ANALYSIS: What Hillary is probably seeing now to think that she can win in 2008!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 27, 2007 - 6:54pm.
Democratic politics
Hello Everyone:
Here are my thoughts about what I think is probably going through Hillary's mind about why she thinks that she can win the 2008 Presidential election.
Below are Gallup polls with favorable, unfavorable, partisan, and opinion ratings of Bill and Hillary Clinton from 1993 to 2007. For the most part, Hillary Clinton has been able to stay above 50% which is where she knows she has to be in order to win a general election.
Chris Matthews verified these poll numbers for Hillary and the fact that only 3% of the general electorate has any curiosity about her:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16671542/
'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for Jan. 16
Read the transcript to the Tuesday show
MATTHEWS: “How many people still have questions about a certain candidate? Only three percent of the general electorate has any curiosity about Hillary Clinton. They‘ve already made up their minds. They‘re for or against her, whatever. We know the numbers roughly, a little more for than against.”
Hillary is probably thinking that with a bare majority nationwide approval, she can get at least the states that John Kerry got in 2004 plus Ohio to put her over the top in electoral votes.
However even IF she can do this, she would NOT win with any kind of a mandate which means that she would have a very hard time uniting the country (if she even can do it which I think is in very serious doubt) which would lessen her effectiveness as President:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-burkee22jan22,0,7673503.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
Anyone but a Bush or a Clinton
The U.S. needs a leader in 2008 who doesn't inherit the office because of a last name.
By James Burkee, JAMES BURKEE, an assistant professor of history at Concordia University Wisconsin, is co-founder of the bipartisan political action committee Americans for Responsibility in Washington.
January 22, 2007
"Minority and bare-majority presidents are weak leaders because nothing undergirds presidential power like an election mandate. The strongest post-World War II presidents — Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan — were also its most popular. (Eisenhower and Johnson won at least 55% of the vote; Reagan polled just over 50% in 1980 with independent John Anderson in the race, then 59% in 1984.) Presidencies enveloped by partisanship — Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton — were made of men who won office on the barest of majorities or pluralities (Truman won 49.6% of the popular vote in 1948; Carter won 50.1% in 1976; Clinton won 43% and 50% in 1992 and 1996).
Pundits compare 2006 to the late Nixon years, with a country disillusioned by war and a deep distrust of its political leadership. In one of his last interviews, former President Ford lamented the "extreme partisanship that exists in the nation's capital today," suggesting that partisanship is even worse than in the post-Watergate era he inherited.
The nation needs today, as it got in Ford then, a president respected by both Republicans and Democrats who can restore trust in politics. It needs new faces and new ideas if it is to confront advancing crises of war, debt and entitlement reform. And it needs a president who can assume office in 2009 swimming in the political capital that only a mandate can bring. The nation needs a candidate who can win 55% or more.
And that will not happen with a Bush or Clinton on the ballot."
Hillary in my opinion needs to be constantly asked by the media and by her primary opponents: "What are you specifically going to do to unite the country if you become President?" I have not heard this important question asked directly to her yet!
There are several other factors that I think she is also looking at now:
1) The GOP activist base is NOT very happy with their current "top-tier" field of candidates now so they will probably not be as enthusiastic to vote in 2008 as they were in 2004:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/2/26/102418.shtml?s=ic
Monday, Feb. 26, 2007 10:20 a.m. EST
Paul Weyrich: 'Anxiety' for GOP Over 2008
"There is great anxiety” among Christian conservatives about the 2008 presidential election and whether they will be represented by the Republican candidate, said Paul Weyrich, chairman of the Free Congress Foundation..."
