From The Hotline Latest Edition for Thursday, April 17,2008

CLINTON

Are Upstaters Bitter?

Thu. Apr. 17, 2008


On 4/16, Hillary Clinton "abandoned her 'elitist' line of attack" against Barack Obama "amid questions about her own success in helping economically troubled rural areas in her home state" of NY.

A meeting of "several newspaper industry" groups "forced" Clinton "to explain her failure to deliver the couple of hundred thousand jobs she promised upstate [NY] when she first ran" for the Senate. HRC "admitted the number of jobs promised was 'a little exuberant,'" but said she had "expected" Al Gore "to be elected president and to continue most of the economic policies" of the Clinton administration.

HRC: "I had every hope that Al Gore would be the president, and that we would build on the economic successes of the '90s. ... I was exuberant because I really believed we could create a lot more jobs, because I had thought, in particular, upstate New York hadn't had the opportunity to take advantage of some of the benefits, and be creative about how to do just that. Well, that didn't come to pass. And unfortunately, much of the positive economic policies that we saw in the '90s were slowly, steadily dismantled" (Shepard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/16).

The Bitter Truth

Chicago Tribune's James writes, HRC "may not be getting the hoped for impact" from her attack ad in PA regarding Obama's "bitter" comments. "Our friends at HCD Research Inc. ... showed the ad to a group of 429 Democrats and independents. After being shown the ad, not many people shifted their views."

"Polling has indicated that all the news coverage of Obama's controversial remarks and all Clinton's efforts to exploit them haven't changed the support levels for the candidates" in PA "or nationally. The results of the HCD study would seem to fall in line with the other data" ("The Swamp," 4/16).

Attack Dog Finds Its Way Home

Wall Street Journal's Mullins writes, "A pro-Clinton campaign group that sparked controversy" for a TV ad before the OH primary "is back. This time, [The American Leadership Project] is running a commercial" in PA "that trashes" Obama's health-care plan.

The group "set off a firestorm when it was founded two months ago. Campaign lawyers for Obama said the group was a thinly veiled attempt by Clinton backers to get around limits on financial contributions. Several of the people involved in the effort have strong ties to Clinton and her husband" ("Washington Wire," 4/16).

Outsourcing Security

HRC's second ad to air in IN "blames" Pres. Bush for the move to China of an IN plant that made magnets for smart bombs. HRC: "George Bush could have stopped it, but he didn't. American workers should build America's defense."

"Magnequench moved its equipment to China" in '03. "But the sale of the company to a Chinese consortium was approved" in '95, "during the Bill Clinton administration." (In '88, "Congress gave the president authority to block foreign acquisitions that could threaten national security.")

Clinton spokesperson Jonathan Swain "said the 1995 deal was approved because the company promised to keep production" in the U.S. "When that didn't happen, Swain said," Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN) "asked the Bush administration in 2003 to review the old approval or take steps to block the move," arguing that "moving production raised concerns about maintaining a significant source of domestic production of rare-earth magnets."

"Swain said Bayh and Visclosky did not get a response from the administration" (Groppe, Indianapolis Star, 4/17).

Oil On His Hands

New York Times's Bosman fact-checks HRC's attack ad against Obama regarding his claim of "I don't take money from oil companies" and his voting for "the Bush-Cheney energy bill."

"Like Obama, Clinton accepts contributions from employees of oil companies. But she has not made a case of it in a commercial, as he did. The energy bill referred to was passed in 2005, and Obama did vote for it, arguing that it would help his home state because it encouraged ethanol. He has since been critical of the bill."

The Clinton camp "is seizing a rare opportunity to take the high ground on campaign contributions. (Obama does not accept donations from Washington lobbyists; Clinton does.) And high gas prices resonate" in PA (Bosman, New York Times, 4/17).

Low-Fare-Weather Friends

"Few" of HRC's supporters in Congress "have responded to her pleas for cash since" Super Tuesday, when Obama "began to build his delegate lead. Nearly half her lawmaker backers have given nothing to her campaign, even though Obama's financial advantage has emerged as a major problem in states" such as PA.

