Clinton Now Under Pressure To Bounce Back Against Foes

NY Sun ^ | November 14, 2007 | RUSSELL BERMAN

[COUNTrecount]

WASHINGTON — The pressure will be on Senator Clinton at the Democratic presidential debate tomorrow as she tries to bounce back from a weak performance last month that has cut into her lead in the polls.

Her top rivals, Senator Obama and John Edwards, head into the Las Vegas forum confident that their increased criticism in recent weeks finally has begun to inflict damage on Mrs. Clinton's campaign, which had seemed unstoppable earlier in the fall.

Messrs. Obama and Edwards have painted her as a creature of a corrupt corporate culture in Washington who is more concerned about her political standing than she is about principles, and that image has been fed in recent days by disclosures that the Clinton campaign has "planted" questioners at two of its town-hall forums in Iowa.

Acknowledging that the dynamic of the race has shifted, Mrs. Clinton is using the attacks as a fund-raising tool. Her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, yesterday sent out a missive to supporters urgently seeking donations in a bid to raise $1 million by the start of the debate tomorrow night.

"The campaign has changed," Ms. Solis Doyle wrote at the top of the e-mail.

[Slapshot68]

“The pressure will be on Senator Clinton at the Democratic presidential debate tomorrow as she tries to bounce back from a weak performance last month that has cut into her lead in the polls.”

Did she get a sex change?

[Red_Devil 232]

I am sure CNN and Wolf will do their best to make Hillary look good!

[Miss Didi]

RUSH: Let me do some little analysis here on timing for all of this stuff to have happened to Mrs. Clinton now. We're into the third week of a slow bleed, and it all started, I think -- I can't prove it -- but I think it all started on this program the day of the debate in Philadelphia at Drexel University when I read a story on the Associated Press talking about how radioactive the issue of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants in New York was for Mrs. Clinton. The reporter said, "This is radioactive." I said, "Well, ask her about it!" The story was about how nobody is asking her about it because it's radioactive. I said, "Ask her about it." That night she was asked about it by Tim Russert, and she flubbed it, she flip-flopped it, she blew it big time in ways that we don't need to recount. On a conference call later the next day, a bunch of Clinton supporters were discussing all this, how to stratergize around it and what to do about it, and according to the Hill newspaper, one of them even said, "Russert should be shot," and then said, "I shouldn't say that on a conference call."

Now, also, in the process of this, folks, we have dealt, perhaps, too soon to say, but we have dealt a damaging, perhaps fatal blow to Governor Eliot Spitzer's plan to give illegals driver's licenses. So we have a twofer there. We have Mrs. Clinton off the highway, the guardrails didn't protect her, she's in the SUV and it's rolling over there. She had to get Clinton out to start defending her. Then, of course, came not tipping the waitresses; then comes the planted questions; then Bill Clinton says boys are ganging up on her here; then Mrs. Clinton had to say that she was a woman and they're attacking her because she's a woman, and she says no, I can handle it, I'm tough, I'm your girl and blah, blah, blah. You know all this. Now we've got this ongoing bleed with the student and planted questions, and the Clinton, Inc., war room today warning Wolf Blitzer that he better not gang up on her, he better not do any personal attack Russert-type questions Thursday night at the debate in Las Vegas, or else. They didn't say or else, but it was a warning.

I speculated earlier that Wolf may want to beg off the debate because who's going to take care of his children, just like these diplomats in the State Department don't want to go to Iraq, because who's going to take care of their children? Wolf, by the way, get a cup. I don't know that Wolf's listening. I know he listens. If he's not listening, somebody tell Wolf to get a cup. I know people at CNN monitor this show. You people at Media Matters, I know you're listening, tell Wolf to get a cup. Well, I could send him one but I don't know if mine would fit him. But nevertheless, let's look at the timing of this, ladies and gentlemen. Here we are shortly before Thanksgiving, and all of this is happening. Up 'til the past three weeks, it has been smooth sailing. Mrs. Clinton is reporting all this marvelous fundraising superiority, magnified, big leads in the polls, wherever you look. Now, all of a sudden, this little slow bleed is happening, and it shows no signs of abating. Now, it could all abate, if she comes out of the box with a bang, big-time performance Thursday night in the debate, then, you know, these things can turn on a dime, and if she comes out and is forceful, answers these questions, then Hillary has weathered the storm. So that's a possibility.