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/12/1/145709.shtml
GOP Leftovers for 2008
Dick Morris and Eileen McGann
Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006
"With the recent defeat of Sen. George Allen, R-Virginia, and the surprising withdrawal of Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., from the presidential race, the right wing of the Republican Party is running out of candidates for president in 2008..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/us/politics/25secret.html?ei=5065&en=1e92d10e8c647cf1&ex=1172984400&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
February 25, 2007
Christian Right Labors to Find ’08 Candidate
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 — "A group of influential Christian conservatives and their allies emerged from a private meeting at a Florida resort this month dissatisfied with the Republican presidential field and uncertain where to turn..."
2) The majority of the country has lost confidence in Bush and wants change very badly. That will hurt whoever the 2008 GOP nominee is:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/10819
ANALYSIS: Bush's ineffectiveness and why so many people are looking at 2008 now!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 1, 2007 - 5:22pm.
3) The 2008 Republican nominee will have to run on some nuanced form of "stay the course" in the general election because that is what they had to do in GOP primary to please their activist base in order to win the Republican nomination:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/11086
Neocon activists want to primary the 17 GOP Reps over the Nonbinding Resolution!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 17, 2007 - 12:42am.
That message will not popular with the majority of the country so Hillary probably sees herself as running against some nuanced form of "stay the course" in which she thinks that she will get many "lesser of two evils" votes!
4) Iraq and the world will probably be in much worse shape than they are now so any GOP candidate who is running on some nuanced form of "stay the course" will be at a huge liability to lose the majority of Independent, moderate, and center voters who decide elections:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/215553,CST-EDT-novak18.article
Will Iraq 'black hole' swallow GOP in '08?
January 18, 2007
BY ROBERT NOVAK Sun-Times Columnist
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/11131
New evidence that the war in Iraq is fueling terrorism, rather than stemming it.
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 21, 2007 - 4:04pm.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/11083
A Member of Congress told Joe Scarborough "we‘re losing the war in Afghanistan."
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 16, 2007 - 5:33pm.
5) The economy will probably be in worse shape in 2008 than it is now which will hurt whoever the GOP nominee is:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070226/hong_kong_us_greenspan.html?.v=4
AP
Greenspan Warns of Likely U.S. Recession
Monday February 26, 8:34 am ET
Alan Greenspan Warns That U.S. Economy May Slip Into Recession by End of Year
HONG KONG (AP) -- "Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned Monday that the American economy might slip into recession by year's end..."
Any Democratic nominee will probably have these factors going in their favor (and possibly more) which means that if things are really bad enough for Bush and the GOP, then even I could probably win the 2008 Presidential election if I was on the ballot with a "D" after my name!
However we can do much better with Gen. Clark as the Democratic nominee rather than just having to settle for Hillary or any other Democratic nominee who is inexperienced in foreign policy as "the lesser of two evils" compared to the 2008 GOP nominee who will probably be running on some nuanced form of "stay the course:"
http://securingamerica.com/node/2197
2/2/07 - General Wesley Clark at the 2007 Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting
"I speak to you today as the only person who will take this podium before you to actually have done the things we need to succeed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the world."
This is especially true when there will be almost no margin for error in making tough national security decisions when the next President takes office on 1/20/09 and has to fix the huge foreign policy mess that Bush leaves behind!
What could possibly throw a monkey wrench into this whole line of thinking and political speculation would be IF Chuck Hagel decides to run an Independent Presidential campaign which he has not ruled out and is being talked about:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/11144
Chuck Hagel to decide within 2 weeks on running for President / Independent run?
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on February 22, 2007 - 3:17pm.
However it is still very early in the 2008 Presidential campaign season, world circumstances are changing constantly, and any candidate can make a stupid gaffe or a serious mistake so anything can always happen at anytime!
Mitch Dworkin
http://www.securingamerica.com/
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/10756
StopIranWar.com: "War is not the answer"
Submitted by Wes Clark on February 21, 2007 - 11:40am.
http://www.securingamerica.com/ccn/node/7191
Listen to Gen. Wes Clark fight for Dems on Sean Hannity's radio program: An excellent example for all of us to follow and what we all need to be doing to help fight back against extreme right wing Neocon smear propaganda!
