Clinton also won Florida's primary on Jan. 29, where both candidates names were on the ballot but neither campaigned in the state at the request of the DNC.
"I feel really strongly about it," Clinton said. "The 2.5 million people (in Michigan and Florida) who voted deserve to be counted. If it were my preference, we'd count their votes but if not, then they should have the opportunity to have a full-fledged primary waged for them and revote."
Obama currently leads Clinton among overall delegates, 1603 to 1497, and his campaign has been openly skeptical of Clinton's eagerness to seat the delegations from the two disputed states. Spokesman Tommy Vietor Saturday said the campaign was open to a "fair and practical" resolution of the conflict.
"Hillary Clinton said in October the Michigan primary would not 'count for anything.' Now she is trying to change the rules and claim the votes of the primary she said didn't count should be counted," Vietor said. "We will evaluate the details of any new proposed election carefully as well as any efforts to come to a fair seating of the delegates from Michigan."
Also Saturday, the former first lady said her primary wins in big states like Ohio showed she would be a stronger candidate in the general election against Republican John McCain. Clinton has won just 17 contests compared to 29 for Obama, but her campaign has said many of the states Obama won would not be competitive for Democrats in November.
"I don't think anyone doubts that a Democrat has to have a number of the big states anchored in order to put together the electoral votes needed to win," Clinton said. "I think it is significant that I won Ohio, that I won Florida, I've won the big states that serve as anchors on the electoral map. And I also think it's significant because those states represents a much broader cross section of the voters we're going to need to win in the fall."
Clinton refused to comment on new information about Obama's relationship with Antoin Rezko, a former political patron on trial for felony fraud charges. In interviews with two Chicago newspapers published Saturday, the Illinois senator disclosed he had accepted $250,000 in campaign donations from Rezko - about $100,000 more than had previously been disclosed.
But on a conference call with reporters, Clinton senior strategist Mark Penn said the new information pointed to a "troubling pattern" of obfuscation.
"We're finding out on Rezko, much of what he said turns out to be just words as we learn more and more information," Penn said.
Obama "has talked about the politics of hope, but he has throughout this campaign launched a series of personal attacks on Senator Clinton, calling her disingenuous," Penn said. "We think now the real question before us is to Senator Obama, is, 'Will you make full disclosure of all this information related to the Rezko matter? Will you put to rest all these troubling questions?"'
Angry Clinton Rips Obama Over Mailings
(AP) Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that a pair of mailings sent to voters by rival Barack Obama's campaign criticizing her health care plan and trade views are false, misleading and a betrayal of his pledge to practice a new style of politics.
"Shame on you, Barack Obama. It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public - that's what I expect from you," Clinton said angrily, waving the mailings in the air.
"Meet me in Ohio, and let's have a debate about your tactics," she added.
The two presidential candidates will meet in a televised debate in Cleveland Tuesday.
Clinton spoke to reporters after an early morning rally at Cincinnati Technical College, one of several events she has held across Ohio this week. After losing eleven straight contests to Obama since Super Tuesday, the former first lady is banking on a strong showing in primaries in Ohio and Texas on March 4 to save her fading candidacy.
With so much on the line and the clock ticking, Clinton ripped into Obama much more directly and forcefully than she has in the past.
She compared Obama to President Bush during the rally, suggesting the country had already taken a gamble on an inexperienced candidate who promised change.
"People talk a lot about change. We have lived through some of the worst change that anyone could imagine the last seven years," she said to loud applause. "People thought we were getting a compassionate conservative, didn't they? It turned out he was neither. We have lived with the consequences of those mistakes."
But the New York senator saved her toughest words for Obama's mailings, saying she refused to see the campaign "polluted" by such tactics.
"Enough about the speeches, and the big rallies, and then using tactics right out of (former Bush political adviser) Karl Rove's playbook. This is wrong and every Democrat should be outraged," Clinton said.
Clinton's advisers have repeatedly criticized the Obama campaign's health care mailing, which says her plan for universal coverage would "force" everyone to purchase insurance even if they can't afford it. Her plan requires everyone to be covered, but it offers tax credits and other subsidies to make insurance more affordable.
Obama's plan does not include the so-called "individual mandate" for adults, and he has argued that people cannot be required to buy coverage if they can't afford it. He has said his first priority is bringing down costs.
The Illinois senator's plan does include a mandate requiring parents to buy health insurance to cover children.
The second mailing, on the North American Free Trade Agreement, quotes a 2006 Newsday article suggesting Clinton believed the agreement had been a "boon" to the economy. NAFTA and other trade agreements are extremely unpopular in Ohio, which has suffered an exodus of blue-collar jobs to other countries in part due to such agreements.
It's a particularly sensitive matter for Clinton, whose husband championed and pushed for passage of the agreement as president. She is counting on the support of white, working class voters in the state.
"I am fighting to change NAFTA," she insisted. "Neither of us were in the Senate when NAFTA passed. Neither voted one way or the other."
Clinton said Newsday had corrected the record about her views on the agreement. Indeed, the paper published a blog item earlier this month saying Obama's use of the word "boon" was unfair.
"Obama's use of the citation in this way does strike us as misleading. The quote marks make it look as if Hillary said "boon," not us. It's an example of the kind of slim reeds campaigns use to try to win an office."
Earlier, Newsday published an item saying the word "boon" had been their "characterization of how we best understood her position on NAFTA, based on a review of past stories and her public statements."
As evidence of their concern about the issue, the Clinton campaign released two new ads in Ohio, including one featuring John Glenn - a former astronaut and U.S. senator from Ohio for 24 years - saying Clinton would fix trade agreements like NAFTA.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the campaign stood by the accuracy of the mailings.
"We look forward to having a debate this Tuesday on the facts, and the facts are that Senator Clinton was a supporter of NAFTA and the China permanent trade treaties until this campaign began," he said. "And she herself has said that under the Clinton health care plan, she would consider 'going after the wages' of Americans."
Clinton also pushed back on questions about how her campaign had burned through nearly $130 million, only to be vastly outspent by Obama on ads and organization in several key states.
She also denied having overspent on campaign consultants. Financial reports published this week showed she had paid $7.5 million to the consulting firm of her senior strategist Mark Penn for polling and direct mail services. Clinton's top media adviser, Mandy Grunwald, was paid more than $2 million to produce ads.
"Our money goes to directly communicating with voters. That's where the money goes," Clinton said.
She added that she felt good about her prospects in Ohio and Texas but refused to say whether she needed to win both states to stay in the race.
"Let's let the people of Ohio vote. Let's actually have an election and then we can look at the results," she said.
Ohio Gov.: Clinton Is More Electable
(CBS)
CBSNews.com: Governor, you must be disappointed with the fact that Senator Clinton has suffered through ten straight losses since February the 5th.
Ted Strickland: Well, of course, I would have preferred she had won those ten races. But I am pleased that the delegate count is fairly close. And I look forward to her potential wins in Texas, Ohio, and then Pennsylvania. And I think that will make her well-positioned to go the distance.
CBSNews.com: But she was the overwhelming favorite at the beginning of this race. She had so many assets at her disposal--and stratospheric poll numbers. What do you think went wrong?
Ted Strickland: Well, first of all, I think Barack Obama is a superb candidate. And he has had all the resources he could possibly need to compete. But I also think that Hillary Clinton never expected to walk away with the nomination without a fight.
And if you look at the states that she's won-- New York, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Arizona, and I think that's going to include Ohio and Pennsylvania and hopefully Texas--I think she has won the states that are going to be critical for a Democrat to win in November in order to win the presidency.
Barack Obama has won some states that we probably don't have a realistic chance of winning in November under the best of circumstances. So it's a competitive race. I'm not willing to dance on her political grave. I think she has a very good chance of coming back and taking the lead and eventually winning the nomination.
CBSNews.com: But the problem with the argument that he's won a bunch of states the Democrats don't need is Wisconsin. That's a critical state that has voted for Democrats in every election for twenty years. And their demographics are very similar to Ohio's. So how do you explain her losing Wisconsin?
Ted Strickland: Well, I think Obama had the support of some of the political insiders there in Wisconsin, which I assume was helpful to him, including the support of Governor Jim Doyle. But, listen, Ohio in my judgment is unique among the states in its diversity. And it is more like America, I believe, than nearly any other state.
And so we'll just see what Ohio does. I think if the election were held today, Senator Clinton would win convincingly. But there are a couple of weeks to go and the people will eventually make the decision. And, of course, we will accept that decision. But I believe being only about 65 to 68 delegates behind at this time, it's so premature to assume that this contest is over.
As I said, if she comes back and wins Texas and Ohio and Pennsylvania, then she will have demonstrated that in the states that are essential to us winning in November that she is the stronger candidate.
CBSNews.com: What does she have to do now to win your state?
Ted Strickland: Well, Bill Clinton carried Ohio twice. Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have spent a lot of time in Ohio.
When I was in Congress from rural Ohio, Hillary Clinton was in my congressional district at least five times herself campaigning for her husband and, at times, campaigning for me. And so I think Hillary Clinton understands the importance of campaigning throughout Ohio and that all parts of Ohio are essential to her win.
