Boston Globe: In Ohio, Clinton counts on the 'economy' voters

By Susan Milligan
Globe Staff / February 23, 2008

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - For Tom Buffenbarger, the choice in the Democratic primary is simple: a man with a dream and a woman with a plan. And to him, Barack Obama's lofty vision doesn't answer the nuts-and-bolts questions working-class America has for its next president.

"What do you want? The editor of the Harvard Law Review or a fighter for working families?" Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists, bellowed at an Ohio rally for Clinton on Tuesday night, just after Obama was declared the winner of the Wisconsin primary.

At campaign events, Buffenbarger said, Obama "cocks his head and lifts his nose up" as he talks about changing the tone of American politics. "Hope? Change? 'Yes, we can?' Give me a break!" the union leader mocked, drawing boisterous hoots from the crowd.

They are Clinton's firewall: the working-class voters who say they don't want to hear fancy words about changing Washington; they want to know exactly how the next president is going to bring jobs to their struggling communities and make sure their children have healthcare.

Daily Kos: The Heart of a Champion

by Alegre
Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 06:18:59 PM PST

We had a rough day yesterday to be sure. I finally called it a day around 1am and as I was clearing out the dishes hubby left in the sink (sigh, again) I paused for a minute - leaned on the sink and thought... how in the HELL does Hillary keep on going in the face of the hate, the anger, the unfair media coverage, the sexism, and - tonight especially – this latest disappointment?

What drives this sister with the heart of a lioness?

Getting back into the White House?
Nooooo. She’s been there before.

Receiving more adulation and love from the MSM & the press (Tweety & Russert)?
Hardly!

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she is the very definition of a public servant. She sees how much work there is to be done and she knows she’s the one person who’ll actually get results. She’s got a long history of public service and sticking up for those without a voice.

Stuart O'Neill: We Need a Warrior

n a era threatened by the nuclear capability of Pakistan, India and China and the emerging Iran; in a era when Christian Nationalist’s are actively planning a generational strategy to take over the US Government; in an era when one party wants to starve the government of cash so it must cut back services; in an era when a war in Iraq continues to cost American lives; in a era of unprecedented $410 Billion budget deficit, at those times America needs a Warrior.

We need someone proven under fire. A person who has withstood the worse political invective and remains not only standing but doing better work than ever. We need a Warrior.

A political Warrior is: “… a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics …”. David Gergen on CNN noticed her glancing nod towards this part of her background. It is his judgment that a new message, “I am the Warrior who can face the challenges and win the day.”, would be well accepted. He’s right.

Describing herself as an experienced Warrior, an experienced fighter, HRC will create an entirely different mind-image and generate a different emotional reaction with supporters and voters. While being ‘experienced’ is an amorphous term, word Warrior itself rings with authenticity given her history.

In her closing statement in last night’s debate HRC did, again, show herself to be a caring, internally motivated campaigner/fighter. She also started the path towards using the ‘Warrior’ meme. If she continues to do both in the next few weeks she can change the campaign. I hope she stops listening to consultants who didn’t seem to learn from the moment in NH and keep asking her to recycle campaign themes that continue to lose against Obama.

“America Needs A Warrior.” It is the truth. She’s not only qualified for the job but she’s a fighter, a Warrior. I hope someone is listening. The American people need a Warrior.

Huge Crowd Greets Hillary in Brownsville

Candidate promises to begin troop withdrawl within 60 days of inauguration
By Rachel Benavidez and Aaron Nelsen/The Brownsville Herald
2008-02-20 20:15:00

"Buenas noches, Brownsville!" Henry Cisneros said and took the stage for what he called a "classic South Texas political rally."

Cisneros, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, introduced state and congressional dignitaries who joined him to speak about their pick for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"This is an exciting date for us. We are going to greet in a very short time the next president of the United States of America," State Rep. Rene Oliveira said and announced that Clinton had just crossed the Brownsville city limit sign.

"What you’re going to have to do is yell a little louder, so that she can hear you," Oliveira said and again offered his support for Clinton and her husband, whom he called "the best president we’ve ever had."