--------------------
http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=26578&eref=aol
February 15, 2007
Bill Clinton's Favorable Rating Highest Since February 1998
Sixty-three percent of Americans have favorable opinion of Clinton
by Joseph Carroll
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- More than 6 in 10 Americans say they have a favorable opinion of former President Bill Clinton, according to a recent Gallup Poll. Clinton's favorable rating is up slightly from last summer, and is at its highest level since February 1998. His favorable rating reached historical lows in 2001 as Clinton sparked many controversies as he left office. But since that time, Clinton's favorable rating has gradually improved and is now close to his historical high, a 66% rating just prior to his inauguration in 1993. A comparison of Bill Clinton's favorable ratings and Hillary Clinton's favorable ratings show that Americans rated the Clintons similarly following their departure from the White House, but in recent years, the former president has been viewed more favorably than his wife.
Americans' Opinion of Bill Clinton
The Feb. 9-11, 2007 poll finds that 63% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the former president, while 35% have an unfavorable opinion of him. Clinton's favorability is somewhat more positive now than in June 2006, when 59% had a favorable opinion and 37% had an unfavorable opinion of him. These ratings are also the highest Gallup has measured since February 1998, shortly after Clinton's relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky was first reported in the media.
From a longer-term perspective, Clinton's favorable rating has averaged 56% since Gallup first measured opinions of him in 1992. During his eight years in office, the former president's average favorable rating was 57%, and since leaving office, this rating has averaged a slightly lower 51%. Clinton's highest favorable rating came just prior to his inauguration in 1993, at 66%, and his lowest rating was 39% in March 2001 following his exit from the White House, which includes controversial presidential pardons and taking gifts from the White House.
Americans' current ratings of Clinton are divided along political lines, as they always have been. The latest poll finds that 89% of Democrats have a favorable opinion of Clinton, compared with 64% of independents and just 30% of Republicans. His latest ratings are among the highest for each party group that Gallup has measured since he left office in 2001.
Prior to Clinton's inauguration in 1993, when Clinton's favorable rating was at its highest level, Gallup found that 42% of Republicans, 61% of independents, and 92% of Democrats rated the then incoming president favorably.
Bill Clinton vs. Hillary Clinton
Although the former president's role in his wife's campaign for president is not fully clear at this point, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton referred to her husband as her "full-time political counselor" in a speech in New Hampshire this weekend. In the latest poll, Hillary Clinton's favorable ratings are slightly lower than her husband's, at 58%. Americans' opinion of Hillary Clinton have improved; when last measured in November 2006, 53% of Americans viewed her favorably.
During the first two years of the Clinton administration, the Clintons' favorable ratings closely mirrored each other on the basis of yearly averages. Americans viewed Hillary Clinton more negatively than Bill Clinton in 1995 and 1996, most likely due to Whitewater and the problems with healthcare reform. The public then viewed Hillary Clinton more favorably than Bill Clinton after the Lewinsky scandal and impeachment proceedings in 1999. Then, from 2000 through 2004, Americans again rated the Clintons similarly, but since that time, Americans have grown more favorable toward Bill Clinton than they have toward Hillary Clinton. The current situation may reflect the fact that Hillary Clinton is still highly involved in partisan politics while her husband is involved in the less controversial pursuits typical of an ex-president.
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,006 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Feb. 9-11, 2007. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
bring up by her political opponents. If extreme right wing swift boaters (like Rush Limbaugh below) will bring this up in the general election if she is the Democratic nominee (and you know that they will), then it is fair game to bring up and talk about it now in my opinion!
It is much better to find out NOW what will come up in the general election with different candidates while we are still in the primary process as opposed to being stuck with a nominee and it comes up then!
