Speculation is mounting that Hillary Rodham Clinton may be ready to pull the plug on her faltering Presidential campaign.
Sources within the beleaguered campaign say fund raising has dried up and mounting debts may force a cutback in ads, direct mail and staff.
At Thursday night's debate in Austin, Texas, Clinton appeared at times resigned to the fact that her campaign is coming to an end. Her closing sounded to some more like a valedictory address than the words of a candidate who fights to the end.
In the past she has always said she would stay in the race through the convention -- no matter what.
On NBC's Today Show, Meredith Vieira asked Clinton if she planned to stay in the campaign until the convention in Denver.
Clinton responded that she doesn't "predict the future."
But supporters and donors say the future doesn't look that good. Even "never say die" Bill Clinton admits that if Hillary loses at least one of the big-state primaries in Texas or Ohio next week the race is over.
Others feel it is already over. Political insiders say Clinton's only option at this point is to pull the plug and save face.
Reports The New York Times:
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s latest campaign finance report, published Wednesday night, appeared even to her most stalwart supporters and donors to be a road map of her political and management failings. Several of them, echoing political analysts, expressed concerns that Mrs. Clinton’s spending priorities amounted to costly errors in judgment that have hamstrung her competitiveness against Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.
“We didn’t raise all of this money to keep paying consultants who have pursued basically the wrong strategy for a year now,” said a prominent New York donor. “So much about her campaign needs to change — but it may be too late.”
The high-priced senior consultants to Mrs. Clinton, of New York, have emerged as particular targets of complaints, given that they conceived and executed a political strategy that has thus far proved unsuccessful.
The firm that includes Mark Penn, Mrs. Clinton’s chief strategist and pollster, and his team collected $3.8 million for fees and expenses in January; in total, including what the campaign still owes, the firm has billed more than $10 million for consulting, direct mail and other services, an amount other Democratic strategists who are not affiliated with either campaign called stunning.
Howard Wolfson, the communications director and a senior member of the advertising team, earned nearly $267,000 in January. His total, including the campaign’s debt to him, tops $730,000.
Where else does Clinton spend her money? According to Federal Election Commission reports and The Times:
Nearly $100,000 went for party platters and groceries before the Iowa caucuses, even though the partying mood evaporated quickly. Rooms at the Bellagio luxury hotel in Las Vegas consumed more than $25,000; the Four Seasons, another $5,000. And top consultants collected about $5 million in January, a month of crucial expenses and tough fund-raising.
Campaign sources say Clinton's claims of raising $1 million a day on the Internet during the first 15 days of February were inflated and add that fund raising all but dried up after her big loss earlier this week in Wisconsin.
"We're broke and in debt," says one worried campaign staff member.
Supporters and staff also worry about her passive performance in Thursday's debate.
Reports Forbes:
With Sen. Barack Obama rolling like a freight train to 10 straight primary wins, Sen. Hillary Clinton took the Illinois senator on in a keenly anticipated debate Thursday night at the University of Texas in Austin.
She may not have done enough to stop his momentum.
Clinton's attempt to score points with a prepared line about claims of plagiarism fell flat. Reports The New York Daily News:
Hillary Clinton's best shot at Barack Obama was a dud, so she switched gears and tried to win voters back by connecting on a warmer, personal level in Thursday night's critical debate.
The New York senator came to Austin Thursday night trying to play Texas hold 'em, with Obama eating away at her lead in the Lone Star State and her other March 4 firewall, Ohio.
She looked to score with a canned putdown of Obama when a question arose over whether Obama had too liberally borrowed others' words for his arena-packing speeches.
"Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in - it's change you can Xerox," zinged Clinton.
The crowd at the University of Texas booed.
The San Francisco Chronicle agreed:
After 11 straight victories by Obama, Clinton went into the debate needing a knock-down punch. When her attack lines failed, she pounded on policy. Obama more than held his own. If anything, the debate was a draw that probably did not shift votes.
Clinton waited to go on offense, even backing away from an engraved invitation by panelist John King, who asked her about her "all hat, no cattle" line that she has repeated in her stump speeches. Clinton responded that her comment was directed at President Bush. Clearly her campaign had decided that the attack strategy Clinton took to Wisconsin contributed to her defeat Tuesday.