"And she’s going to be the next best president we’ve ever had," he said.

Students, voters, children and media mixed in the crowd of an estimated 5,000 supporters.

With a U.S. flag painted on her forehead and stars on her cheeks, Jevalya Smith waited anxiously a top her father’s shoulders for presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton to arrive.

“(Jevalya) didn’t believe Hillary was going to be here,” said Vonia Smith, Jevalya’s mother.

“She thought it would just be somebody in a costume.” Smith and her husband Ricardo Juarez are both students at UTB-TSC and the parents of two daughters.

Smith and Juarez lack health care as do their daughters. Because they believe Clinton offers the best health care plan the couple said they would vote for her.

“We need help,” Vonia said. “We need health care. We need this country to be competitive again.”

The crowd erupted in cheers when Mike Trujillo, statewide field director for the Clinton campaign, asked, "Is this Clinton Country?"

"Yes!" was the hearty response.

"Are we gonna give a Texas-sized winning?" he asked and received the same big ol’ "Yes!"

Trujillo and a handful of Hillary Clinton staff workers moved the crowd from their Tejano music rhythm to chants for the candidate.

Sen. Clinton had not appeared on the stage but the energy was high in the standing-room only Student Union lawn.

Wash Post: Hillary Soldiers On

In recent weeks, Clinton has increasingly turned to recounting anecdotes about people she has met, shifting attention away from her and back to voters, a formula that Bill Clinton used to great effect.

She recalled some of those individuals -- a soldier in San Antonio, a working mother in McAllen -- at a street-corner event in Dallas. And later in the day at an economic roundtable in Columbus, Ohio, where she stood in front of a banner that read "Solutions for the American Economy," she solicited stories from visitors about their economic problems, including one woman's tale of losing her home to foreclosure. But the motorcade accident hung like a dark cloud at every moment, with Clinton pointing to the four children the officer left behind as an example of the need for a social safety net.

Her supporters gasped as she described the accident in Dallas earlier in the day. "It was just heartbreaking," she told the hushed auditorium.

Clinton will travel to New Orleans on Saturday before heading to Rhode Island, another March 4 state, on Sunday. She and Obama are scheduled to participate in a debate in Cleveland on Tuesday night -- possibly their last.

The Moment of the Debate...

Hillary Clinton rallies supporters in Dallas, Fort Worth

Mrs. Clinton’s debate performance prompted Dallas resident Anita Nabejar to deliver a special gift to her. “Last night, when I saw the last part of the debate, it brought me to tears. She’s so sincere,” Ms. Nabejar said.

The 51-year-old woman said she already has asked permission of Clinton campaign workers to give the candidate a rosary of pearls and gold. It was given to her a year ago from a friend who had traveled to Rome.

“It’s been blessed,” she said.

She said she wasn’t bothered that Mrs. Clinton is Methodist. “She’s got to believe in God,” Ms. Nabejar said.

Toby Sandifer, 43, of Lake Charles, La., was one of a group of 10 residents from the Homeward Bound drug and alcohol treatment center who were awaiting Mrs. Clinton’s arrival. Mr. Sandifer said he already had voted for her.

“I’m from south Louisiana and I like Bill Clinton. I want to hear what she has to say. I like her policy on health care. Health care is important to this group. We are also HIV patients,” he said.

FIVE FACTS ABOUT DEMOCRATIC DELEGATES

FACT: Pledged delegates and automatic delegates are the same - they each count for ONE vote.

The Democratic Party chooses its delegates in three ways: 1) through primaries where millions vote; 2) through caucuses where thousands vote; and 3) it gives a role to elected leaders and other party activists in the process. [more]

Automatic delegates (commonly referred to as "super delegates") comprise the third category. Automatic delegates come from all 56 states and territories and consist of Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, distinguished party leaders (including former Democratic presidents, vice presidents, former House and Senate Democratic leaders and former DNC Chairs) and members of the Democratic National Committee. These DNC members are activists and grassroots supporters who are focused on helping Democrats win at all levels of elective office. There is no difference between pledged delegates and automatic delegates - they each count as one delegate in the final tally and no distinction is made between them at the convention.