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_022607/content/01125108.guest.html
Hillary Issues Impeachment Commandment
February 26, 2007
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT 
RUSH: I mentioned this story earlier, and I wanted to get into it in a little bit more detail. It was Sunday in the Washington Post: "Clinton Fights to Keep Impeachment Taboo -- After Spat, Campaigns Know to Expect Swift Reprisal for Any Hint of the Scandal." That's exactly right. That's the old testicle lockbox. This story (tapping paper) explains exactly why there have been no defectors, no leakers, no telling-all books from eight years of the Clintons in the White House. They have made it plain: anybody who goes off the reservation is going to be destroyed.
Here are the details: "Senator Hillary Clinton has a new commandment for the 2008 presidential field: Thou shalt not mention anything related to the impeachment of her husband." A commandment, folks! It's amazing how she can issue these sweeping orders, these commandments, and the Drive-By Media and any Democrat opponent just falls in line and obeys. Well, we'll see if they obey. We'll see if somebody brings up her husband's impeachment. Now, there's a great line in this story that was uttered here by her advisor and spokesman, Howard Wolfson. He said, "'In the end, voters will decide what's off limits, but I can't imagine the public will reward the politics of personal destruction.' Earlier in the week, Wolfson dismissed references to President Clinton's conduct as 'under the belt.'" If he really said that, does he know what he said? Of course Clinton's conduct was under the belt! It was below the belt. It was under the belt. There was no belt! That was the whole point. There couldn't have been. The politics of personal destruction? Who invented this? It's always been a part of politics, but I think the Clintons own it.
END TRANSCRIPT
Read the Background Material...
(WP: Clinton Fights to Keep Impeachment Taboo)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022401166.html
*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.
For some reason, she just scares the crap out of me.
joe@Clark08.US
Subj: It's remarkable
Date: 2/27/2007 9:54:57 AM Central Standard Time
From: info@hillaryclinton.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
Dear Mitch,
Ever since we launched the "One Week, One Million" effort to demonstrate the strength of Hillary's campaign, I've been watching the results closely. It's amazing to see people from all across the country step forward and tell Hillary how much she means to them and how committed they are to her history-making campaign.
In less than six days, thousands of people -- old friends and new ones -- have risen to the occasion and donated over $800,000. Those financial resources will help fund critical organizing and campaign activities in the weeks ahead.
But this remarkable show of support will have an even longer-lasting impact. This week, you are helping to send a message. It will strengthen Hillary's campaign every day between now and next November.
Will you help put our "One Week, One Million" campaign over the top in the remaining 24 hours of this crucial effort?
Click to Contribute:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/oneweek
There many reasons why people are standing with Hillary right from the start -- her leadership on crucial issues like health care, education, and Social Security; her comprehensive clean energy plan to create jobs and fight climate change; her deep understanding of the security and foreign policy challenges America faces; and her proven ability to find common ground when she can and stand her ground when she needs too.
Our "One Week, One Million" campaign has been an unprecedented success, and we're almost at our goal. Will you be the one to help put us over the top?
Click to Contribute:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/oneweek
I am awed at the depth of support Hillary enjoys so early in the campaign. And early support is even more crucial than it was in my first run in 1992. It's going to be a long and difficult campaign. But I know -- and Hillary knows, too -- that with your support, we cannot lose.
Let's end our "One Week, One Million" drive on a powerful note and show the next great president that we're standing behind her.
Click to Contribute:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/oneweek
Thank you so much for your support.
Sincerely, 
Bill Clinton
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----------------------------------------------------------------
Subj: Be part of history
Date: 2/26/2007 11:14:55 AM Central Standard Time
From: info@hillaryclinton.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
Dear Mitch,
I'll never forget that moment in 1995 when I watched Hillary Clinton stand up in Beijing and declare that "women's rights are human rights." In front of the whole world, Hillary spoke out for every woman who suffered from inequality, injustice, and repression. Every person in the hall knew she was making history. Her act of courage still reverberates through women's lives.