But if that doesn't happen, if the slow bleed continues, we're going to be at Thanksgiving next week, and the news cycle over Thanksgiving, everybody tones it down, you got football games on the weekend, college and pro, families getting together, the whole mess. The news cycle sort of goes slow. Then, right after that, you get into December, and hello holiday time, and it's sort of like August and July. Those are interruptions into what I call normalcy. It's like radio ratings in July and August, you don't pay much attention to them because people are not living their normal lives. Vacations, kids are out of school, same thing in December. Plus, you know, the Drive-Bys are going to be guaranteed to be pounding us with horrible economic news. So the last thing that people are going to remember is this slow bleed of Mrs. Clinton's, unless they can do something to make big news in December, to get rid of this. Then the Hawkeye Cauci, January 3rd, right after the Christmas holidays are over!

So my point is, there's not a whole lot of time to turn this around if it continues, and if she doesn't have a boffo performance on Thursday night. You can talk all you want about Wolf Blitzer, the Clinton, Inc. can warn Wolf Blitzer all they want, but I tell you if her opponents have any gonads, they're not going to have to depend on Wolf Blitzer in order to go after her on some of this stuff. In a normal campaign, that's what would happen. In a normal debate, the moderator is just there to sound the warning bell when your time is over but, if the Breck Girl wants to get into it, roll up the sleeves, same thing with Obama -- you know, talking about Obama turning up the heat, I don't think he's got the personality right now to turn up the heat on a stove. But we'll have to see. We'll just have to watch and see on Thursday night. But the timing of this could not be worse, quote, unquote, for Mrs. Clinton.

Analysis: Timing Is Everything



Prediction: The Comeback Kid-ette

[hophead]

“I am sure CNN and Wolf will do their best to make Hillary look good!”

If not he may find himself in Marcy Park with a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

[TomGuy]

WOLF WARNED: NO GANGING UP ON HILLARY IN VEGAS! (CNN warned to be gentle)

Posted by tlb On News/Activism 11/13/2007 9:53:20 AM CST · 386 replies Drudge ^ | Nov.13, 2007 | Drudge CNN's Wolf Blitzer has been warned not to focus Thursday's Dem debate on Hillary. 'This campaign is about issues, not on who we can bring down and destroy,' top Clinton insider explains. 'Blitzer should not go down to the levels of character attack and pull 'a Russert.'' Blitzer is set to moderate debate from Vegas, with questions also being posed by Suzanne Malveaux... Developing.

[Badeye]

I just want somebody to ask the following question;

‘when did you last have sex with your husband?’

I know, I know, its ‘out of bounds’.

That said, you all have wondered the same thing over the past decade at one point or another, especially after 1998.

[varon]

BTTT

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Probably not since 1985 or so.

[hoe_cake]

No ganging up on Hillary?

Oh p’shaw! Hillary’s the biggest bully on the playground, and her camp needs to quit playing her as Poor Pitiful Pearl.

[Prokopton]

Messrs. Obama and Edwards have painted her as a creature of a corrupt corporate culture in Washington who is more concerned about her political standing than she is about principles,

When you're right you're right.

[Cobra64]

Simple answer:

[Old Professer]

Should be interesting. Want to make a buck?:

Political Debate viewers needed for live Debate study: 11/15 Las Vegas

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Reply to: ryan.rowe@emsense.com
Date: 2007-10-22, 1:21PM PDT

Must be a registered Democrat in Las Vegas, already planning to watch the Presidential Debate on November 15 and willing to come watch the debate with a group of other Democrats for market research. The time requirement is 4 hours (6:00 PM to 10:00 PM on November 15 in a central location). Refreshments will be served and you will be paid $80 for your participation. We are looking for men and women of all voter eligible ages.

If you are interested, please go to: http://www.emsense.com/test to fill out our online survey.

Location: Las Vegas
Compensation: $80
Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 456529242

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Copyright © 2007 craigslist, inc.

[Badeye]

Since he looked at Chelsea and saw Webb Hubbell looking back.....

[Badeye]

ROTFL! Thanks for posting that.

[Miss Didi]

Rush said that just like Andrew Cuomo and Toricelli were taken out by Don Vito Clintoneone, Governor Spitzer must have gotten a phone call.

[Red_Devil 232]

How about they ask this question also:

Do you agree with Spitzers reversal on giving Illegal Aliens licences?

Hillary will say that she agreed with the IDEA but ... but ... she did not agree with actually impleminting the the IDEA!

[boomop1]

He has the questions and answers already.

[Badeye]

No doubt.

[spectre]

Hillary has always been vacant.

Now, that she is required to speak for herself, she is proving how dense she actually is...I love it.

sw