Must Read: Business Week: Hillary Clinton Targets the Credit Crisis

[bigtree]

3/20/2008

She's stepping up with measures aimed at voters' pocketbook woes

Excerpts:

When news of the Bear Stearns fire sale hit on Mar. 17, it didn't take long for reaction to come in from the campaign trail. All three candidates-Republican John McCain and Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama-made statements that day supporting the need for swift action to ensure financial stability.

But only one mentioned she had talked that morning with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and the head of the New York Federal Reserve to get an update and pass along her views on the government-engineered deal. It was a small but telling move designed to highlight Clinton's contacts and knowledge of the issues at the heart of the crisis.

It won't be the last of such moves. On Mar. 20, Clinton called on Congress and the Bush Administration to pass a second stimulus bill targeted more directly toward helping struggling homeowners. She pledged a renewed push for an earlier plan that would provide $30 billion in funding to help blighted towns buy foreclosed or abandoned properties and counsel homeowners, and proposed an additional $10 billion to assist state agencies that refinance mortgages.

"We've seen unprecedented Fed actions over the last several days to address the crisis on Wall Street, but nothing to address the crisis on Main Street," Clinton told Bloomberg, which first reported the news. Clinton plans to discuss the details of her stimulus plan in a speech on the economy set for Mar. 24. Further initiatives are likely in coming weeks.

With Clinton's emphasis on pragmatic plans and pocketbook issues, analysts say she could get a bump up if she can convince voters she's better prepared to handle the economy's deepening problems. With the next big primary set for Apr. 22 in Pennsylvania, "she's got five weeks to show she can really dominate this issue," says Daniel Clifton, a political analyst at investment firm Strategas Research Partners. "This could be a huge opportunity for her to rack up big margins."

So far, Clinton has done best with lower-income voters. But as the middle class comes to grips with declining house prices and 401(k) balances, and even layoffs, Clinton has a shot at broadening her reach—and denting Obama's appeal among the more affluent.

The fight over Pennsylvania, which has a struggling industrial base, a large population of blue-collar workers, and rising foreclosures, will be critical. Even if Clinton tallies big victories in Pennsylvania or other remaining states, she will probably not emerge with a delegate lead. Yet by nurturing the perception that she's the one to save voters' jobs and homes, she could sway the critical superdelegates to her side. "Her only case is: I've got the lunch-bucket votes, and we can't win in November without them," says pollster John Zogby.

full article: http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_13/b4077042381294.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives

[goldcanyonaz]

1. And, BR endorses Obama?

Some of these endorsements are questionable at best and vindictive at worst.

[libbygurl]

2. Yes, I didn't understand that endorsement of BO by Richardson at all.

Just doesn't look too sporting to me. What is up with these people?