It was Obama who leapt at a chance to blast her "Let's get real" argument, saying it implies his supporters are delusional.
Clinton quickly struck back. When Obama called her accusation that he had committed plagiarism "silly," she replied that if a campaign is about words, they should be one's own.
Then she let loose her attack line: "That's not change you can believe it. It's change you can Xerox."
It got boos. She must have had more such lines up her sleeve, but she didn't use another after that.
Some see Clinton's words and demeanor as those of a candidate who knows the race is over.
Reports Reuters:
Was it a pivotal moment that could change the campaign, or the swan song of a candidate who may be nearing the end of her U.S. presidential bid?
Hillary Clinton's concluding statement in a televised debate on Thursday drew a standing ovation from the audience and plaudits from analysts.
But some said her words -- which touched on her personal trials while complimenting her rival, Barack Obama -- came too late in a contest that has largely turned in his direction.
Clinton's advisers portrayed her closing comments as a turning point.
"It was the moment she retook the reins of this race and showed women and men why she is the best choice," Howard Wolfson, her communications director, said in a statement.
But the timing was poor. After losing a string of contests to Obama over the last several weeks, she is running neck-and-neck with him in Texas, according to some polls, a state in which she previously had a commanding lead.
"It is a good moment for her that comes very late in the game -- probably too late," Zelizer said. "She doesn't have momentum, she doesn't have enough money, and most importantly she doesn't have the numbers on her side."
Clinton seemed to acknowledge her critical position.
"Whatever happens, we're going to be fine. You know, we have strong support from our families and our friends," she said, looking at Obama sitting next to her. "I just hope that we'll be able to say the same thing about the American people, and that's what this election should be about."
For undecided voter Haley Pollock, 24, that was an admission that the former first lady could fail.
"I think that she's starting to realize that it's a lot more feasible that she's going to lose than it was before," Pollock told Reuters at a rally after the debate.
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On Tuesday, Feb. 26th, they
Submitted by Sandra Price on February 22, 2008 - 9:49am.On Tuesday, Feb. 26th, they debate again! This one is on MSNBC with Brian Williams and Tim Russert asking the questions. This may be the last time we see both Democrats on the same stage.
The Clintons are starting to blame the voters. Duh!!! For me, the contest was decided when Hillary mandated insurance coverage. Mandating anything means a loss of choice and I will never support this.
I hope security is on duty as I read the "Manchurian Candidate" years ago and have been aware that evil lurks, not only in the minds of men, but in political arenas. When they filmed the movie based on the book, the evil mother was not given a name. She was "Raymond's Mother" and that was very affective.....
In a sense Hillary Clinton
Submitted by Wayne K Dolik on February 22, 2008 - 10:06am.In a sense Hillary Clinton is a victim of the Bush family legacy. People are scared to death of the Bush/Clinton ruling family legacy. It seams that in another time and place an American Woman would and could be elected President. And, this is what I related to my female Cousin last night.
The other problem is that the Clinton campaign was and is funded from the top down, and therefore the campaign is tapped out at this point. If you have no real love for the “establishment” you’ve just had the last laugh. They couldn’t buy another election.
"People are scared to death
Submitted by ekaton on February 22, 2008 - 10:42am."People are scared to death of the Bush/Clinton ruling family legacy."
Wayne, that is my nomination for understatement of the year.
8 years of Bush/Reagan (sic).
4 years of Bush Sr.
8 years of the Clintons.
8 years of Bush Jr.
4 to 8 more years of the Clintons?
OR 4 to 8 years of J. Bush/McCain (sic)?
4 to 8 years of J. Bush / Whomever?
We've already had 28 years of this dynasty.
Possibly 44 years of Clintons and Bushes?
Just shoot me now, please.
NO MORE CLINTONS!
NO MORE BUSHES!