I've known Hillary for nearly 20 years. I've stood side-by-side with her as she took on the fight for women's rights at home and abroad, and let me tell you: no one will stand up for all of us as she will. She is the experienced leader this country needs.
Over the years, I have seen Hillary's deep commitment to improving the lives of women and children. Now it is time for us to show our commitment to her. Will you join me in supporting her campaign's "One Week, One Million" effort?
Click to Contribute:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/oneweek
I remember what it was like to be the first woman secretary of state of this country. Have you seen the look in the eyes of young women at Hillary's campaign rallies? Can you sense the thrill that comes with knowing their first vote in a presidential election could elect America's first woman president?
And what a remarkable woman we're putting forward into this historic moment: strong, smart, experienced, and deeply committed to the values you and I share.
The very first day of her presidency, Hillary will transform America's role in the international community because of the deep admiration she has long enjoyed on the world stage. She will restore the respect that is the foundation of our alliances and the source of our strength.
Don't let this opportunity pass by. Don't stand on the sidelines as Hillary walks through the critical early weeks of her amazing journey.
Support Hillary's "One Week, One Million" campaign right now.
Click to Contribute:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/oneweek
Thank you so much for acting early to get Hillary's campaign -- and America's future -- moving forward.
Sincerely,
Madeleine Albright
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Subj: Thank you
Date: 2/28/2007 12:57:14 PM Central Standard Time
From: info@hillaryclinton.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/hillcast/?sc=1119
Dear Mitch,
I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of support you showed me during our "One Week, One Million" drive. It was an incredible success, and it means so much knowing that I have so many friends all over the country who are committed to our campaign. As Bill said in his message yesterday, I know that with your help, we cannot lose.
Yesterday, in my latest HillCast, I described a plan for an Apollo-like effort to make clean, alternative energy the energy of America. This plan would create a strategic energy fund to invest in developing and deploying clean and alternative energy -- home grown energy.
We can create the fund without new taxes on Americans by asking the oil companies to "Play or Pay": either they invest in alternative energy themselves, or they pay a portion of their windfall profits earned from the spike in oil prices into the strategic energy fund. We estimate that the fund will have close to $50 billion to invest in America's new energy future over the next 10 years.
My bill would also repeal oil company subsidies they don't need and reward families and businesses for increasing energy efficiency.
I hope you'll take a look at the latest HillCast to learn more about this plan. To watch, just go to:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/hillcast/
Again, thank you for the incredible support you demonstrated in the past week and for standing with me.
Sincerely, 
Hillary Rodham Clinton
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Why isn't anyone in the media asking her in public interviews specifically HOW she will be able to unite the country IF she is ever elected President?
This is a key question that Hillary needs to specifically answer in my opinion because no President, regardless of party, can EFFECTIVELY govern if half of the country hates their guts!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17814560/
'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for March 26
Read the transcript to the Monday show
Updated: 2 hours, 3 minutes ago
Guests: Rep. Adam Putnam, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jim Warren, Howard Fineman, Dee Dee Myers, Tony Blankley, Christie Vilsack, Tom Vilsack, Jon Meacham
MATTHEWS: You know, I love the—Dee Dee, you know as much about politics as I do. Let me ask you this question. The latest polling from Zogby says that 51 percent of American men of all ethnic groups, all racial groups—I hate that group, but ethnic groups—basically say they will never vote for Hillary under any circumstance. That‘s a slight absolute majority. Fifty-one percent will never vote for Hillary, they say right now, no matter what she does, no matter what happens, no matter who she is running against. Forty-two percent of women say that, which is a very high number.
Is there out in the country, or out in the Atlantic Ocean, some gigantic monster, big, green, horny-headed—all kinds of horns coming out, big aggressive monster of anti-Hillaryism that hasn‘t shown itself; it‘s based upon gender, the fact that she is a liberal, that she is Bill—and that hasn‘t shown itself, because people are being so nice in the polling, they are saying all the correct things?