FACT: Neither candidate can secure the nomination without automatic delegates.

The Obama campaign is trying to shut down the Democratic race before the rest of the country votes. There are still many states and territories that have not voted with over 1000 delegates at stake. [more]

These delegates represent nearly half of the 2,208 delegate votes needed for the nomination. It is mathematically impossible for Sen. Obama to secure the delegate votes needed for the nomination without automatic delegates. This is why, despite publicly attempting to discount the role of automatic delegates, the Obama campaign is aggressively courting - and pressuring - them behind the scenes.

FACT: Automatic delegates are expected to exercise their best judgment in the interests of the nation and the Democratic Party.

The Obama campaign is claiming that automatic delegates must follow the lead of pledged delegates and switch their vote to Sen. Obama. [more]

This is false and unfounded - and it is contradicted by Sen. Obama's top strategist, David Axelrod, who said, "These are elected officials from across the country and they're supposed to exercise their judgment as to what would be best for the party. And as they look at this, they need to decide who would be the strongest candidate for the party." This view is echoed by other prominent Democratic leaders, including House Majority Whip James Clyburn and DNC Chairman Howard Dean, who has said of automatic delegates, "Their role is to exercise their best judgment in the interests of the nation and of the Democratic Party."

FACT: Florida and Michigan should count, both in the interest of fundamental fairness and honoring the spirit of the Democrats' 50-state strategy.

An important part of the debate over delegates is the role of Florida and Michigan. Hillary Clinton believes that the voices of 600,000 Michigan primary voters and 1.75 million Florida primary voters should be heard at the Democratic convention. [more]

In the 2004 presidential race, the turnout in Michigan was only a quarter of what it was this year - and the 2004 turnout in Florida was less than half of what it was this year. With such dramatically increased turnout, Hillary won those two states and she did it with all candidates on an equal footing. In Florida, all presidential candidates were on the primary ballot and all followed the rules (except for Sen. Obama who broke the rules by running television ads in violation of his pledge to the early states and to the other presidential candidates). In Michigan, Sen. Obama voluntarily withdrew his name from the primary ballot to curry favor with Iowa. He was under no obligation to do so. However, his supporters organized a substantial vote for 'uncommitted' on the ballot, thus he is represented in the delegation. Hillary Clinton obeyed all the rules in Florida and Michigan and came out ahead. She had no intrinsic advantage over her opponents other than the will of the voters. The voters of Florida and Michigan should be heard and the delegates from Florida and Michigan should count.

FACT: There is a clear path to an overall delegate majority (pledged + automatic) for Hillary Clinton after all states have voted -- with or without Florida and Michigan.

Contrary to the Obama campaign's claims that the race is over, all voters should have their say before a candidate declares victory and tries to circumvent the democratic process. The race is currently a virtual tie, with the campaigns now separated by a small handful of delegates, barely 2% of all the delegates to the Democratic Convention. [more]

It was THE moment of the debate...

Boston Herald: When backing Barack feels like joining a cult

By Margery Eagan | Thursday, February 21, 2008

I’m an Obama girl and my man throttled Hillary Clinton, again, Tuesday night.

Suddenly, the impossible is real.

Suddenly, I’m nervous. Very nervous, actually.

I’m nervous because an otherwise normal grownup told me yesterday she’s watched the will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) “Yes We Can” Obama video about 100 times and gets “weepy” every time.

I’m nervous because a longtime political type, normally quite cynical, now waxes rhapsodic about Obama’s “cool.”

“He’s elegant, controlled, the best-dressed candidate ever,” he says. Never a red tie, yellow or bright blue. No, Obama does a subdued lean charcoal gray suit with a gray or silvery tie. Everything muted, measured, fluid. “He floats onto the stage, a bit of the Fred Astaire thing going.”

Fred Astaire?

This same man, 100 percent anti-illegal aliens, fears Obama could pull a Reagan or a JFK on the Mexican border, head down there, chanting, “Tear down this wall!” or even do an “Ich bin ein Tijuana!!!”

He’s with Obama anyway.