I also think she's got to do well in the debates. And the last and final debate will take place in in Cleveland, Ohio, next Tuesday night.
And I believe she does well in debates. But I think the debate in Ohio will be so widely watched that it could, in fact, be the determining factor in who carries Ohio. And Senator Clinton's message--economic growth, dealing with the mortgage foreclosure crisis, providing health care to all people, leaving no one out, her tactful approach to ending the Iraq war and withdrawing our troops in a safe manner--I think those are messages that the common sense folks in Ohio will embrace and will be attracted to.
Clinton Wins New Mexico Democratic Caucus
(CBS/AP) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton finally won the popular vote in New Mexico's Democratic caucus and picked up one extra delegate Thursday, nine days after Super Tuesday voting ended, CBS News reports.
State Democratic Chairman Brian Colon made the announcement after a marathon hand count of 17,000 provisional ballots that had to be given to voters on Feb. 5 because of long lines and a shortage of ballots. The final statewide count gave her a 1,709-vote edge over rival Sen. Barack Obama, 73,105 or 48.8 percent of the total vote to 71,396 or 47.6 percent.
The former first lady's victory in the popular vote swung the final unallocated New Mexico delegate into her column, which gave Clinton 14 delegates in the state to 12 for Obama.
The national delegate count stood at 1,281 for Obama and 1,198 for Clinton on Thursday, according to CBS News.
"I am so proud to have earned the support of New Mexicans from across the state," Clinton said in a written statement. "New Mexicans want real solutions to our nation's challenges. As president, I will continue to stand up for New Mexico and will hit the ground running on day one to bring about real change."
The Obama campaign appeared to accept the outcome.
Obama's state director, Carlos Monje Jr., was asked Thursday if he was confident the results were 100 percent accurate and replied, "We have confidence in the process." Asked if Obama might seek a recount, he said Obama has momentum from eight wins since Super Tuesday and "we are going to look forward at the contests we have remaining."
Monje said there were some "troubling aspects" in the conduct of the caucus, including "incredibly long lines that kept people from voting," but he saw their solution in the future. "We're going to continue to work with the New Mexico Democratic state party to make sure the next election goes more smoothly."
Of the 22 states that held Democratic primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday, New Mexico was the last to report a winner. The caucus here was run by the state Democratic party rather than by state government.
Colon, who came under fire for his handling of the troubled election, thanked the hundreds of volunteers who counted the ballots. The final figures "have been double and triple checked," he said in a televised announcement.
New Mexico Democrats call their contest a caucus, but it's not like Iowa's caucuses where voters gather in gyms, churches or meeting rooms, divide into groups for each candidate, try to attract more support from other groups, and then count each group. Rather it more closely resembles a "firehall primary" - a primary with shorter voting hours and fewer voting sites than would be found in traditional state primaries.
It was a mess: Overwhelmed polling places with long lines, some up to three hours. Too few ballots. Confusion over where to vote. Bad weather in the north. In Rio Rancho, one of the state's largest cities, a single polling location where 1,900 people remain lined up at 7 p.m on election night.
Colon has apologized repeatedly: "We absolutely miscalculated and I apologize. It's a tragedy when folks are not afforded the opportunity to vote."
The firestorm of criticism included some from Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, a former presidential hopeful who said he was "deeply disturbed" by the problems. Partly because he was a candidate himself until mid-January, Richardson himself never got involved in helping plan or promote the caucus, as he did in 2004, the first year New Mexico tried it.
On Super Tuesday, Clinton and Obama vied for 26 of New Mexico's 38 delegates to this summer's Democratic National Convention. Twelve so-called superdelegates are not bound by caucus results.
New Mexico awards Democratic delegates proportionally, based on statewide vote totals and on the results in individual congressional districts.
In two of the state's three congressional districts, Clinton and Obama equally split an even number of delegates at stake. In District 2, which had an uneven number of delegates, Clinton won the additional one by outpolling Obama by 55 percent to 41 percent, according to unofficial results.
Nine statewide delegates were at stake. Obama and Clinton evenly split the eight delegates already awarded. The final one was assigned to the statewide popular vote winner.
Clinton Campaign Focused On Women In N.H.
To the pollsters and pundits, even the campaigns themselves, Hillary Rodham Clinton's victory Tuesday was a shocker -- "probably the most surprising political event that any of us can remember in a long time," said Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), a backer of Clinton rival Barack Obama -- and the result of a sudden, unexplained outpouring of female voters.
But New Hampshire proved to be a sleight of hand. While Obama was drawing huge crowds at exultant campaign rallies, an aggressive and old-fashioned ground game, focused almost singularly on ensuring that the gender gap Clinton had lost in Iowa was put in motion by her campaign and its allied women's groups.
In the four days between the two elections, her campaign and its allies were knocking on doors, working dozens of phone banks and aggressively hitting Obama with new attack lines -- implying in direct-mail fliers, for example, that the staunchly pro-abortion-rights Obama was less than committed to that issue and hinting that he favors raising taxes on the middle class.
Despite the polls favoring the senator from Illinois, it worked.
"Everyone's talking about the polls, but I was almost not believing the polls," said Mindy Kacavas, a stay-at-home mom in Manchester and an obliging but accidental participant in Clinton's New Hampshire blitz.
Just before Christmas, Kacavas was contacted by a political photographer friend of hers, asking if she'd pose for some pictures to help Clinton. The photo shoot was largely forgotten until a few days ago, when a flier arrived at her home from a political organization Kacavas had never heard of, with a photo of her emblazoned on the cover and a quote she never uttered: "When I think about Hillary Clinton, I think intelligent, decisive, and a true understanding of the problems facing America."
"I couldn't have said it better," she said yesterday with a laugh.
The mailing came from Women Vote, one of the largest organizations dedicated to electing Democratic women. The independent political arm of Emily's List had spent $500,000 in Iowa, educating women on the caucus process, trying to bring out a record female turnout, only to see its efforts swamped by Obama's appeal to young voters and independents.
In New Hampshire, the group went back to basics with a $200,000, lower-tech effort. It divided women into two camps: one with a history of voting in the primaries, another with newly minted registrations. Fliers went into the mail not with the fresh, smiling faces that were used in the Iowa campaign but with Granite State women, in Christmas sweaters, down parkas and sensible jackets, their faces set in earnest, speaking to their own kind. And Women Vote began calling 54,000 New Hampshire women in what Maren Hesla, the group's director, called "peer to peer" communication.
The approach seemed to touch a chord among pragmatic female voters stung by rising education, energy and health-care costs, anxious about signs of an economic downturn and looking for solutions. Among the New Hampshire women who said their families were falling behind financially, Clinton was preferred over Obama, 47 percent to 31 percent, according to network exit polls. Women who said their families were getting ahead favored Clinton 46 percent to 42 percent. Women who were very worried about the nation's economy favored Clinton 45 percent to 34 percent.
"I'm not convinced we fully know" why the New Hampshire polls were all wrong, and Obama lost the race, senior Obama adviser Steve Hildebrand said. But, he conceded, the campaign's turnout model did not anticipate that women would make up 57 percent of voters in the Democratic primary.
The refusal of so many New Hampshire voters, particularly women, to be swept up in the excitement surrounding Obama's victorious arrival in New Hampshire should not have entirely been a surprise, because there were some traces of the same resistance at his big rally in Manchester with Oprah Winfrey a few weeks earlier. The rally -- the Obama campaign's main targeted appeal to women in the state -- drew more than 8,000 people on a snowy school night, and most of them roared with applause for both Oprah and Obama. But afterward, several of those attending said they had been left cool by the whole production.
White House Hopefuls Brace For First Test
(CBS/AP) Presidential hopefuls urged their partisans to brave the cold and rally fellow Iowans to the caucuses Thursday, a massive test of organization that held the key to victory in the first contests of the 2008 election season. Capturing the urgency - and biting chill - in the air, Sen. Barack Obama implored his people, "Walk quick, talk fast."
Iowans, courted for months by candidates barnstorming their towns, swamping their airwaves and, in the later rounds, bickering with each other, finally give shape to the presidential race in a caucus ritual rooted in a centuries-old tradition of political activism.
Whether they would bring clarity to the national contest as it pivots to New Hampshire only five days later and then on to remaining states was just one more unknown in a campaign unpredictable at every turn.
"The two things that are clear to everyone here is that it's cold and it's close," said former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent, an adviser to Mitt Romney. Romney vastly outspent his GOP rivals, only to see his longtime lead in Iowa polls slip away.
The former Massachusetts governor goes into the caucuses fighting for a win against Mike Huckabee, a man who stood at 2 percent in the polls in Iowa less than six months ago and was a blip elsewhere too until his campaign took off.
Then there is John McCain, who was all but written off several months ago. A brand new poll now has him nationally in the front.
"I think it just has to do with the whole Republican field," says Bob Schieffer, anchor and moderator for CBS News' Face The Nation. "You've got the social conservatives who had their candidate. You've got the economic conservatives. You've got the national security conservatives. None of them in really any of those groups really liked the candidate of the other group."
"I think the longer he's around, the more McCain seems to have a broad appeal to all of these Republicans," says Schieffer.