Is there an anti-Hillary monster waiting out there that could deliver this nomination, or this election, to someone else?
MYERS: Boy, you know, I—I certainly don‘t think the anti-Hillary sentiment is a secret. There is a—a large and strong feeling in certain segments of the country. They just don‘t like her.
At the same time, I—I think it‘s interesting that we have gotten this far in her candidacy, which is to say that she has been the most-talked about presidential candidate for going on two years, and there has been very little discussion, I think, about what effect the fact that she is a woman will have.
It‘s all about the fact that she is a Clinton at this point.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
MYERS: It‘s very little about the fact that she is a woman.
MATTHEWS: Well, therefore, does that silence tell you that there‘s something hidden out there, in terms of animosity?
MYERS: Yes. I mean, we have all seen the polling that says, you ask people, 90 percent of Americans will say, oh, sure, I would vote for a qualified woman. And then you ask them, what about your next-door neighbor? You know, would he or she vote for a woman?
And the number...
MATTHEWS: Yes.
MYERS: ... drops dramatically, into the 50s. So, I think that certainly suggests there is a hidden reluctance...
Campaign 2008
Fifty percent of adults would not vote for Clinton
By Kelly McCormack
March 27, 2007
Half of voting-age Americans say they would not vote for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) if she became the Democratic nominee for president in 2008, according to a Harris Interactive poll released Tuesday. More than one in five Democrats that participated in the survey said they would not vote for Clinton. Overall, 36 percent say they would vote for the former first lady and 11 percent are unsure of their top choice.
Forty-eight percent of Independent voters also said that they would choose another candidate over Clinton, the poll, which surveyed 2,223 potential voters, states.
Fifty-six percent of men said that they would not vote for Clinton, while 45 percent of women said that she would not be their pick. In addition, 69 percent of those 62 and older said that they would not vote for Clinton.
Nearly half of the respondents said that they dislike Clinton’s political opinions and Clinton as a person. Fifty-two percent of people also said that “she does not appear to connect with people on a personal level.”
will only have to do 1/2 as much voter suppression and election theft crimes to defeat the Dems - cause Hillary will be losing the general election on her own; the GOP political mafia will only have to be their insurance guaranteed 2008;
Somewhere in the not too distant future we will have corporations running for office? It would be more honest, and cut out the middlemen lobbyists. - Ms La - "Halliburton runs against CostCo, with Apple as the Independent"
Subj: Why Hillary is my choice
Date: 3/26/2007 11:04:54 AM Central Daylight Time
From: info@hillaryclinton.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
Dear Mitch,
I'm not someone to play coy about my intentions. When I make a decision, I go all in and follow through. Hillary Clinton has the same determination, and it is something I have always admired.
When I first ran for governor of Iowa in 1998, many people didn't give me much of a chance. But not Hillary. She told me she'd do everything she could do to help, and she followed through. She stood by my side, and Iowa is better for it. She helped ignite the spark that changed Iowa from a red state to a blue state.
By standing with Hillary now we'll help show that we are strong enough to win back the White House -- and America will be stronger and better for it.
Please join me and Christie and help Hillary make a strong showing before the March 31 deadline:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/march31
Christie and I plan on spending the next 10 months helping Hillary win the Iowa caucuses and the other states necessary to win the Democratic nomination -- and after that, the White House in 2008.
I am proud to do it because of all the candidates running, she has the best ideas, the most energy, and the values and vision to lead our country in the right direction after eight long years of George W. Bush.
She's going to put an end to the war in Iraq. She's going to make sure every American has access to affordable health care. She's going to make us energy secure. And I know she'll put children and families first -- she has fought for them for decades.
Today, Christie and I made a contribution to Hillary's campaign, and we did it for two reasons. First, we believe in her campaign. And second, the critical March 31 FEC deadline is just five days away.