-- Kent Shaw
There hasn't been any
Submitted by acf on February 23, 2008 - 12:02am.There hasn't been any dynasty involving the Clinton family. I see one with the Bush family, but including the Clintons because Bill happened to be president in between is just a phony argument. Dislike her for her votes or proposals, or just her personality, but not the dynasty thing.
Hilly should high tail it
Submitted by bryan mcclellan on February 22, 2008 - 11:30am.Hilly should high tail it back to Washington,grab Reid by the balls,Pelousy by the hair,drag them before Congress and demand all proceedings be tabled until the articles of IMPEACHMENT are written and enacted upon to remove Smirk and herr dich.As I've said before,if any out there want to attain the highest office in the land then they best clean the shit house out now.These no neck piss ants have wasted two years,millions of dollars,looked the other way as the flower of our youth is bled out on foreign sand and all on the presumptive idea of ascending to the throne.They can't see that the seat of power they so fervently covet has been SHIT all over and turned into a mockery of the founders principles. Meanwhile bushco has raped the very people they profess to care so much for, and turned them into the terrorists with wire taps,secret gulags,and snitching programs to keep the fear boiling.Go do your job for a change Hilly,then we might hear you.Right now you've shown to be of the same ilk thats in power now.Do something to change our minds or disappear so we can fill your heretofore empty seat!
Well Bryan maybe not. The
Submitted by Sandra Price on February 22, 2008 - 11:56am.Well Bryan maybe not. The word is out from the Conservatives that Obama was raised under Communist studies. Even Neal Boortz (Libertarian) is spreading the word. This of course is step one in how to defeat a Liberal Candidate.
My greatest hope is to see the White House and Congress filled with Democrats and some Liberal Supreme Court Justices put in place. The GOP not only lost me as a member but I may turn out to be a fighter for liberal causes.
Most of these Conservative rumor mongerors had a chance to vote for a true and authentic Conservative but Ron Paul never had a chance. They lost my support too.
What poison got into the GOP agenda and the minds of the members?
Sandra wrote: The GOP not
Submitted by keith on February 22, 2008 - 12:47pm.Sandra wrote:
Ditto.
Like my parents and grandparents before me, I've been a staunch conservative and have nearly always voted straight Republican since I cast my first votes in the late 1960s.
But I will do so no more.
The GOP of my youth that was poplulated by great Repblicans like Barry Goldwater and Everett Dirksen who, by their own admission, always got along with their political adversaries at the end of the day, has now given away to far right, "with us or against us" religious wing-nuts like GW Bush and Mike Huckabee.
NEVER in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd see the day when I'd actually be cheering for Ted Kennedy while he was endorsing a far right wing Liberal (Mr. Obama) for the Presidency.
But, then again, NEVER did I believe that our own country (let alone my own political party!) would be advocating the stripping of our Constitutional rights like habeas corpus, or gleefully initiating illegal wars in other sovereign lands just because we had the military power to do so.
I guess it's called "wisdom". It's the deep understanding you gain about the way the world REALLY works that can only come from actually living though those earlier times.
What do we have, Kennedy
Submitted by acf on February 23, 2008 - 12:15am.What do we have, Kennedy likely to retire during the next presidency? If a President McCain gets to name his replacement, we're in big trouble for the next generation, with the likes of Thomas, Roberts, Alito, and Scalia all young. They'll probably stick around for another 20 years, at least. Put another clone of them on the court, and it'll be lights out for us.
We really need a strong
Submitted by bryan mcclellan on February 22, 2008 - 12:51pm.We really need a strong independent to step forward, and someway to stifle the lying contingent of the press Sandra,before they can manufacture the cow flop they are famous for.I've put myself on the other side of the wall and it's a totally vacuous atmosphere filled with mental entropy.I don't know how people of intelligence can profess to be patriotic Americans and support any of these candidates.The process is too long and the electorate too vulnerable to those preying on them with the fear/misinformation card.We are undone.
Obama is going to get
Submitted by sherry on February 22, 2008 - 12:59pm.Obama is going to get creamed. There is no way he can stand up to the Rove machine.
I am sad for Hillary. Yep she has made mistakes and she wasn't my first choice, but she was the best choice.