Polls indicate an improbably tight three-way race for the Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama and John Edwards all knotted together - a nail-biter reflected in swollen crowds at Democratic venues and expectations of a hectic caucus night.
Caucuses begin at 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. EST - and with that evening curtain-raiser, most candidates filled their Thursday calendar with still more speeches and events.
But while the talk goes on past one more sundown, the time for listening was fast drawing to a close. The persuasive power of rhetoric was suddenly yielding in importance to the availability of baby sitters to help people get to the caucuses.
Campaigns were ready with snow shovels if needed, and used the phone and Facebook online to encourage voters. Romney said his campaign made 12,000 calls on Sunday alone.
Obama, an Illinois senator, recommended longjohns as he sent people door to door. Clinton, in her historic run to become the first female president, served bagels, fruit and coffee to Des Moines volunteers and said of the single-digit temperatures, "I know if you're here from Iowa to help me, this is like, nothing."
Surveys suggested a quarter of likely caucus-goers were still undecided in the final days.
Candidate Quiz Test your knowledge of the 2008 presidential contenders.
Clinton and Huckabee appeared on late-night talk shows, a chance to start looking beyond Iowa and endear themselves with a national audience just as the campaign starts to move across the country.
But their different responses to the siren call of Hollywood illustrated the polish of the Democrat's campaign and the occasional muddle of Huckabee's, recurring more often in recent weeks.
Clinton, feet firmly planted in Iowa, spoke by tape with David Letterman, whose New York-based show settled with striking writers. Huckabee flew to Burbank, Calif., to sit with Jay Leno in the final, crucial hours of the Iowa campaign and was unaware when he made the commitment that he'd have to cross a picket line. The former Arkansas governor said he supported the strikers; they called him a scab.
Obama, an at-times stirring orator and the most viable black presidential candidate in history, drew large crowds, yet acknowledged that won't put him over the top unless he can motivate his supporters to come to the caucus meetings.
He's proven especially popular among young people, who are notably less apt to vote.
Altogether, 120,000 to 150,000 people were expected to come to the Democratic caucuses and 80,000 to 90,000 to the GOP meetings. Caucuses are held in each of the state's nearly 1,800 precincts and draw anywhere from a few people each in rural areas to hundreds in suburbia.
Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee hoped to rescue his faltering candidacy with a third place finish against an ascendant Sen. John McCain of Arizona, with long shot Rep. Ron Paul and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani also in the mix. McCain made a quick return to Iowa on Wednesday after largely bypassing the caucuses to make his stand in New Hampshire.
Giuliani, who has seen his national lead in polls wither, is pinning his hopes on the flood of contests after New Hampshire if he can't get traction in the Granite State, where Romney and McCain are going to head to head.
Edwards, who finished second in Iowa in 2004 on his way to a spot on the national Democratic ticket, mounted a 36-hour marathon capped Wednesday night at a rally with rocker John Mellencamp. The grueling schedule turned Edwards' voice hoarse.
At every stop, the former North Carolina senator tried to turn what some Americans see as a drawback - his lucrative career as a trial lawyer - into an asset.
Bill Clinton Sells Hillary's Experience
Former president Bill Clinton yesterday delivered in stark terms a version of his wife's central campaign message: that her experience in Washington better prepares her to "deal with the unexpected."
Addressing more than 100 supporters at a VFW hall here Saturday, Clinton used the strongest language he has so far in the campaign to describe the threats facing the nation, making an oblique reference to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and saying that the "most important thing of all" in selecting a nominee is the question of who could best manage unforeseen catastrophes.
"You have to have a leader who is strong and commanding and convincing enough . . . to deal with the unexpected," he said. "There is a better than 50 percent chance that sometime in the first year or 18 months of the next presidency, something will happen that is not being discussed in this campaign. President Bush never talked about Osama bin Laden and didn't foresee Hurricane Katrina. And if you're not ready for that, then everything else you do can be undermined. You need a president that you trust to deal with something that we will not discuss in this campaign. . . . And I think, on this score, she's the best of all."
After trying out various themes and rationales for her campaign, Hillary Clinton has settled in the final week before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary on the experience plank, arguing that she is the only one of the front-running Democratic candidates prepared to lead from the first day in office, a claim her rivals have challenged by questioning the value of her tenure as first lady. Clinton advisers noted privately this week that the experience argument was bolstered by the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the threat of wider unrest in that country. Clinton pressed the point during a stop in Eldridge, Iowa, telling reporters: "I'm not asking you to take me on faith. I'm not asking you to take a leap of faith."
But the campaign has apparently decided that the person best able to make this case in the bluntest terms is the former president. "Who better to explain what it takes to be president than the last two-term president the Democrats have had since FDR?" said Mark Penn, chief strategist for the Clinton campaign.
Bill Clinton has been edging closer in recent weeks to arguing that the country would be taking a chance if voters nominated someone with less experience in Washington, a dig at her main rivals, former senator John Edwards of North Carolina and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. Speaking in Plymouth, N.H., last week, he said that his wife would be best suited to handle the challenges of terrorism, climate change and income inequality. He hinted that if these challenges were not met, the world, or at least American democracy, might be in peril in the coming decades.
"How we meet those challenges will determine whether our grandchildren will even be here 50 years from now at a meeting like this listening to the next generation's presidential candidates," Clinton said in Plymouth. He did not elaborate on what he meant by the prospect of the audience members' grandchildren not being there in 50 years.
His comments Saturday were incorporated directly into his standard stump speech and not ad-libbed. In past weeks, he has argued that there are three reasons to nominate his wife: her vision, her plans and her record. In Nashua, he said there was a fourth reason: her ability to deal with unseen threats.
It is a type of election argument most often adopted by incumbent candidates. In President Bush's 2004 reelection campaign, Vice President Cheney invoked a particularly bold form of it, warning of the consequences of a John Kerry election for the nation's security against terrorism: "If we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again -- that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States."
The Edwards campaign warned recently that the Clinton campaign would try to play on voters' national security fears in the closing days before voting in Iowa and New Hampshire. "We know that Senator Clinton will spend the week touting her national security credentials in a move that echoes George Bush's 2004 campaign," said a memo written by Jonathan Prince, deputy campaign manager for Edwards. "We believe Democrats will not be fooled by efforts to play on their fears."
Hillary Clinton caused a slight stir on the trail several months ago when she argued at a house party in New Hampshire that she would be better prepared to respond to Republican tactics if there were a terrorist attack sometime during the general election campaign.
"It's a horrible prospect to ask yourself, 'What if? What if?' "Clinton told voters in Concord. "But, if certain things happen between now and the election, particularly with respect to terrorism, that will automatically give the Republicans an advantage again, no matter how badly they have mishandled it, no matter how much more dangerous they have made the world." She added that she would be the best Democratic candidate "to deal with that."
The Campaign To Humanize Hillary
Following last week's Democratic debate in Iowa, The Fix had the unique opportunity to sit in on focus groups conducted by The Washington Post.
During the Democratic session, led by The Post's Dan Balz and David Broder, the group of 11 undecided voters was asked for their impressions about the debate and their general thoughts about the field of candidates.
As always when a group of Democrats are gathered, the conversation was dominated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and revealed the problems and potential Clinton has in Iowa and beyond.
Asked to say whatever first came to mind when Clinton's name was mentioned, the group offered a fascinating panoply of descriptions. "Can't be trusted," said one. "I just got a glimpse that she's got an evil side to her," said another. A third offered a backhanded compliment of sorts: "Very good at saying what she thinks we want to hear."
Others were more positive in their remarks -- if not effusive. "Work ethic," said one; "I think she's really focused," said another.
The comments signal a larger theme when it comes to voters' views in Iowa and nationally about Clinton. She is widely respected but not widely liked. Time and again in last week's focus group, the voters said they had few doubts about Clinton's ability to do the job of president; they also expressed a frustration with the essential unknowability of Clinton as a person.
That paradox is born out in scads of polling data: Democrats believe in huge margins that Clinton is the candidate best able to win back the White House in 2008. The surveys simultaneously show the New York senator scoring far less well on more personality driven questions.
In The Post's most recent Iowa poll, in which Clinton trailed Barack Obama (30 percent to 26 percent), 39 percent of the sample said that Clinton had the best chance of getting elected president, compared with 25 percent who chose Obama and 22 percent who backed John Edwards. Asked which candidate had the "best experience" to be president, Clinton led with 38 percent, followed by Edwards at 16 percent and Obama at 11 percent.
But when voters were asked which candidate "best understands the problems of people like you," the results were reversed; Obama led with 30 percent, while Edwards was second with 25 percent and Clinton took third at 20 percent. Similarly, when asked which candidate is the "most honest and trustworthy," Obama led with 31 percent, followed by Edwards at 20 percent and Clinton at just 15 percent.
Jason Marcel, a focus group participant from Des Moines, summed up the Clinton paradox nicely. "I don't know if it's just her speaking style or what it does to certain people, but she's kind of polarizing," he said. "I mean, I admire her work ethic. I think, you know ... she would work very hard."
Given the current head ("I think she would do a good job") versus heart ("I just don't like her") split in Iowa, it's not at all surprising that the Clinton campaign seems to be bent on closing the campaign with a message focused on "Hillary the person" rather than "Hillary the politician."
