Hillary Clinton is hitting the campaign trail for Obama today in Ohio. Here’s a little blurb from The Trail, The Washington Post’s daily campaign round-up.
ELYRIAl, Ohio — Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), swept into friendly territory today to campaign for her former rival, generating large, passionate crowds — but barely mentioning the woman whose popularity has many here fretting.
Since the Republican convention, Clinton has pointedly avoided directly criticizing vice-presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) as she campaigns for Sen. Barack Obama, a strategy her staff says is endorsed by Obama’s campaign. The goal, campaign strategists say, is to get the message back to John McCain’s record, and not to create a clash between two women.
Ok, here’s my question for you:
Why doesn’t Hillary Clinton go after Palin directly?
It seems incredibly stupid to me to take your second most popular Democratic primary candidate, who has a huge advantage with women voters and essentially neuter her like this. Obama doesn’t want to or have to attack Palin, but the one Democrat who can, and the one who should is Hillary Clinton, and here’s the line I’d put in her stump speech to make this point.
We didn’t put 18 million cracks in that glass ceiling so the least qualified person running for national office in my lifetime could be only one John McCain heartbeat away from the Presidency.
Tell me I’m stupid, but what’s wrong with that message, especially when it comes from the one person who’s earned the credibility to deliver it during this campaign season? McCain’s rise in the polls is tied directly to the wave of celebrity popularity Palin has generated. The McCain campaign has made Palin their strength. Well, the best way to win is to attack your opponent’s strength, not shy away from it. That’s how McCain’s Rovian protege campaign manager is running against Obama. If the Democrats want to win this year, and if we all want to avoid the nightmare into which a MCCain/Palin administration would deliver us, then it’s time to take the gloves off.
Obama doesn’t have to be the one taking shots at Palin (and at McCain’s poor judgment/opportunism/ambition) at choosing her as his running mate, but Hillary should. To paraphrase some campaign slogan I seem to recall: Yes she can!
Well, Saturday Night Live is already covering that angle (damn, Tiny Fey nails that impersonation, even the voice). Of course, if Hillary said something herself, she could give more content to the differences between herself and Palin than that left by a satire of her thwarted ambition.
Hillary wasn’t running for Vice-President. She was running for President. She needs to attack McCain, and the only thing she should say about Palin is that SHE is John McCain’s Judgment to be Commander-in-Chief, come to life.
I agree with you and I disagree with Steve. I think that Palin is going to do herself in. It was only a matter of time until the press and the public and the Republicans themselves figured out that there were probably only two reasons she was on the ticket: (1) she has a vagina and not a penis, (2) she is approved by the right-wing-creationist-Dominionist-homophobic-misogynist cabal of the Republicans. If she was a male with the same work history and intellectual ability, she never would have even been on the radar screen.
Women who truly supported Clinton based on her record and her values would NEVER NEVER NEVER support McCain OR Palin. Lady Rothschild is just the case that proved this. Her “defection” only makes me wonder how the Clintons could have been fooled by her. I think that she is the epitome of shallowness and self-interest.
Yes she can!No she won’t!why?
2012…it’s all about the clintons
Imo, the very people activated by Palin are, for the most part, the very same people who hate Clinton.
Within the link (my highlight):
While supporters here were mixed about whether Clinton should directly assail Palin’s views on issues that impact women, they were universally adamant that no Clinton supporter would ever support Palin.
“They couldn’t be more different,” said Barbara Price, a quality inspector here. “It’s important everyone know the facts because the facts have to win out — and Hillary stands for working people and so does Obama. He would have had better go of it had he picked Hillary for his running mate.”
I question whether Clinton on the ticket would have enabled Obama to “have had a better go of it.” But that is neither here nor there.
Clinton attacking McCain keeps the focus on the presidency and Obama – implicit is the message that Palin isn’t worth spending time on – is of little importance / insignificant. Not saying anything actually speaks volumes.
Steven,
I disagree. First of all, this is Hillary’s first step into the fray and she doesn’t necessarily want to come out screaming and beating up on Palin right away. HRC can just present herself as being right on women’s issues and by implicaton Obama will benefit from that. Shrill is the last thing we need from her.
It’s amazing how many bloggers are offering advice on how the Obama campaign should be run. I trust Axelrod and Plouffe– their track record ain’t bad.