We must show the magnitude of the grassroots support for this campaign in the next five days. I hope you'll join us and make a contribution at this critical time:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/march31
I just returned from my first real vacation in nine years, and I am ready to get back to work -- because we don't have time to wait.
This country wants real change.
That's why I announced I'm endorsing Hillary today, and that's why Christie and I are going to travel around our state and the country, introducing Hillary to our friends and talking to everyone we meet about why Hillary is the right choice for Iowa and America.
We're going to give this campaign everything we've got. Please join us and make your contribution before the March 31 deadline:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/march31
I'm excited about joining this campaign. Thanks for your support.
Sincerely,
Tom Vilsack
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007 7:13 a.m. EDT
Hillary Clinton to Pay Vilsack's $400,000 Campaign Debt
Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to help one-time candidate Tom Vilsack, who endorsed her on Monday, as he seeks to retire a campaign debt of more than $400,000.
Clinton spokesman Mark Daley said he was uncertain how Clinton would go about raising money for Vilsack, but he conceded that at some point, she would have to contact her supporters. "Someone in her shop is going to have to reach out," Daley said.
Vilsack and his wife, Christie, endorsed Clinton in her bid for the Democratic nomination at an Iowa news conference on Monday. Daley said there was no connection between the fundraising and the endorsement.
"There was no quid pro quo," Daley said. "They have a long history and if she could be helpful she wants to be helpful..."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02242007/news/nationalnews/aides_learn_hill_drill_nationalnews_maggie_haberman.htm
AIDES LEARN HILL DRILL
'HOW TO TALK ABOUT BUBBA FATIGUE & IRAQ'
By MAGGIE HABERMAN
THEME GIRL: Hillary Rodham Clinton, stumping in San Francisco yesterday, has a memo out to help supporters deal with troublesome questions while always staying on-message.
February 24, 2007 -- A "talking points" memo distributed to Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters gives them the carefully crafted campaign line on how to deal with a host of nettlesome questions, including Bill Clinton being a drag on his wife and the former first lady's guarded personality.
The four-page memo, obtained by The Post, was circulated to the Democratic front-runner's backers in Iowa as she was getting ready to make her first campaign swing there right after throwing her hat in the ring.
Titled "Surrogate Q + A," it gives detailed answers that supporters should give to 15 questions, including, "Will President Clinton be a drag on the campaign?"
"Of course not," is the prescribed answer. "Americans give President Clinton very high ratings and he is one of the most respected and beloved leaders in the world." The response is followed by highlights of the ex-president's term in office.
Another question asks, "How do you combat Clinton fatigue, or those who say they don't want the drama of the Clintons again?"
Answer: "A lot of Americans will gladly take the eight great years of economic prosperity and peace that the Clinton Administration delivered . . . We can do this again with experienced leaders like Hillary at the helm."
And still another asks, "Isn't she too polarizing to win?
Answer: "Obviously not, since she's already winning! If you look at the polls from the past weekend, she's ahead in both the primary and the general election races."
The memo hews closely to Clinton's own language about her campaign - but it gives a glimpse into the message her team has tried to stick to on a broad level.
Several questions deal with the senator's rationale for running - for which the answer focuses partly on "experience," but also on her high poll numbers and massive fund-raising prowess.
"At a time when the country is at war and faces serious challenges, Hillary has the experience, vision and know-how to do the job of president," the memo says, citing her "lifetime of advocacy and results" and the "excitement and passionate support" she has.
Another question deals with what's been a major issue for Team Clinton - her refusal to say her vote authorizing force in Iraq in 2002 was a "mistake."
"She's said she wouldn't vote that way again and has taken responsibility for her vote," according to the memo.
"Now it's time for the president to take responsibility for this war."
Asked about the memo, Clinton spokesman Blake Zeff said, "We're doing everything we can to make sure people have accurate information about Senator Clinton's outstanding record."
maggie.haberman@nypost.com