It started with two ads that began running in Iowa last week featuring Clinton's mother, Dorothy, and the former first daughter, Chelsea.
In the first, footage is shown of the three generations of Clinton women -- taken from a recent campaign stop. The candidate says: "As I travel around I see so many families who share the same values I was brought up with. ...I'm proud to live by those values. But what I am most proud of is knowing who I've passed them onto."
The second ad features Dorothy Rodham extolling her daughter's lack of envy and her empathy. "She has empathy for other people's unfortunate circumstances. I've always admired that because it isn't always true of people," Rodham adds. "I think she ought to be elected even if she weren't my daughter."
The images in both ads are all soft corners and heart-warming. Nary a word of policy is mentioned in either.
Even as those ads were hitting the air, former president Bill Clinton sent out a fundraising e-mail touting his wife as "the best combination of heart and mind, of leadership ability and feel for the problems of other people I've ever known." She can be both head AND heart, according to her husband.
That e-mail was followed today with the unveiling of thehillaryiknow.com, which, according to a release from the campaign, "features video testimonials from regular Americans, longtime friends, and well-known leaders whose lives have all been changed by Hillary." Several people whose video testimonials appear on the site were traveling with Clinton Monday in Iowa for a series of what were widely described as emotional events.
Even the new ad that Clinton's campaign put up in Iowa Monday morning -- touting the Des Moines Register endorsement -- had a softer side to it. While the words of the endorsement are read by a narrator, Clinton is shown working at a desk in glasses, a look she almost never sports on the campaign trail. ("She has bad eyesight -- just like us!" the ad seems to be declaring.)
Because of Clinton's unique position in American politics (universally known and respected but not well liked by most), she is running what amounts to the reverse of a traditional campaign.
In a traditional campaign, a candidate spends the first part of the race familiarizing voters with his or her biography -- a tactic designed to get voters to identify with them before the nitty-gritty of the race truly begins. As a vote nears, the candidate (and his/her ad campaign) turns the focus to more detailed policy discussions.
Compare that to Clinton's campaign. Due to the fact that most voters already knew her, there was little introduction needed -- despite the campaign's claim that Clinton was the "most famous person no one really knows." The campaign, and Clinton herself, focused on her competency and her experience -- that she alone in the Democratic field was up to the job of being president.
Judging from The Post's Iowa focus groups, as well as piles of polling data, it worked. Voters seemed receptive to the idea that Clinton was capable and responsible; it played to the notion of her that many held from her days as first lady.
That task accomplished, the campaign is now attempting to tackle the much harder task of convincing voters in these last week's that Clinton is actually someone they could love -- or at least like enough to vote for.
Clinton will never be the "heart" candidate in this primary. But judging by tactics employed over the last week, her campaign clearly believes that a pure "head" appeal won't be enough for her to win the nomination. Interestingly, Obama and Edwards have the exact opposite challenge. They have voters' hearts but still face doubts about whether they can win.
With just 16 days before Iowa, can Clinton convince enough voters that she, too, is a real person who understands their problems?
Bill: Hillary Should Have Run First
(AP) Campaigning for his wife, former President Clinton says that when they were starting out he was so struck by her intellect and ability he once suggested she should just dump him and jump into her own political career.
That didn't happen, of course, and on Monday he gave an Iowa crowd his version of why it didn't.
"I thought it would be wrong for me to rob her of the chance to be what I thought she should be," said Clinton. "She laughed and said, 'First I love you and, second, I'm not going to run for anything, I'm too hardheaded.'"
Hillary Rodham Clinton is running now, and husband Bill was stumping for her in the 2008 campaign's leadoff caucus state - two days after rival Democrat Barack Obama got a full weekend's worth of attention by bringing in talk show queen Oprah Winfrey to campaign for him.
The former president opened a two-day swing through Iowa on behalf of his wife, packing nearly 500 people into a theater on the campus of Iowa State University.
"She has spent a lifetime as a change agent when she had the option to do other things," he said.
"I thought she was the most gifted person of our generation," said Clinton, who said he told her, "You know, you really should dump me and go back home to Chicago or go to New York and take one of those offers you've got and run for office."
Now that she's a New York senator and in a tight Democratic contest - with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards - the former president said he wanted to persuade voters that she has "the best combination of mind and heart."
He offered a self-deprecating view of the couple's early life in Arkansas.
"When she came down there and we got married, I was a defeated candidate for Congress with a $26,000 salary and a $42,000 campaign debt," said Clinton. "If she were half as calculating as someone said, that's a really great way to run for president."
In his latest Iowa swing, Clinton is bringing heavy attention to his wife, who is competing in the precinct caucuses that will launch the presidential nominating season on Jan. 3.
"It's one thing to have good intentions; it is another thing entirely to change people's lives," Clinton said. "She's the best non-incumbent I have ever had a chance to vote for. In my whole life I've never met anyone like her."
While Clinton remains very popular among Democrats, his image is mixed in the wider population. An Associated Press-Yahoo poll last month showed that 54 percent of those questioned had a very or somewhat favorable view of the former president, while 43 percent had a very or somewhat unfavorable view.
"He did an excellent job as president and we need some changes," said 82-year-old Morris Mericle, who attended Monday's event and said he wanted to see a former president he had voted for. Still, Mericle was keeping his options open for next year.
"I have an open mind," he said. "I have not decided, I'll wait and listen to the debates."
Maureen Ogle said she also wanted to keep her options open and was eager to sees a president about whom she has decidedly mixed views.
"I'm never going to forgive him for the way he humiliated his wife and daughter, but I would vote for him in a heartbeat,' said Ogle. "He is one of two or three of the most powerful people in the world."
Clinton was more than an hour late opening his swing in Ames, with campaign staffers alternately blaming the weather and airplane problems. Still, virtually everyone who showed up stuck around to hear a speech that was shorter than the wait.
"I'm out of politics now except every two years the Democrats kind of haul me out of the barn like an old horse to see if I can make it around the track one more time," he said.
Clinton said he would understand if people assume he has a prejudice in the 2008 race. "I always tell people when I speak that you're entitled to discount what I have to say," he said. "I want to say a few things that are very personal."
Later in the day, Clinton repeated his pitch to a spillover crowd of more than 400 at a YMCA gym in Newton, where he joked about his campaign schedule.
"They always send me to rural areas," said Clinton. "I've got boots that have been worn and I know one end of a horse from the other."
He rejected suggestions that touting his record as president amounted to trying to turn the clock back, as Obama has suggested.
"People say we shouldn't refight the battles of the '90s and I agree with that," said Clinton. "I'd sure like to have some of the victories of the '90s."
Hillary's Campaign Is A Family Affair
(AP) Three generations of Clinton women hit the trail vowing "change across the generations" as Hillary Rodham Clinton stepped up her pitch to the women voters who could hold the key to Iowa's caucuses, which will launch the presidential nominating season in less than four weeks.
"We're getting close to the caucuses," said Clinton. "I always think it's better to go to the caucuses with a buddy. Today, I've got some buddies with me."
Those "buddies" included 88-year-old mother Dorothy Rodham and 27-year-old daughter Chelsea Clinton, making her first appearance with her mother on the trail in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Opening the swing, Clinton noted that her family is able to care for her mother as she ages.
"I'm fortunate, my mother lives with Bill and me," said Clinton. "Lots of times she has more energy than we do."
Clinton noted that her mother fits the description of women who were born before women got the right to vote, and are now pushing to elect the first woman president.
"She has seen a lot happen and change in our country," said Clinton. "Not everyone is as lucky to have their mother or father or grandparent with them as we are."
Clinton's mother joined her on the campaign trail Friday night, and Chelsea, who works in New York City's financial sector, joined her Saturday morning. Neither spoke at the campaign events, but Chelsea worked a crowd hard as they opened the day.
Clinton used the occasion to trot out a plan to bolster long-term care, including a $3,000 tax credit for caregivers, a doubling of the standard deduction for the elderly and a tax credit for purchasing long-term care insurance. She repeatedly pointed to her ability to care for her own mother as she ages.
"I don't think having my mother with me is a burden, I think it's a joy," said Clinton. "It isn't easy to do and a lot of families don't have a lot of options."
The multigenerational appeal was aimed straight at women voters.
"I'm a proud working daughter," said Clinton. "My family is able to make the decisions we think are right for us and that's what I want for every American family."
Issues of long-term care and building families will be a focus of her presidency, Clinton said.
Clinton is locked in a tight battle with rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards in the race for Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses, a competition where the stakes are very high. Although the Iowa race is close, Clinton has commanding leads in early voting states like New Hampshire and South Carolina, and some strategists argue that a win in competitive Iowa could propel her toward the nomination.
Racing across the state on a frigid day that threatened snow, the Clinton women went to an elementary school in Williamsburg where Clinton displayed a list prepared by schoolchildren about what the next president should do.
"What does the next president do to help children," Clinton read from the list. "She - I like that, she - could put Band-Aids on children that are hurt."
After ticking off items like "teach us left from right," Clinton concluded the youngsters were on the right track.
"I thought that was a pretty good list," said Clinton. She cast herself as a candidate tested by fire, drawing an implicit difference with Obama, who she calls inexperienced.
