LA Times: Air of inevitability escaping Clinton

[ariesgem]

The Democratic presidential front-runner is stepping up her efforts as she appears to be losing traction.

By Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 15, 2007


WASHINGTON -- She was a disciplined candidate atop a polished campaign, but Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is now mired in the most serious crisis of her 11-month bid for the White House, as a rolling series of missteps threatens to topple her as the Democratic front-runner.

The large crowds that once came to see her have thinned. Trusted campaign surrogates have veered wildly off message. And a campaign operation that had built seemingly impregnable leads over the summer appears to be faltering, prompting former President Clinton to amp up his role as a public spokesman and campaign advisor.

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Clinton's chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, has wiped out her lead in the crucial early states of Iowa and New Hampshire, according to some polls. Should she lose those contests, gone would be the notion that she is the party's inevitable nominee -- one basis of her appeal as a candidate.

Former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska plans to publicly endorse Clinton next week. But, he says, the momentum may belong to Obama. Kerrey spoke about the "phenomenal pride" black voters felt when Obama made joint appearances last weekend with media titan Oprah Winfrey.

Obama, Kerrey said in an interview, has "either peaked, or he is on a trend line that is going to make him the nominee of the party."

In Hillaryland, as her team calls itself, the message is that there is no cause for worry.

"Politics now is a 24/7 cycle. You go up, you go down," Clinton told reporters in Iowa on Friday. "I think that's all part of a vigorous, dynamic election cycle."

.............................

More and more, her message is being overwhelmed by unforeseen events.

On Thursday morning, she had to apologize to Obama on the tarmac of Reagan National Airport as they were leaving for a Democratic debate. At issue were the remarks of a New Hampshire campaign advisor, Bill Shaheen, who made public his concerns about Obama's drug use in his youth. Shaheen quit the Clinton campaign later in the day.

The episode followed two instances of volunteer aides to the Clinton campaign forwarding e-mails that falsely claimed Obama was a Muslim, possibly intent on destroying the United States. Both of the aides resigned.

Just as confounding to some was Clinton's own attack on Obama's character. As recently as last month, she had said at a dinner for Democratic activists in Des Moines that she was "not interested in attacking" her opponents.

On Dec. 2, she stood before reporters in Cedar Rapids and did just that. She accused Obama of hypocrisy by preaching ethics and then "skirting" campaign finance rules in the way he doles out funds.

Her campaign released a statement the same day that was instantly mocked. Eager to rebut Obama's assertion that the presidency had not been a consuming ambition in his life, the Clinton campaign cited, among other things, an essay he had written in kindergarten titled, "I Want to Become President."

The ploy boomeranged. Embarrassed by pointing to an opponent's childhood writing, the Clinton campaign said it had been joking. But the news release was still on her website, with nothing to indicate that the reference was not serious.

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Robert B. Reich, a Cabinet member in President Clinton's administration who has not endorsed a candidate, said it was a mistake for her to swipe at rivals: "It's a very risky strategy for her. I wish it weren't the case that in addition to everything else, women candidates -- like women in society generally -- are judged more harshly than men when they go on the attack. And I think she has to deal with that burden, as well as the burden of her own history with regard to being characterized as a polarizing figure."

more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-clinton15dec15,1,517727.story?coll=la-news-politics-national&track=crosspromo

[gateley]

1. This is kind of OT, but it's been bugging me since I heard about Hillary's apology to

Obama ON THE TARMAC at Reagan. The have private jets you need to board from the tarmac; Biden clomps down the jetway from the terminal to board his commercial flight, like the rest of us. Just sour grapes from someone whose candidate doesn't have the multi-millions and thinks that money goes a long way in buying coverage and exposure. And that it sucks that this is the truth in America.

[Benhurst]

2. Yeah, there was a time when liberals, progressives, and genuine

conservatives agreed the political process was being corrupted by money. Now the ability to raise grotesque sums of money seems to be the standard by which politicians are judged. So much for progress.
:shrug:

[aquart]

3. Now it's a crime to be a well-funded candidate.

Oh, just add it to the list of horrors.

[earthlover]

5. Democrats used to want to put limits on campaign spending....

[aquart]

8. There are people here who won't vote for Edwards BECAUSE

he took public financing which limits his campaign. So I guess not.

I don't want to limit funding. I want to limit funding, time, AND TYPE OF AD. Screw the debates which aren't debates. I want ads to be talking heads: the candidate expounding on specific positions. Period. It's cruel. It's dull. But it's fair.

[Perry Logan]

4. SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Reading the L.A. Times will drastically lower your IQ.

[earthlover]

6. Ha! Now the Hillary Gaggle insults the LA TIMES!

It is not exactly a conservative rag....

The sound you hear is desperation exploding over at Hillary-Land.

If you cannot refute it, try the age old ploy of blaming the messenger!

By the way, can you refute anything the article says?

[aquart]

9. "Hillary Gaggle." Again the implication of orchestration.

And I am impressed that you implicitly believe a paper which was recently bought by seriously conservative interests which worked hard to purge the "liberal" element of the paper. Why would anyone suspect them of slanting an article? Why, my goodness, that's NEVER been done.

[Bucky]

12. The LA Times was the best mainstream newspaper voice debunking the Iraq build up

And a gaggle isn't orchestrated. It's a college of geese.

[earthlover]

16. I think the article made some good points. If you can refute them, try!

[flpoljunkie]

7. Tony Auth's latest cartoon on the Clintons...

[aquart]

10. Uh huh. I see the circling sharks.

When have the Clintons been WITHOUT circling sharks?

[Bucky]

11. They had me until they quote Bob Reich.

Reich wasn't a bad Labor Secretary, but it's been clear for years that he carries a grudge against the Clintons, who he went to law school with.

I like the idea of any "inevitable" candidate losing all that hot air. But I think this instance is being a little overhyped.

[K Gardner]

13. "Both of the aides resigned" (and are now here at DU, continuing to spread the same garbage )

[JackORoses]

15. really? what are their screennames so I can thank them for their honest and forthright nature?

[Tejanocrat]

14. "Dallas Wright, ... said after the Clinton event that he was inclined to vote for ... John Edwards"

The article ends on a hilarious note:

But the crowd was thin. Before the event began, aides were seen removing metal folding chairs from the school cafeteria so that the cameras would not pan a row of empty seats.

A group of young people stood on an elevated ramp near the stage, holding up Clinton signs and helping create good TV images for the campaign. But many were not from Iowa. They were part of a high school group that had come from Chicago to see the candidates.

Dallas Wright, an 18-year-old senior, said after the Clinton event that he was inclined to vote for former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina

[fightindonkey]

17. Yawn. It's Called Politics. She Wins

Get over it.