I don't think anyone should
Submitted by Dogma on February 22, 2008 - 4:58pm.I don't think anyone should underestimate Obama. He and his staff have run a tremendous campaign in every way thus far and he has come out on the top side of Clinton's attempts at attacks and smears (and McCain's, for that matter). He takes the high road and I believe that not only is that what the country is hungry for, but I think Rove and his cronies just may have met their match! Obama may be 'inexperienced' but I believe he has studied the process and the history and will use his brain and knowledge effectively.
Bryan, we are undone! I
Submitted by Sandra Price on February 22, 2008 - 1:40pm.Bryan, we are undone! I honestly don't know if I should stick around and work for Obama or give up voting. We must work to unseat the Conservative Congress.
Sandra, don't give up. If
Submitted by acf on February 23, 2008 - 12:27am.Sandra, don't give up. If Obama wins the nomination, he'll need all the help he can muster to win. You remember a time of more honorable leaders. Most of the voters today don't have that, and can only recall the Reagan to Bush2 era. They don't know how it's supposed to work. It'll take people with your institutional memory to show them the way. I want Hillary Clinton to win the Dem nomination, but that seems unlikely, now. However, the day she pulls out, or Obama wins the nomination at the convention, I will jump in on his side with both feet.
Sandra, don't give up. If
Submitted by acf on February 23, 2008 - 12:31am.Sandra, don't give up. If Obama wins the nomination, he'll need all the help he can muster to win. You remember a time of more honorable leaders. Most of the voters today don't have that, and can only recall the Reagan to Bush2 era. They don't know how it's supposed to work. It'll take people with your institutional memory to show them the way. I want Hillary Clinton to win the Dem nomination, but that seems unlikely, now. However, the day she pulls out, or Obama wins the nomination at the convention, I will jump in on his side with both feet.
The Democrats hold the
Submitted by griff on February 23, 2008 - 9:34am.The Democrats hold the majority in bith houses of Congress.
McCain is going to get
Submitted by WWWexler on February 22, 2008 - 2:36pm.McCain is going to get creamed, if anybody pays attention. He has so many flip flops he ought to be running a shoe stand at Long Beach.
If the Democrats can't pull in enough Indies to win this one then they ought to just disband as a party and admit that the Fascists won. McCain? Are you kidding me? The guy is hated in his own party. He's telling us 100 years in Iraq, more tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, and he's hugging the Bush legacy, which anyone with an ounce of sense has to know is the kiss of death.
Creamed? Mac is dead meat. I can see him running around the country on the straight talk express for the last 200 hours of the campaign, just before he implodes and starts selling Viagra.
-Wexler
I haven't a nickel in the
Submitted by Flapsaddle on February 22, 2008 - 2:50pm.I haven't a nickel in the Democrat dollar, so it is a matter of complete indifference to me whether Clinton stays or leaves, or whether Obama or Clinton is the nominee. What I am interested in is the rush to crown Obama when there is still plenty of contest left to go. Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania remain to be decided, as does the ultimate fate of the delegates stripped from Florida and Michigan. There are the small states, the so-called "superdelegates", and the ultimate arbiter - the smoke-filled room
Clinton has made some serious mistakes, the first of which was to assume that she was entitled to the nomination and that the primaries and the caucuses were simply pro forma beauty contests. She has also done poorly in the choice of campaign strategies and in the management of her war-chest, such as are outlined in the article above and that have appeared elsewhere.
She is badly damaged, perhaps fatally, but she has not yet assumed room temperature. I'd be surprised if she quit the game now. Whatever one might think of her - either politically or personally - she has an established history of survival in tense situations.
There is also the Teflon-coating on Mr. Obama, which cannot last forever. He will probably make some tactical mistakes, and she may well be able to capitalize on them.
Truly, I do not give a big, hairy rat's rump who wins the brass ring, but I just think it's a bit premature to bury Clinton.
Most sincerely,
T. J. Flapsaddle
Can someone tell me how
Submitted by knockknock on February 22, 2008 - 3:58pm.Can someone tell me how Senator Clinton can manage to improve the U.S. economy as she claims, when she cannot even manage her own campaign funds?
knockknock you're
Submitted by Sandra Price on February 22, 2008 - 4:02pm.knockknock you're rightright.