"I will wage a winning campaign. The Republicans are not going to walk away from the White House without a fight," said Clinton. "One thing you know about me is they've been after me for 15 years and I'm still here."
While Obama was seeking the spotlight Saturday by bringing in talk show maven Oprah Winfrey, Clinton was fast making her campaign a family business. While her mother and daughter joined her in Iowa, her former president husband campaigned for her in another early voting state, South Carolina, and was headed back to the Iowa on Monday for a swing focused on college campuses.
By focusing on women and long-term care, Clinton was targeting two crucial groups in the state's electorate - women and seniors. More than 60 percent of caucus-goers in the last election cycle were over 50, and the state has one of highest populations in the nation over 85.
That group will be the target of her long-term care plan. Nationally, the over-85 population is expected to grow from 5 million to 21 million by 2050, according to documents provided by the Clinton campaign.
Clinton said the image of her campaign Saturday underscored her multigenerational pitch.
"The reason I am happy they are both here is I'm running for president to make the kind of change that America needs, changes people need no matter what age they are," said Clinton. "We need change across the generations.
Why Black Women Prefer Clinton To Obama
(CBS) One of the intriguing stories of Campaign '08 is the popularity of Hillary Clinton with black women who might be expected to support Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the first African-American to emerge as a serious contender for a major party presidential nomination.
A series of CBS News polls show the New York senator has a 15-point lead over Obama among black women. Other polls have confirmed Clinton's popularity with African-American women.
Overwhelmingly, the most frequently stated reasons women give for favoring Hillary Clinton are that they have positive feelings about her husband and his administration and they think she's got the best shot of any of the Democrats to win against the Republicans.
"Most Black women simply believe Clinton can win," said former Gore campaign manager and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile. "They loved her husband Bill and would like to see 'a woman elected first'"
Obama hopes to find the antidote to Clinton's less-than-secret weapon - husband Bill - with a boost from talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey, who is campaigning for Obama in three early primary states: Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
But beating back Bill won't be easy.
As much as African Americans may instinctively roll their eyes in exasperation when they hear Bill Clinton referred to as the "first black president", it is undeniable he made an emotional connection with black America in a way that no other president has.
Sheryl McCarthy is a columnist for USA Today and Newsday who often explores issues of politics and race. "Black people have always felt with Bill Clinton that he is sort of one of them, "that he cares about them, that he can relate to them," she said.
"And after he left the White House", McCarthy observed, "he put his office in Harlem. So black people have a real connection with Bill Clinton and may think there's sort of a continuum with Hillary Clinton or similar sensibility with Hillary."
Mark Sawyer is director of UCLA's Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics. He pointed out Hillary also enjoys a halo effect from the fact that black Americans felt more confident economically during the 1990's.
"Relative to other years, other presidencies, African Americans did very well under the Clinton administration, though there's substantial evidence that they perceive themselves to be doing a lot better than they actually were," he said.
Hillary Clinton's White House years also gave her a forum from which she was able to raise her own visibility. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook is an influential African American Baptist pastor who served as a member of Bill Clinton's Domestic Policy Council and is now active in Hillary's presidential campaign.
"I got to know her as the first lady," Johnson Cook said, "and I got to see her work with health reform. She took on some issues, which was very courageous and the first time a first lady really dealt with policy."
That time in the White House also put Clinton in the public eye as the long-suffering wife of a man with a roving eye.
"It took a lot to hold up under that," Johnson Cook said. "I don't know how many women could have done that, but she did, so I give her three thumbs up."
Success begets success, and the simple fact that Hillary Clinton is the leader of the Democratic pack in most national polls carries a lot of weight in the minds of black women.
"She looks like she has a much stronger chance of getting the nomination and getting elected than Obama. You want to go with the winner, and if that's a woman as opposed to someone black, then you want to go with them," said Newsday columnist McCarthy.
The Rev. Johnson Cook points out that the kinds of issues Hillary has tackled in her political service also make her especially attractive to black women.
"Many of us are mothers and wives and family women, however you qualify us, and we know the track record of Senator Clinton with children, particularly poor children, and city children. When we look at someone who has a track record of voting that way and representing us and fighting for us and advocating, then she wins on the experience and the track record, hands down, no question, undeniably," she said.
Clinton Office Hostage Standoff Ends
(CBS/AP) A distraught man wearing what appeared to be a bomb walked into a Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign office Friday and demanded to speak to the candidate during a hostage drama that dragged on for nearly six hours before he peacefully surrendered.
Shortly after releasing the last of at least four hostages unharmed, 47-year-old Leeland Eisenberg walked out of the storefront office.
Eisenberg came out with his hands up, fell to his knees, and removed something that was strapped to his stomach, CBS station WBZ's Paul Burton reports.
Eisenberg was immediately surrounded by SWAT team with guns drawn. Clad in gray slacks, white dress shirt and a red tie, he was put on the ground and handcuffed.
CBS station WBZ Radio's Lana Jones learned that Eisenberg's stepson reported to police that his stepfather had been drinking for two days. The son said Eisenberg had strapped two road flares to his chest and told his son Friday morning that he was going to the Clinton campaign office. He reportedly told his stepson "to watch the news."
Clinton was in the Washington area the whole time, but the confrontation brought her campaign to a standstill just five weeks before the New Hampshire primary, one of the first tests of the presidential campaign season. She canceled all appearances, as did her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and the security around her was increased as a precaution.
Everything stopped, and it had to because we had nothing on our minds except the safety of these young people who work for me, Clinton told reporters shortly after the standoff ended. She said she was relieved to have this situation end so peacefully,and that she was headed to New Hampshire to thank law enforcement officials.
It was just after 1 p.m. when Eisenberg walked into the storefront office, opened his coat and revealed what appeared to be an explosive device, reports Burton. He allowed a woman carrying a baby to leave but then ordered a small number of other to the floor. About two hours later police tossed a phone into the office.
Seconds before he surrendered, shortly after 6 p.m., the last hostage walked from the office. The hostage then ran down the street toward the police roadblocks surrounding Clinton's office.
Not long after the surrender, police maneuvered a robot to the hostage-taker's package and triggered an explosion to destroy it.
Witness Lettie Tzizik told television station WMUR of Manchester that she spoke to the woman who was released first and that she was crying, holding the infant.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Endorses Hillary
Hillary's campaign today announced the endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
"Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to bring the war in Iraq to an end and reverse the potentially devastating effects of global warming," Kennedy said. "I watched proudly as Hillary won over New Yorkers across the state in her race for the Senate seat my father once held. Since then, she's been reelected in a landslide victory and proven that she is ready to lead this nation from her first day in office. Hillary will inspire the real change America needs."
"Bobby has worked tirelessly to protect our environment and raise awareness about the dangers of global warming and pollution," Hillary said. "I'm deeply honored to have his support and counsel."
Kennedy serves as Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and President of Waterkeeper Alliance. He is also a Clinical Professor and Supervising Attorney at Pace University School of Law's Environmental Litigation Clinic and is co-host of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio. Earlier in his career he served as Assistant District Attorney in New York City.
In recognition of his environmental efforts, Time Magazine named him one of its "Heroes for the Planet" for his success leading the fight to restore the Hudson River.
Confident Clinton Takes Aim At Attackers
(CBS) With the Iowa caucus just over a month away, CBS News anchor Katie Couric sat down for an exclusive interview with Democratic frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton.
She’s the woman on everyone’s mind right now. But polls in Iowa are showing the race could shape up to be very close. Couric asked Clinton if she’s lowering her expectations as the primary approaches.
“I never raised them, you know when I got into race at the beginning of the year. I wasn't even in double-digits. I was so far behind in Iowa, it was embarrassing,” Clinton said.
Her campaign instead is “encouraged” she said, because “we're making progress - but I take nothing for granted, this is going to be a tight race.”
"I think everybody should just take a deep breath and say 'let's just go to the finish line,' which will be probably be midnight West Coast time on Feb. 5," she said.
Couric asked Clinton: “Many of Barack Obama’s supporters were urging him to be more aggressive and to fight back a little more when it came to your candidacy. It seems as if in recent days you've returned the favor; you've taken off the gloves a bit. And some people are interpreting that as your campaign being pretty nervous...”
“That's not the case at all. Campaigns have rhythm. And we're now down to end. We're going to have a mad dash to Iowa caucuses, turn around and have a mad dash to New Hampshire and then keep going,” she said.
Has the Clinton campaign gotten more aggressive?
“It's time. I have absorbed a lot of attacks for several months now - my opponents have basically had a free rein,” she said. "After you've been attacked as often as I have from several of my opponents, you can't just absorb it, you have to respond.
"But a lot of the attacks have been quite persistent, shall we say," she said. "Hardly a day goes by when I'm not attacked."
Clinton said she wants voters to know how her plans - particularly health care - stack up against those of other candidates.
“I figure it’s about time now for me to draw contrasts, which I think are pretty important to voters,” she said. “And that’s what I’m going to do.”
She distinguished Obama’s plan from those of her Democratic opponents.
"All of us except Sen. Obama have universal health care ..." Clinton said. "I want people to know that."