I agree with both you and Steven.
I agree with you in that I have learned to trust the Obama campaign over the course of this year. They are extremely good.
I agree with Steven in that I believe his suggested speech-line is perfect for Clinton. However, she doesn’t need to lead with it. In fact, it’s more important that she send that message in late October than it is right now.
I actually am enjoying seeing major Clinton endorsers articulate why they support Obama and why they don’t support “just any woman” on a ticket, especially one with Palin’s politics and lack of experience.
Is that they are saving some of their best ammunition until later in the campaign. If Hillary had attacked Palin on Sep. 1st, it would be old news by now. One week can be an eternity in this campaign. I think this is the same reason Bill Clinton hasn’t been on the stump yet.
The Obama campaign likes to take their time, knowing that new assaults are most effective in the first week and lose their steam afterwards. That’s why they didn’t pick a VP until the cusp of the convention, instead of a month earlier like some people wanted.
This would also be why they would hold onto a Colin Powell endorsement (if they have it) until one or two weeks before the election.
Keep your powder dry, and all that. But who knows, maybe I’m just overthinking it.
Reason to abstain: The MSM, to say nothing of Pat Buchanan, would love nothing more than a cat fight. That would dominate the news cycle for days. Obama and company are much to smart to get into a back and forth with Palin.
Who can disagree? Palin is not the woman to be sitting a seat away from the presidency, and who would be better at making that judgment than Hillary Clinton?
The Obama campaign are beginning to make mistakes at a time when miscalculations can be costly.
palin’s favorability numbers are fading rapidly
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/09/palins-favorability-numbers-eroding.html
so maybe they are holding off on ‘attacking’ her directly because that would bring her more attention. i rather agree with booman’s basic tenet that she’s the one who should do the critique, but perhaps it’s more a matter of when and how much and the obama folks have decided for now it’s not the right time.
personally i am a bit alarmed by the bounce that mccain got from the convention and how that’s playing out in the polling, it’s really tightened. i think the counter weight to that is that finally the national media is taking a much more critical eye on both republican candidates. and that’s very good news.
It’s the McCain, stupid 😉
I’ve been reading more than a handful of diaries on Kos and elsewhere that we all have been focused too much on Palin and warning that we have to get our eyes back on the prize: beating McCain. Some have gone so far as to suggest that we’ve been “played.”
Palin’s running for second banana. Her “star power” is just so much smokescreen trying to distract us from what a wretched choice the top of the ticket is. Now that the traditional media has gotten the scent of blood in the water with Palin, so much better it is to let them take up the hunt–and let the desperate cries of sexism be thrown at them rather than the Obama campaign.
Much better to let Clinton remind us once again that it’s the economy–and completely ignore the circus sideshow that is Sarah Palin.
What makes you think that Hillary is following Obama’s dictates rather than saying what she wishes and how?
Hillary doesn’t want to be seen as Obama’s hitwoman against one of her sisters.
Hillary also doesn’t want to be relegated to attacking No.2 Palin. She wants to retain the image of playing in the “big leagues with the boys.”
If Obama goes down, Hillary will have done her part for the party. She’ll retain her brand for 2012. If Obama wins, she’ll look great in Supreme Court black.
Yes, SCOTUS, a much better place for her than in the cabinet where the MSM would have endless stories about a rift between Hillary and Barack.
She does have that Yale law degree and the ability to analyze complex documents. I’m not in any way a Hillary supporter, but I do believe she would make her mark in history on the SCOTUS. Future generations might even read about the decisions of the Clinton Court. Oh, and wingers could copy those old “Impeach Earl warren” bumper stickers!
Bill Richardson just said on Hardball that Obama’s “best asset is his bipartisanship”, and that we must “drill more but drill responsibly”. (Like we should withdraw from Iraq but withdraw “responsibly”, I guess.)
Gee, these Democrats have such a winning message.
Glad Obama went with Biden and not Richardson.
If Palin is to be attacked, isn’t it Biden’s job to be the attack dog?
But the issue here is not Palin – but McPain’s judgement in selecting her – “Putting America first?”. Hardly.
Why alienate all the soccer Mom’s by attacking someone they can identify with?
It’s the economy stupid. Don’t let McPain change the agenda.