Clinton Campaign's Implosion Continues
Hillary Clinton's campaign continues to implode.
This time, it's a memo that contradicts everything that Clinton, her husband and her top strategists have said for weeks.
The memo claims that Barack Obama must win all four states voting March 4 — Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont — because he’s outspent her in paid media and put more resources and staff into the states.
That contradicts earlier Clinton statements, in which she and her campaign have said she must win Ohio and Texas to remain viable. As recently as Feb. 20, Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, was singing a different tune about what it would take to keep her candidacy afloat beyond Tuesday. "If she wins in Texas and Ohio, I think she'll be the nominee," the former president told a Beaumont, Texas, audience. "If you don't deliver for her, I don't think she can be." Bill Clinton's assertion that his wife must win both Texas and Ohio to keep her campaign alive reflects a widely held view among political analysts.
The memo attempts to turn the table on the Illinois senator, since delegate-rich Ohio and Texas are considered must-win states for Clinton, who trails by about 100 delegates.
“If he cannot win all of these states with all this effort, there’s a problem,” the memo said of Obama. “Should Senator Obama fail to score decisive victories with all of the resources and effort he is bringing to bear, the message will be clear: Democrats, the majority of whom have favored Hillary in the primary contests held to date, have their doubts about Senator Obama and are having second thoughts about him as a prospective standard-bearer.”
The memo immediately became a discussion point for commentators, most of whom noted it is an attempt to "change the message" as it becomes evident Clinton is struggling to win any of the four states, much less carry them by the huge margins her strategists initially said was vital.
This time, it's a memo that contradicts everything that Clinton, her husband and her top strategists have said for weeks.
The memo claims that Barack Obama must win all four states voting March 4 — Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont — because he’s outspent her in paid media and put more resources and staff into the states.
That contradicts earlier Clinton statements, in which she and her campaign have said she must win Ohio and Texas to remain viable. As recently as Feb. 20, Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, was singing a different tune about what it would take to keep her candidacy afloat beyond Tuesday. "If she wins in Texas and Ohio, I think she'll be the nominee," the former president told a Beaumont, Texas, audience. "If you don't deliver for her, I don't think she can be." Bill Clinton's assertion that his wife must win both Texas and Ohio to keep her campaign alive reflects a widely held view among political analysts.
The memo attempts to turn the table on the Illinois senator, since delegate-rich Ohio and Texas are considered must-win states for Clinton, who trails by about 100 delegates.
“If he cannot win all of these states with all this effort, there’s a problem,” the memo said of Obama. “Should Senator Obama fail to score decisive victories with all of the resources and effort he is bringing to bear, the message will be clear: Democrats, the majority of whom have favored Hillary in the primary contests held to date, have their doubts about Senator Obama and are having second thoughts about him as a prospective standard-bearer.”
The memo immediately became a discussion point for commentators, most of whom noted it is an attempt to "change the message" as it becomes evident Clinton is struggling to win any of the four states, much less carry them by the huge margins her strategists initially said was vital.
Labels: 2008 Presidential Race
posted by Mike McCarville @ 12:45 AM
<< Home