It was announced Monday that Oprah Winfrey would be campaigning with Obama in three key states. "How do you feel about that?" Couric asked.
“I think it's great ... I'm proud to have a lot of very distinguished Americans [supporting me],” Clinton said.
Hillary Calls for Ensuring the Safety of Toys Imported from China as the Holiday Season Begins
"Earlier this week in Iowa, I discussed the continuing threat of unsafe imported toys and laid out a strategy to confront it. In response, the Chinese government called my criticisms 'slander.'
"This is the same government that just this month revoked the licenses of more than 750 of its toy companies because of quality control problems and ordered another 690 to renovate or improve their facilities, even as it asserted that 99 percent of toy exports met quality standards. And the Chinese government's watchdog agency reported earlier this year that 20 percent of the toys made and sold in China pose safety risks. That is unacceptable.
"As the holiday shopping season begins, our government should be taking immediate, decisive steps to ensure that the toys we are importing from China and other countries are safe. After months of high-profile recalls of some of the most popular toys on the shelves, we have real cause for concern. Parents should not have to worry whether the toys they buy this holiday season are safe for their children.
"The facts speak for themselves. This year alone, we have seen 36 recalls of lead-coated Chinese-made toys - 5.5 million total toys, including Curious George dolls, Thomas and Friends toy trains, Winnie the Pooh playsets, and even Elmo and Big Bird. We have seen the recall of Chinese-made toy eyeballs containing kerosene. And the United States is not the only country dealing with this challenge. The European Union reports that toys topped the list of Chinese products most likely to trigger product-safety alerts last year, and the EU has warned China that it will take strong action if China does not improve the quality and safety of its toys and other products.
"American companies have their own important role to play in keeping our children safe. They have to do a better job at every stage of the process, from design through production and shipping, to make sure that the toys they are bringing into this country -- and profiting from -- do not pose risks to children. My toy safety agenda also imposes new obligations on these companies.
On Economy, Clinton Claims Experience
(AP) The economy needs help and fast, Hillary Rodham Clinton declared Monday, claiming the experience for the job and saying the nation can't afford to break in a newcomer.
In speech that kicked off a two day campaign swing through Iowa, the New York senator painted a bleak picture of a U.S. economy battered by home foreclosures, rising oil prices and lack of good jobs for middle class workers.
The former first lady compared the situation to 1992, when her husband ran against the first President Bush.
"There seems to be a pattern here. It takes a Clinton to clean up after a Bush," she said to applause.
Without mentioning names, she suggested Democratic rival Barack Obama - less than three years into his first term in the Senate - and other candidates lack the experience necessary to address the nation's myriad fiscal challenges.
"There is one job we can't afford on-the-job training for - our next president. That could be the costliest job training in history," Clinton said. "Every day spent learning the ropes is another day of rising costs, mounting deficits and growing anxiety for our families. And they cannot afford to keep waiting."
In Iowa, Obama was asked about Clinton's comments and offered a sharp response.
"My understanding is she wasn't Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration. I don't know exactly what experience she's claiming," he said. "Rather than just assert experience, if she has specific differences with me in regard to economic policy then let's have that debate."
The former first lady, speaking in a community gymnasium, outlined steps she said she would take to stem the housing crisis and help consumers in cold-weather states pay to heat their homes. Among other things, she said she would create a $1 billion fund for states to help homeowners who risk foreclosure.
She also addressed global challenges to the economy, including funds controlled by foreign governments to invest in U.S. stocks, real estate and businesses. She called for greater transparency for such funds, which are currently not required to disclose their assets or investment returns.
While she directed much of her criticism at the Bush administration and GOP presidential candidates, the subtext of Clinton's speech was clear: She has more detailed understanding of U.S. economic woes than her rivals.
She is seeking to reinforce that message after several days in which both Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards stepped up their criticism of her past support for the North American Free Trade Agreement and other pacts that labor leaders have said were responsible for sending thousands of jobs out of the country.
Polls show Clinton locked in a tight race with Obama and Edwards in Iowa just over six weeks before the state holds its caucuses Jan. 3.
Her speech also tackled the issue of Social security.
In recent weeks, Clinton and Obama have traded barbs over the retirement program for seniors, which is forecast to run out of money around 2041 Presently, the first $97,500 in individual income is subject to the Social Security tax - a level Obama has said must be increased in order to keep the program solvent.
Clinton has refused to say what she would do as president to preserve Social Security but has insisted such a tax increase would place an undue burden on middle class families.
She reiterated that point Monday, even suggesting that Social Security is not under imminent threat.
"We don't need more Republican scare tactics about a 'Social Security crisis,"' Clinton said. "And we don't need a trillion-dollar tax increase that will hit families already facing higher energy, health care and college costs. What we need is to focus on the real crises of health care and Medicare, and on expanding opportunities for poor, working and middle class families who are struggling now."
Clinton's campaign on Monday also began airing a new ad in New Hampshire and Iowa that confronts questions about her trustworthiness with a testimonial from a New York constituent whose son received a bone marrow transplant with the help of her Senate office.
The man, Joe Ward, says in the 30-second television spot that his family's insurance wouldn't cover the transplant. "We called Senator Clinton and asked for help," Ward says. "Her office called the next day letting us know the hospital was going to absorb the cost of the transplant. Now, her opponents are saying that Hillary can't be trusted. I trusted this woman to save my son's life. And she did."
The ad comes as polls show that one of Clinton's vulnerabilities is the public's view of her as insincere.
Superdelegates Give Clinton An Early Edge
(CBS) The first caucuses and primaries are still months away, but Democrat Hillary Clinton already has a leg up in her bid for her party's presidential nomination thanks to the support of an obscure but powerful group: the superdelegates.
Created by the Democratic Party in 1984, superdelegates include members of Congress, governors, former presidents, Democratic National Committee members and other party leaders. There are 850 of them, which comprises nearly one-fifth of the overall delegate count. They can back any candidate they want and change their mind as often as they want. But right now, among those that are supporting or leaning toward one candidate, they are largely siding with Clinton.
A CBS News survey of Democratic superdelegates revealed that 184 of them are supporting or leaning toward the New York senator and former first lady. By a more than two-to-one margin, she tops Barack Obama, who is supported by 71.5 superdelegates. John Edwards is in third, with the support of 40 superdelegates. Trailing them are Bill Richardson at 27.5, Chris Dodd at 12, Joe Biden at 10.5 and Dennis Kucinich at 2. Superdelegates representing Democrats Abroad only get one-half vote each, accounting for the fractional support received by some candidates. Among those who responded to the CBS News survey, 236.5 were still undecided.
Female superdelegates were especially likely to support Clinton - 87 were supporting her, compared to 18 for Obama. Her advantage over Obama among men is smaller: 97 superdelegates to Obama's 53.5. African-American superdelegates also narrowly favor her over Obama.
While this support is important in securing the nomination - Clinton's confirmed backing gives her 8.3 percent of the 2,209 delegates needed to win - there are several caveats. Most important is that superdelegates tend to be more of a reflection of national polls than of who will actually win the nomination. They usually back the front-runner or the establishment candidate - this year, Clinton is both. But in 2004, Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt led John Kerry in the superdelegate count, only to see Kerry wrap up the nomination relatively quickly after his come-from-behind win in the Iowa caucuses. The superdelegates, focused on displaying party unity, rallied around their nominee.
The field of superdelegates itself is still very much in flux. Of the 850 superdelegates, 81 are "unpledged add-ons" yet to be named. And 7 of the named spots are vacant. Other states, like Florida and Michigan, have risked losing all their delegates, including superdelegates, by scheduling their primaries earlier than DNC rules allow.
But it is very easy to determine who some superdelegates are supporting, namely because Clinton, Obama, Dodd, Biden, Kucinich and Richardson, by virtue of their offices, are superdelegates themselves, and presumably backing their own candidacies.
CBS News and The New York Times contacted 619 unpledged delegates; 143 superdelegates have not been reached. Of the 619 reached, 31 delegates refused to complete the survey, yielding 588 completed surveys representing 585 delegate votes. The endorsements of another eight superdelegates were confirmed by other methods.
Hillary Unveils Bold Plan To Tackle Energy And Climate Crisis
Hillary announced a bold and comprehensive plan to address America's energy and environmental challenges in a speech in Cedar Rapids, Iowa today, vowing to establish a green, efficient economy and create as many as five million new jobs.
Centered on a cap and trade system for carbon emissions, stronger energy and auto efficiency standards and a significant increase in green research funding, Hillary's plan will reduce America's reliance on foreign oil and address the looming climate crisis.
"This is the biggest challenge we've faced in a generation, a challenge to our economy, our security, our health, and our planet. It's time for America to meet it," Hillary said.
"I believe America is ready to take action, ready to break the bonds of the old energy economy, and ready to prove that the climate crisis is also one of the greatest economic opportunities in the history of our country. Seizing it will unleash a wave of innovation, create millions of new jobs, enhance our security, and lead the world to a revolution in how we produce and use energy. It will be a new beginning for the 21st century."
Setting ambitious targets, Hillary's plan would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of global warming, and cut foreign oil imports by two-thirds from 2030 projected levels, more than 10 million barrels per day.
