The news surfaced today, courtesy of a rival campaign, that one of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s top campaign advisors is, well, advising her to skip Iowa. Here’s the Radio Iowa story. Here’s Adam Nagourney’s story in the NYT.
About an hour ago I chatted with Clinton’s Iowa campaign manager, JoDee Winterhoff by phone and her quotes are in the Radio iowa story linked above. Then, a few moments ago Mark Daley, Clinton’s Iowa communications manager, called me to say the senator would be calling up to talk with Radio Iowa. Here’s the transcript:
Henderson: "What can you tell Iowans about the memo and the internal discussion in the campaign?"
Clinton: "What I can tell everyone is I’m unequivocally committed to competing in Iowa. I’ll be there this coming weekend. I’ll be back many times. We’re putting together a very large staff. In fact, we’re more than doubled the size of our field staff in the past month alone and we’ve got 10 offices across the state. I haven’t seen the memo and I was first informed of it when, apparently, the press got a copy of something which reflects the thoughts of one member of our staff who, you know, was thinking out loud, apparently. But it’s not the opinion of the campaign. It’s not my opinion."
Henderson: "It might be wise for you, though, to skip Iowa…where a poll this weekend showed you running in third place."
Clinton: "Well, I don’t really pay any attention to poll at this early stage and there have been polls all over the place. I’ve been in first place and second place and third place, you know (she laughs), so for me it isn’t about polling. It’s about competing in the Iowa Caucuses and being part of this extraordinary campaign that I feel is going to make history."
Henderson: "Is the campaign what you expected?"
Clinton: "I’ve been in a lot of campaigns, Kay. This is just par for the course. I’m very pleased about where my campaign is and the national support and the growing support in Iowa and other of the early states and you know, we have a lot of people who are coming on board who have diverse opinions, which I welcome, because I think having good debates inside campaigns makes for a better campaign, but at the end of day I’m going to call the shots in my campaign and you know from the very beginning I’ve said I was going to compete in Iowa and I am and I intend to do so."
Henderson: "What are your remarks for Mr. Memo Writer here?"
Clinton laughed. "I’ll keep that between me and him," Clinton said, laughing.
A male campaign staffer jumped on the line: "We’re going to have to move the senator along."
Interview over.
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
Duh, maybe the PRESS SECRETARY needs to understand that if Senator Obama can SHOW committed votes in the Senate to override the veto, it would encourage and boulster the House to do so. If the House knows the votes are there in the Senate and they aren’t just voting for something they know would go down to defeat in the Senate by the idiotic Senators that are Bush cronies, then they just may be persuaded by the Democrats in the House to vote their way. Or does she need to understand something even I a regular citizen understands. Grassley’s vote would sway the votes of the Representives in his state to follow suit or don’t you understand that concept?
And Miss Press Secretary, I think I have a little more educated mind than you do, but even I can grasp the concept that a US Senator who leads his state, and can help persuade his Representatives from that state that it will pass in the Senate, it would be an EASY vote in the House. A House member, knowing they have the same vote coming from their Senators from their state will be more easily persuaded to override the veto. Or can you not understand that concept?