Clinton Teaches Politics 101

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Clinton Teaches Politics 101
By Dan Balz


Clinton, with Chelsea in tow, busing her way to victory. (Getty).

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Hillary Clinton's stunning victory here on Tuesday night was another powerful reminder of something that is taught in Politics 101: Campaigns matter. In the five days between Iowa and New Hampshire, Clinton ran a campaign. Barack Obama rode a wave. Everyone - myself included - believed the wave would not crest before Tuesday's balloting. Clinton, determined as ever, set out to do something to stop it.

Clinton was tentative in the first hours on the ground after her loss in Iowa. Her advisers confused and shaken by the results in Iowa. Friday was a day of taking stock and trying out new lines but without much to show for it. By Saturday night and the only debate between Iowa and New Hampshire, she was more certain of what she wanted to say. There was lots of focus afterwards on the moment when her voice rose in apparent anger; there was not enough attention, post-debate, to the way she had framed the choice for voters in New Hampshire. "Words are not actions," she said. "And as beautifully presented and passionately felt as they are, they are not action."

By Sunday and Monday, Clinton was focused on drawing contrasts with Obama. By then the comparison was less artful but more understandable: "Where's the beef?" And on Monday, her normally tough façade cracked under the strain of the campaign and a human side of America's Iron Lady crept into view. Clinton said Tuesday night that she had found her own voice during her five days in New Hampshire. Many may have assumed she was referring to the moment in the diner on Monday when her voice cracked with emotion. But she may just have correctly meant that she had found a more effective way to talk about why she wanted to be president. In Iowa, the closing argument was: "Pick me because I'm experienced." In New Hampshire, it was: "Pick me because I care so deeply about what has happened to this country and to you, the voters struggling every day with the problems of finding affordable health care or paying the mortgage or financing college tuition."...

Obama's campaign, in retrospect, was as much an extended victory party after Iowa as it was a campaign focused on New Hampshire voters. It wasn't that Obama was oblivious to the contrasts Clinton was drawing. But he was asking New Hampshire voters to ratify what happened in Iowa, a decision that might have effectively ended the Democratic nomination battle....That was not enough for what Clinton rightly knew about New Hampshire's stubbornly independent-minded electorate....(T)here was evidence, for anyone willing to pay attention to it, that even in the middle of a boisterous Obama rally, some voters were still shopping - and perhaps more voters that anyone realized....Anther overlooked factor was the strength of Clinton's support among women....Another factor that Clinton was performing well and drawing crowds was that, if not quite as large and enthusiastic as Obama's, were nonetheless often impressive. For voters still listening, and there apparently were many, Clinton was talking directly to them....Finally, there were attacks against Obama, through direct mail as well as from the candidate. The Obama team may have underestimated those attacks....

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/09/why_campaigns_matter.html?hpid=topnews

[HeraldSquare212]

1. I don't know, it seems to set up a strawman for the sake of having a narrative

Obama campaigned, had a ground op, asked people at rallies who was uncommitted and many raised their hands, etc.