Hillary would transform our economy from carbon-based to clean and energy efficient, jumpstarting research and development through a $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund and doubling investment in basic energy research. She would also spur the green building industry by funding the retrofitting and modernization of 20 million low-income homes and take concrete steps to reduce electricity consumption, including enacting strict appliance efficiency standards and phasing out incandescent light bulbs.
Recognizing that transportation accounts for 70% of U.S. oil consumption, Hillary would increase fuel efficiency standards to 55 miles per gallon by 2030, but would help automakers retool their production facilities through $20 billion in "Green Vehicle Bonds."
To take the steps necessary to transition to a clean and renewable energy future, Hillary will urge all of the nation's stakeholders to contribute to the effort. Automakers will be asked to make more efficient vehicles; oil and energy companies to invest in cleaner, renewable technologies; utilities to ramp up use of renewables and modernize the grid; coal companies to implement clean coal technology; government to establish a cap and trade carbon emissions system and renew its leadership in energy efficient buildings and services; individuals to conserve energy and utilize efficient light bulbs and appliances in their homes; and industry to build energy efficient homes and buildings.
Clinton's Gender Takes Center Stage
Hillary Clinton's return to Wellesley College on Thursday was a stroke of scheduling serendipity for a campaign seized by the desire to play the gender card after Tuesday's debate in Philadelphia.
"In so many ways, this all-women's college prepared me to compete in the all-boys club of presidential politics," the Democratic frontrunner told an enthusiastic, young generation audience at her alma mater.
That presidential politics has largely been an all-male profession is hardly in dispute. Not only has the country never elected a woman president, but the ranks of campaigns past and present have been dominated by men and the media pack that trails along after the candidates is equally unbalanced against women. Witness the nauseating number of boxing metaphors before and after Tuesday's debate.
Even the many women who populate and play increasingly important roles in presidential and other campaigns recognize -- often to their annoyance -- that the vernacular of politics is that of blood sport and gamesmanship and that the pressurized atmosphere inside these campaigns is more a combination of locker room and fraternity than classroom and sorority. So there is a ready audience for what Clinton is saying about the world she seeks to conquer.
What has been striking about Clinton's candidacy is the way in which she and her advisers have sought to straddle the two worlds. She has learned how to use the gender card with both female and male audiences. On the campaign trail, she talks explicitly about shattering the highest glass ceiling in the world to the nodding of heads of the many women in her audiences. But in front of male-dominated audiences, she is can be more overtly feminine, as when she told a labor audience last summer, "I'm your girl."
At the same time, she has regularly portrayed herself as the toughest hombre in the neighborhood. Recall what she told the Iowa Democratic Party's state central committee on her maiden voyage of the campaign last January: "When you're attacked, you have to deck your opponent."
Interestingly she decked nobody on Tuesday night. Relentlessly attacked by her Democratic rivals, Clinton certainly tried to stand her ground, especially on the issues of Iraq and Iran. But she hardly jumped any of them. Employing the classic strategy of a frontrunner, she tried to deflect criticism and aim her fire at President Bush and the Republicans.
Since then, her campaign has offered nothing but six-against-one explanations for what has been widely judged as her poorest performance in any debate this year. Eight against one when you include moderators Brian Williams and Tim Russert of NBC. Eight men, one strong woman, as her campaign puts it.
Her rivals aren't buying that description. John Edwards's campaign put up a new video Friday that accused Clinton of engaging in "the politics of parsing" rather than being the victim of "the politics of pile-on," as her campaign described the debate. From Iraq to Social Security to drivers licenses for illegal immigrants, the video shows Clinton seemingly on both sides of all three issues.
On NBC's "Today Show" Friday morning, Barack Obama said Clinton is trying to have it both ways: offering herself as strong and tough but then claiming to have been the victim of an all-male mugging at the debate.
"Look, I don't think that people doubt that Senator Clinton is tough," Obama said. "She's used to playing in national politics. And in fact, that is one of the things that she has suggested is why she should be elected is because she's been playing in this rough and tumble stage. So it doesn't make sense for her, after having run that way for eight months, the first time that people start challenging her point of view that suddenly she backs off and says, "Don't pick on me." I think that that is not obviously how we would expect her to operate if she were president."
I suspect that many women agree with Obama on this, that if Clinton aspires to the most difficult job in the world, she ought not to fall back on playing the victim when things get rough. As she enlarged her lead in national polls, nothing was more predictable than that her rivals would start coming after her. Even if those men appeared gleeful about her missteps on Tuesday night, Clinton could not have walked onto that stage without knowing what was likely to be thrown at her.
But there's no doubt that Clinton strikes a responsive chord as well with her girl power message, and perhaps with many of the same women who believe she should not be surprised that she became the focus of so much criticism on Tuesday. That is why her advisers have increasingly come to believe that her gender is the most underappreciated aspect of Campaign 2008 and why Clinton has becoming more and more explicit about the history-making potential of her candidacy.
A candidate who promises to fight fire with fire cannot suddenly cry foul over predictable campaign tactics. In that way, the Clinton camp may have overplayed "the politics of pile on" reaction to Tuesday's debate, rather than turning quickly from a bad moment in the campaign and putting the focus back on her strengths as a candidate.
But no one should underestimate the underlying power of a message that aims to appeal to the aspirations -- and the sense of exclusion -- of the majority of the population. No wonder Clinton and her advisers have decided to play the gender card at every opportunity.
Clinton Wins Key Union Endorsement
(AP) Hillary Rodham Clinton won the presidential endorsement of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on Wednesday, an important boost for the Democratic front-runner.
The union is the largest for workers in the public service sector with 1.4 million members nationwide. AFSCME represents government and private workers including nurses, bus drivers, child care providers, custodians and librarians.
The New York senator will officially accept the endorsement later Wednesday.
"I am honored to receive the support of AFSCME," Clinton said in a statement. "In my administration, America's working families will again have a partner in the White House."
Gerald McEntee, president of the union, said Clinton "will help rebuild America's middle class and make sure everyone shares in our country's prosperity."
The endorsement is a welcome boost for Clinton in the labor community. The 1.8-million member Service Employees International Union decided not to endorse a candidate on the national level, and SEIU's state chapters have been backing Clinton rivals John Edwards, whose pickups included the New Hampshire chapter on Wednesday, and Barack Obama.
AFSCME is expected to provide help in early-voting states, such as Iowa, where it has about 30,000 members, and New Hampshire, where it has about 3,000. AFSCME budgeted about $48 million for get-out-the-vote efforts in the 2004 election.
The union endorsed former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. Dean lost steam after a disappointing performance in Iowa, and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry went on to win the nomination.
Union endorsements can be key in a primary campaign, not only for the money and publicity a union can provide but for the manpower it can throw behind a candidate in the form of workers to man phone banks and hand out leaflets.
"All of the candidates on the Democratic side of the ticket, they're all speaking our language," McEntee told The Associated Press this summer when asked about the presidential contenders.
McEntee has long made overhaul of the nation's health care system a priority for the union. President Clinton named McEntee to serve on the Presidential Advisory Commission on Quality and Consumer Protection in the Health Care Industry in 1997.
Other unions that have endorsed Clinton include the United Transportation Union and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, both in August.
The AFL-CIO and its unions said in September they will spend an estimated $200 million on the 2008 elections, with the nation's largest labor federation devoting a record $53 million to grass-roots mobilization.
Former North Carolina Sen. Edwards has been endorsed by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, the United Steelworkers of America, the United Mine Workers of America and the Transport Workers Union, as well as about a dozen state chapters of the Service Employees International Union.
Illinois Sen. Obama has been endorsed by the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, as well as the Illinois and Indiana chapters of the service employees union.
Clinton also has been endorsed by the Transportation Communication Union, National Association of Letter Carriers and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers in September.
Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut was endorsed by the International Association of Fire Fighters in August. The union's endorsement played a significant role in boosting Kerry's successful bid for the Democratic nomination in 2004.
Hillary Dishes On Marriage, Romance
(AP) Hillary Rodham Clinton says husband Bill often brings her romantic gifts: a giant wooden giraffe from an African trip, for example, and a Chanel watch that reminded him of teeth.
"Oh he's so romantic," the former first lady said in an interview for the November issue of Essence magazine. "He's always bringing me back things from his trips."
The watch had a bracelet made of white cubes. "I had dental surgery, and he said it reminded him of teeth," she said.
The New York senator, now a presidential candidate, said she is satisfied with the decisions she has made in her marriage.
"Now obviously we've had challenges as everybody in the world knows," she said. "But I never doubted that it was a marriage worth investing in even in the midst of those challenges, and I'm really happy that I made that decision."
In 1998, news unfolded about her husband's affair with Monica Lewinsky.
While sticking it out might not be for everyone, Mrs. Clinton said women should support each other in the choices they make in their marriages.
"I think it's so important for women to stand up for the right of women to make a decision that is best for them," she said.
