Tag: Hillary Clinton (page 31)

A new Marist poll taken Jan. 15-17 finds John McCain ahead of Rudy Giuliani in New York and Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama, 48% to 32%. The full poll is here.

• 79% of likely Democrats who back Hillary Clinton say they are strongly committed to her. This compares with 58% of Barack Obama’s supporters who are firmly committed to him.

• A majority of likely Democratic primary voters in New York think Hillary Clinton has the best chance of beating the Republican candidate for president in November. 59% think Clinton is the most electable Democratic presidential candidate compared with 24% who believe Obama is.

Via Josh at Talking Points Memo, who calls it "trainwreck tv":

A man shouted through an opening in the wall that his wife was illegal.

"No woman is illegal," Clinton said, to cheers.

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Hillary Clinton arrived in Las Vegas today and embarked on a door-to-door campaign in a Hispanic neighborhood, asking residents for their help. At a Mexican restaurant afterwards, she sat with locals and talked about her plan to ease the foreclosure crisis, which has hit Nevada particularly hard.

Mrs. Clinton said she would like to freeze interest rates for five years, and create a federal program that would help homeowners get “through a bad time,” to prevent foreclosures. Mrs. Clinton also said she believed “we’re slipping into a recession.”

She arrived a day ahead of Barack Obama. But it doesn't seem like Obama will be staying long since his schedule is packed full in South Carolina Saturday, starting at 8:30 a.m., where he also spent Thursday.[More...]

First it was the cackle. Then it was her flash of anger,the team-attack on her by Obama and Edwards and the moderator saying she wasn't likeable at the debate. Then the media pile-on about her emotional moment. Then the men yelling "Iron my shirt" at her during a campaign event. Then Tweety Matthews saying she only won her New York Senate seat because her husband "messed around." Then the "Buddy System" crack.

The sexist attacks on Hillary have been brutal. The New York Times reports they are also moving women into her camp, even some who previously supported Obama and Edwards. [More...]

By chance, I happened to watch two different network evening news programs Thursday night. Each had big stories about how we are facing a recession in early 2008.

I also caught the Republican debate in South Carolina. Every candidate was asked about it. They were all in denial.

Who's doing something about it? Hillary Clinton, who will announce an emergency spending plan today in California. The New York Times writes:

The Clinton package is to include $30 billion for an “emergency housing crisis fund” for states to help low-income families unable to make mortgage payments and in danger of losing their houses. Last year she proposed $5 billion for such a fund.

In addition, Mrs. Clinton’s package would channel $25 billion to help low-income families pay heating bills this winter, a tenfold increase of the existing federal program. Her proposal would also include $10 billion to extend unemployment insurance for people unable to find jobs.

Hillary is the first presidential candidate to come up with the plan. As the Times notes, others likely will follow suit.

Yesterday the speculation was whether Hillary Clinton would forego Nevada and South Carolina.

In Nevada, Obama expected (and now has received) two union endorsements. In South Carolina, where half the Democratic voters are African-American, a New Hampshire win might have produced an Obama tidal wave.

The Clinton campaign has announced its plans. It's going to fight for Nevada and South Carolina, as well as the "Super Duper Tuesday" states.

For those of us who want as long a primary season as possible, so more Democratic voters will have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the choice of a nominee, this is good news.

You can't make this stuff up. Chris Matthews on "Morning Joe" says the reason Hillary Clinton won her New York Senate seat and is a front-runner in the presidential race is because Bill Clinton "messed around." [Via TPM]

He's why I watched CNN (except when Lou Dobbs was on) until after the winner was announced.

Taylor Marsh has a good post on the media's gender bias against Hillary where a show of passion or a flash of anger or forceful self-defense is deemed shrill and a laugh is deemed a cackle.

While Big Tent doesn't agree, I think Kevin Drum nails it:

Am I feeling bitter? You bet. Not because Hillary Clinton seems more likely than not to lose — I can live with that pretty easily — but because of how she's likely to lose. Because the press doesn't like her. Because any time a woman raises her voice half a decibel she instantly becomes shrill.

I'm disgusted and embarrassed by the media's treatment of Hillary Clinton. And their fawning over Barack Obama and his mantra of "change."

Kevin goes on to say: [More...]

Gen. Wesley Clark today:

"This is a time for leadership, not politics. Senator Obama's campaign seems to believe that Senator Clinton's actions led to the tragic events in Pakistan. This is an incredible and insulting charge. It politicizes a tragic event of enormous strategic consequence to the United States and the world, and it has no place in this campaign."

Here's another tidbit of information. On December 12, 2007, Katie Couric asked the candidates which country frightened them the most. Barack Obama answered "Iran." Hillary answered "Pakistan." From the transcript (available on Lexis.com):

COURIC: What country frightens you the most, and what would you do about it as president?

Senator BARACK OBAMA (Democratic Presidential Candidate): I think Iran poses a significant threat to stability in the Middle East. So I think we have to talk to Iran directly. And when we talk to Iran directly, even if there are profound disagreements there, that will send a signal to the world that we are not simply seeking to impose our will without paying attention to what other countries think. And that kind of dialogue has not taken place. This president has refused to do it. I think it's a profound mistake. JFK once said we should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never fear to negotiate.

More...

Update: The Quad City Times in Iowa endorses Hillary Clinton.

We tested her, too, in our editorial board interview, looking for evidence of the partisan rancor that is destroying our country. We found none. Instead, we found a proven, passionate, intelligent leader with a breadth of legislative and executive experience that is the best of a good bunch. For Iowa’s Democratic caucuses, we support Hillary Clinton.

****

Sally Bedell Smith, author of a book on Hillary Clinton, has an article in Newsweek today, Hillary's Hidden Hand. It examines her years in the White House in an effort to determine her experience and preparedness to take the reins as President.

Conclusion: She is experienced. First, on an advisory level:

Hillary Clinton was no spectator at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. In campaign speeches, she often talks about what "we" thought and achieved—an acknowledgment that she and her husband have operated jointly for decades. And indeed she was uniquely immersed in the policies and politics of Bill Clinton's administration. Hillary was the first presidential spouse to have an office in the West Wing rather than the traditional First Lady's domain of the East Wing. She had no official position or specified duties, yet she was so involved in decision making that the president's staff called her "the Supreme Court" because they knew she was the last person he consulted before making up his mind.

Her advocacy for women appointees: [More...]

USA Today has released a new poll of New Hampshire voters. It's a toss-up between Hillary and Obama, but there is a 5% margin of error rate. Even so, there are a few differentiating clues.

• Who are you leaning towards? Note, this was asked of Democrats and those leaning towards a Democrat but without a preference.

Hillary 32%, Obama 32%, Edwards 18%

• How certain are you to vote for that person?(Note, this was asked of Democrat voters not those leaning without a preference)

Hillary 20%, Obama 18%, Edwards 10%

CBS' Harry Smith interviews Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in Iowa, trying to get them to reveal something of their personalities with questions like what's on your iPod, what's the first thing you do when you wake up, last thing before going to sleep, what's the last movie you saw, etc.

Here's the video. See for yourselves, they sure are different.

CBS notes in a companion article that Obama has a hard time showing emotion and empathy, even in a pre-arranged setting, suggesting he struggles "to feel the pain." It doesn't come naturally to him. Example: His campaign invited six voters in New Hampshire with hard luck stories to meet the candidate. Here's what happened. [More....]