"Of the 94 lawmakers who have endorsed" HRC, 48 have given her money," but only 18 since her loss in IA, and only 8 since Obama's success on Super Tuesday. "Her allies on the Hill have, however, given hundreds of thousands of dollars" to the DCCC.

"Most of those who gave money after Obama won more primaries on Super Tuesday represent New York districts and have incentive to curry favor" with HRC "even if she fails to become president."

"Even fewer of Obama's supporters have given to him" since IA, "but his campaign has been awash in money." And "Obama is having no problem raising money, unlike" HRC, who has raised only $75M in the 1stQ, compared to Obama's $134M.

"Lawmakers' contributions would make little difference because of the tens of millions both candidates have raised in such a short period of time. But the lack of contributions may also reflect the shallowness of their support" (Bolton, The Hill, 4/16).

Swatting The June Bug

Regarding the call by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) that the Dem race should continue no later than 6/3, NBC's Todd: "Why does Barney Frank's voice count a little bit extra? Well, he is a Clinton supporter and, by the way, the brother of one of the members of Hillary Clinton's kitchen cabinet, Ann Lewis. So, having him say this and others that maybe support the candidate who's trailing, come out and say, hey, this is got to be resolved pretty quickly in June, I think, tells you that that's the most probable end game because you've got a calendar issue" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 4/16).

Clinton chair Terry McAuliffe "said he believes his party's presidential pick will be sewn up shortly after the voters have spoken in the 10 remaining primaries." McAuliffe: "I think it will be over in June" (Mann, Medford Mail Tribune, 4/17).

Spotty Rhetoric

"Older voters gravitate" to HRC "because they're too wise to be fooled" by Obama's rhetoric, B.Clinton told PA voters 4/15. B.Clinton: "I think there is a big reason there's an age difference in a lot of these polls. Because once you've reached a certain age, you won't sit there and listen to somebody tell you there's really no difference between what happened in the Bush years and the Clinton years; that there's not much difference in how small-town Pennsylvania fared when I was president and in this decade."

"Last week, however," B.Clinton "seemed to suggest that older voters might be more absent-minded than wise. Defending [HRC's] faulty recollection" of Tuzla, B.Clinton: "When they're 60, they'll forget something when they're tired at 11 o'clock at night, too" (Helman, Boston Globe, 4/16).

Hugh's That?

"Retired steelworker Bill Callaway admitted he never heard of Hugh Rodham," HRC's younger brother, "before he was invited to a campaign rally" 4/16 in Cedar Creek Park, PA. But Callaway "said he was glad for an opportunity to get a firsthand taste of presidential politics so close to his Rostraver home." Callaway: "Hey, it's beautiful outside this afternoon, and it gives me a little break from watching my grandkids."

Rodham "is probably best known as brother-in-law Bill's golfing partner. He also is known for accepting" $400K "in legal fees from clients" to lobby B.Clinton "for presidential pardons before he left office. Rodham eventually returned the money" (Peirce, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 4/17).

Rapid-Fire Rapport

HRC "is about to walk into the lion's den" by appearing on "The Colbert Report" this p.m., "braving host Stephen Colbert's dry humor and his arguably Sen. Barack Obama-friendly audience for the first time."

Colbert has "challenged" HRC and Obama supporters to donate to PA schools through DonorsChoose.org. More than 2.2K Obama supporters have "drastically outdonated" HRC's fans by contributing nearly $155K to PA schools in their candidate's name, while only 318 people have given just over $29K on behalf of HRC (Bellatoni, Washington Times, 4/17).

Cementing Her Support

On 4/16, HRC got the endorsement of the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association, a union representing about 45K workers. "It is the first endorsement Clinton has received from a national union in more than two months" (Marre, The Hill, 4/16).

Cross-Gender Support

The Clinton camp "released its list of female supporters in [NC] this week. Among the more than 100 names of female politicians, party activists and community leaders, one stood out -- that of Dana Cope... But Cope is a man." The list "also included the name of Ashley Thrift, a male lawyer" (Beckwith/Niolet, Raleigh News & Observer, 4/17).

  •  
  •