Why I Support Hillary Clinton by Congresswoman Hilda Solis (CA-32)
As the first woman to win the Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the first Latina co-chair of the House Women's Caucus and the first Latina on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I understand both the challenges we face as women, and the opportunities we have to make a difference in the lives of working families across this country. As women, we know that our home and work environments directly impact our lives, and that developing an effective energy policy is crucial for the long-term economic stability of our country. That's why I am proud to support Hillary Clinton for President.Hillary shares my concern and my passion about protecting the health of our children and our communities from risky pollutants in our air and water and about the lack of green spaces in our communities. Her commitment to promoting policies to develop alternative energy technologies and fighting global warming are also issues in which Hillary has shown her ability to lead.
My endorsement of Hillary also reflects the growing trend of the progressive community backing her candidacy. That's because we know that Hillary shows up when it matters; for example, she held the first hearing on environmental justice communities in the Senate, giving people like me an opportunity to speak out about the harmful effects of toxic pollutants for families from underserved neighborhoods. But this is just one example. From protecting a woman's right to choose to ending the war in Iraq and reforming our public schools - Hillary has been a consistent advocate for change. I look forward to a campaign that highlights these issues, and talks with people about the need for a committed and effective progressive voice in the White House.
Campaigning Getting Personal For Clinton
(CBS) It’s getting a little personal for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., on the campaign trail - just the way she wants it.
“I remember one time I had to be in court when I was a young lawyer ...” Clinton said while campaigning recently.
This week she made a push to expand family leave - with the kind of stories she would never tell publically in the past, CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod reports.
“... Chelsea was sick and the babysitter wasn't there and then she called and she was sick too,” Clinton said. “And it was just that gut-wrenching feeling.”
Long-time Clinton watchers like Time Magazine’s Karen Tumulty were struck: This is new.
“It’s always been like she has put an almost iron gate down between her family life and her public life,” Tumulty said.
And now that iron gate is coming up?
“[Out] of necessity,” Tumulty said.
It's a necessity for Clinton to appeal to women. Not only do more women vote than men, but a recent CBS News poll shows women are her strength.
She's got a bit more work to do with men. So now after first establishing a steely five-star general persona, saying things like: "Let's focus on those who have attacked us and do everything we can to destroy them," she’s now lasered in on women. Take this week.
Monday, she was on The View.
“Look how much longer it takes me to get ready,” she said.
Tuesday, she made that speech on family leave.
Wednesday, she spoke to a women’s financial group, saying: “I'm getting a lot of attention from the men in this race.”
Thursday was health care - especially important to women voters. Clinton, who once seemed unconcerned about alienating some women, now feels the pain of all of them.
“I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas,” she said years ago.
And now: “I've been fortunate to have so much support as a working mother, but I understand what it means to be pulled in a million directions at once.”
Clinton: Extend Unpaid Family Leave
(AP) Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday proposed extending unpaid family leave to an additional 13 million workers and spending $1 billion a year on paid leave programs.
"Too many Americans today feel trapped between being there for their kids and being there for their employer, and our government policies have just not kept up with the realities of American life," said Clinton, who proposed expanding the Family Medical Leave Act to include companies that employ at least 25 workers instead of the current 50.
That would make millions more workers eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn or ill family member. Clinton also said she would encourage states to develop paid leave programs by offering $1 billion a year in grants.
"We have to get real about what's happening with families today," the New York senator said in a speech at the Manchester YWCA. "We want to make it easier for people to both work and fulfill their most important responsibilities."
Clinton described her own experience as a working mother, recalling that her law firm colleagues didn't know quite what to make of the firm's first pregnant lawyer.
"I just kept getting more and more pregnant, and the lawyers kept walking down the hall looking the other way," she said.
Clinton said she relished the time she took off after her daughter Chelsea was born, and that even though she was lucky to have help when she returned to work, she can empathize with the struggles many parents face.
"I've been fortunate to have so much support as a working mother, but I understand what it means to be pulled in a million directions at once," she said, describing a hectic morning when both Chelsea and her baby sitter were sick and Clinton was due in court.
"It was just that gut-wrenching feeling," she said. "I was lucky enough to have a friend who came over and watched Chelsea while I ran to court and ran back home. But I know that happens every day, and there are so many pressures on young parents."
Beyond family leave, Clinton proposed requiring all workers to be given seven sick days a year that could be used to care for themselves or their children. Clinton's plan also would require employers to at least consider requests for flexible work schedules.
She also would increase funding for child care subsidies and allow them to be given to parents who stay at home with their children rather than only to those who send their children to daycare.
"Why should we pay for other people to care for your children but not give you the support to stay home and do it yourself?" she said.
A Republican National Committee spokesman said Clinton's proposals are reckless.
"Hillary Clinton's agenda for working families is pretty clear: higher taxes to pay for outrageous spending proposals totaling more than $750 billion," Danny Diaz said. "Senator Clinton's plans to grow government and weaken our national defense will not resonate with American families at any rung in the economic ladder."
Poll: Clinton, Romney Lead In N.H. Races
(AP) Hillary Rodham Clinton is holding a commanding lead over Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination in New Hampshire, a poll released Sunday found.
Clinton, the New York senator, had the support of 40 percent of those surveyed compared to 20 percent for Obama, the Illinois senator, Marist College Institute for Public Opinion said.
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards was third (12 percent) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson fourth (7 percent).
On the Republican side, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 25 percent held a slight edge over former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at 21 percent. Sen. John McCain of Arizona was third at 18 percent, and Fred Thompson, the actor and former Tennessee senator, was fourth at 10 percent.
The New Hampshire primary, traditionally held in January, plays a key role in the presidential nomination process because it is one of the first tests of the candidates' popularity with voters. A strong showing in New Hampshire can provide momentum for candidates in the next round of primaries in larger states.
Voters in the primaries select delegates to their party's national presidential nominating convention who are pledged to different candidates.
Clinton was the overwhelming choice among those polled who want a strong leader or someone who will bring about change - 44 percent chose her compared with 20 percent for Obama and 11 percent for Edwards.
Clinton also drew the most support - 33 percent - from those questioned who ranked the Iraq war as their top issue. Clinton was seen as the most likely Democrat to win in November, getting the nod from 58 percent in the survey.
In the Republican field, when people were asked to pick a strong leader, Romney got 29 percent, compared with 23 percent for McCain and 22 percent for Giuliani.
Security against terrorism was the most important issue for Republican voters; on this issue, Romney was picked by 29 percent, and Giuliani and McCain by 21 percent each. Giuliani was picked by more people in the survey as having the best chance of winning in November - 36 percent versus 30 percent for Romney.
The poll, done by Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, was conducted from Oct. 4-9 and involved telephone interviews with 1,512 registered voters and New Hampshire residents likely to register in time to vote in the presidential primary. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points for Democratic primary voters and 4.5 percentage points for Republican primary voters.
Clinton: No Baby Bonds, But $1K For 401(K)
(AP) Families could get 401(k) retirement accounts and up to $1,000 in annual matching funds from the government under a plan offered Tuesday by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.
At a cost of $20 billion-$25 billion a year, the plan is Clinton's largest domestic proposal other than her plan for universal health insurance. The New York senator said it would be paid for by taxing estates worth more than $7 million per couple and would help narrow the gap between the rich and those who don't have enough savings for retirement.
At the same time, Clinton said she has given up another idea for a savings incentive — giving every baby born in the United States a $5,000 account to one day pay for college or a first home.
She made that suggestion last month before the Congressional Black Caucus, saying it was just an idea and not a policy proposal. The idea was criticized by Republicans, and she told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Tuesday that it's off the table.
The campaign of her Democratic rival John Edwards suggested it was an example of Clinton setting her positions by polls. "Apparently, new polling data seems to have pressured the Clinton campaign to throw out the baby bond with the bathwater," said Edwards spokesman Chris Kofinis.
As for the retirement accounts, Clinton said during a campaign stop in small-town central Iowa, "They will begin to bring down this inequality that is eating away at our social contract." She said, "This is a major commitment to how I believe we can begin to right the balance again."
Her campaign said that for every $7 million estate that gets taxed, at least 5,000 families would receive the matching funds.
Clinton said she wants to create "American Retirement Accounts" in which each family could put up to $5,000 annually in a 401(k) plan. The federal government would provide a tax cut to match the first $1,000 for any household that brings in less than $60,000 a year and 50 percent of the first $1,000 for those that make $60,000-$100,000.
Her campaign said the accounts would be designed for adults of working age and not open to children, but that it wouldn't be a requirement that people work to participate. The matching funds would come in the form of a refundable tax credit that would be deposited into the 401(k) plan.
Higher income earners who don't have employer-sponsored plans could participate, but contributions to the accounts would count against the IRA contribution limit.
She said she would encourage employers to have direct deposit from paychecks into the accounts.
Clinton said less than half the families in the United States have retirement savings accounts and those who have them aren't saving enough. She said she often meets people working even into their early 80s because they don't have enough savings.
"We don't have much of a nest egg to fall back on," she said.
Although the money would be intended mainly for retirement, she said people should also be able to use the savings to buy a house or pay for college and the government should consider letting workers use a portion for hard times like an illness or accident.
Clinton said the accounts should not be used to replace any part of Social Security and that she is committed to addressing the long-term challenges of that program.
"We have to fight and finally bury the idea of privatizing Social Security," she said.
ｩ MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
https://contribute.hillaryclinton.com/april22.html
Pennsylvania Results
Candidate Quiz