Look for Hillary to emerge
Submitted by Janet on February 22, 2008 - 4:23pm.Look for Hillary to emerge as Obama's VP running mate. That's why she was sucking up to him last night.
Look for John Edwards and Joe Biden to be in the administration too.
McCain is going to get
Submitted by Broken on February 22, 2008 - 4:28pm.McCain is going to get creamed, if anybody pays attention. He has so many flip flops he ought to be running a shoe stand at Long Beach.
Yep.
Issues:
Iraq war, economy, Bush supporter, flip-flops like mad
vs
"experience" advantage Obama
Debate skills: advantage Obama
Money raising: advantage Obama
Orator skills: huge advantage Obama
Ground game: crushing advantage Obama
Media backing: advantage McCain
The media is the wildcard. If they all-out whore for McCain it could get close.
All-in-all, bet strong on Obama.
The media ADORES Obama.
Submitted by Janet on February 22, 2008 - 5:09pm.The media ADORES Obama.
As Paul Begala says "the
Submitted by mary cali on February 22, 2008 - 5:38pm.As Paul Begala says "the probelm is not that McCain is 71 with old ideas. The problem is he has Bush's ideas." Says it all.
Mary...That says it all!
Submitted by Sandra Price on February 22, 2008 - 6:37pm.Mary...That says it all! I'm sick of Bush's ideas!
My God give me a break.
Submitted by gene on February 22, 2008 - 7:49pm.My God give me a break. Clinton, O-something and McCain. So where is the choice. This nation (people) is screwed no matter what button YOU push. Five (mabe more) hundred trillion dollars of derivates floating in outerspace and the world now facing financial armageddon...that is global armageddon by the way and people/individuals are having heart-burn over these worthless candidates. It want be long until politics will take a back seat to issues that have already destroyed this nation.
Fools, idiots and morons refuse to look beyond this mess and will soon receive the sucker punch from hell.
Bush doesn't have ideas. He
Submitted by SEAL on February 22, 2008 - 7:56pm.Bush doesn't have ideas. He has behavior. Don't give him credit for enough intelligence to have an idea.
Obama has been the media
Submitted by JudyB on February 22, 2008 - 8:43pm.Obama has been the media darling since he gave the keynote address at the 2004 nominating convention when he became a star.
Even before the deafening applause had died down, the pundants were comparing him to JFK, saying they had not heard anyone since Kennedy inspire an audience with such hope and promise for the future as he had.
At that time he was a member of the Illinois State Senate, a senior speaker for Harvard Law School and a candidate for a seat in the U S Senate. Three months later he was Elected to the US Senate winning the Illinois seat taking 70% of the votes, coming as a surprise to no one.
There should be no doubt by now that he is considered a talented and gifted speaker. Never mind that a president has to do more than speak and inspire.
Whether he is is the best, most experienced or even my choice (Edwards). IF, and its a BIG IF, he can keep from making a major screw-up, and withstand the barrage of the certain to come swiftboat like smears until Nov., he'll go on to win.(ie: Rove is still alive & lurking)
Two years ago at that Democratic convention, Obama set the Media and voting public on fire with his speech on hope and promise, its a fire that won't easily be put out.
Having had GWB and his crew in office for 8 years this nation is more desperate than I can remember for the change he promises that he will bring to the nation. The majority of people are reacting to those promises as if he's their cool glass of water and they are in the parched Sahara.
Just remember folks, all
Submitted by staunchdem on February 23, 2008 - 3:27am.Just remember folks, all Barack needs to do is carry one more state than Kerry did.
My guess is he flips more than one.
As for Hillary, I think she's accepted what seems inevitible and will be gracious and withdraw soon.
She would be a terrific asset in Barack's Cabinet or a Supreme Court Justice.
We've not heard the last of her.
Barak should put Hillary in
Submitted by SEAL on February 23, 2008 - 8:31am.Barak should put Hillary in charge of homeland security and let her clean out that nest of vipers.