I’m nervous because Harvard political genius Elaine Kamarck told me Hillary understands the various messes we’re in far better than Obama.

Suppose Kamarck’s right?

I’m nervous about the “O’Bambi” factor. Will the terrorists move in next door when Obama’s in the White House?

I’m nervous because Michelle Obama, about whom I just wrote a fawning puff piece, now says that until her husband’s stunning ascendancy, she’s never before been proud of America. Huh?

Barack now claims she didn’t mean it. Oh, yes she did. We all know the insufferable, holier-than-thou, Blame-America-First types who lecture the unwashed from the rarefied air of Cambridge and Brookline.

If I wanted lecturing, I’d be with Hillary.

I’m nervous because too many Obama-philes sound like Moonies, or Hare Krishnas, or the Hale-Bopp-Is-Coming-To-Get-Me nuts.

These true believers “Obama-ize” everything. They speak Obama-ese. Knit for Obama. Run for Obama. Gamble - Hold ’Em Barack! - for Obama. They make Obama cakes, underwear, jewelry. They send Valentine cards reading, “I want to Barack your world!”

At campaign rallies people scream, cry, even faint as Obama calmly calls for the EMTs. When supporters pant en masse, “I love you!” (like The Beatles, circa 1964), Barack says, “I love you back” with that deliciously charming, almost cocky smile.

Oh - I’m nervous because it’s all gone to his head and he hasn’t even won yet.

I’m nervous because it’s gone to a lot of other people’s heads as well. Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings introduced Obama last week in Baltimore and said, “This is not a campaign for president of the United States, this is a movement to change the world.”

“He walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere,” says George Clooney.

“I’ll do whatever he says to do,” says actress Halle Berry. “I’ll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear.”

I’m nervous because nobody’s quite sure what Obama stands for, even his supporters. (“I can’t wait to see,” said actress/activist Susan Sarandon, declaring full support nonetheless).

I’m nervous because even his biggest fans can’t name Obama’s accomplishments, including Texas state Sen. Kirk Watson, an Obama-man who humiliated himself when MSNBC’s Chris Matthews asked him about five times to name something, anything, Obama’s done. Watson hemmed. Watson hawed. Watson gave up.

I’m nervous because John McCain says Obama’s is “an eloquent but empty call for change” and in the wee, wee hours, a nagging voice whispers, suppose McCain’s right, too? Then what?

HILLARY SPEAKS FOR ME!

Check out the new website built for and by Hillary's supporters at www.hillaryspeaksforme.com

HILLARY SPEAKS FOR ME!

Check out the new website built for and by Hillary's supporters at

Clinton rallies college crowd on the border

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press Writer
© 2008 The Associated Press

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Coming off another round of stinging primary defeats, Hillary Clinton returned to South Texas Wednesday to show that her opponent is not the only one who can draw big college crowds.

On the University of Texas at Brownsville campus less than a mile from the Mexican border, Clinton promised to improve education for Hispanics, make college affordable for every American and develop a better illegal immigration plan than the one that threatens to divide this campus with a border fence.

But first she will have to stop rival Democrat Barack Obama.

Clinton is counting on primary wins in delegate-rich Texas and Ohio March 4 to close the gap Obama has won all 10 contests since Super Tuesday Feb. 5. Obama won by wide margins in Wisconsin and Hawaii Tuesday. Clinton will need 57 percent of all remaining delegates to surmount Obama's lead.

As in her visit to the Rio Grande Valley last week, Clinton drew on her experience registering voters door-to-door along the Rio Grande in 1972 to connect with the crowd. An estimated crowd of 4,000 packed a lawn behind the student union on a humid Wednesday night.

"When I was a student I came to the Valley for my very first political job," Clinton said. "I'm going to crisscross Texas but my heart is always in the Valley."

"She knows the Valley, she knows our struggles," State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. shouted to the crowd. "South Texas will make the difference in winning the state of Texas."

Hillary Counting on Hispanics in Texas

By Indira Lakshmanan

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Next to her gold medallion of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Rosa Rosales of San Antonio wears a button for the woman she considers another patron of Mexican-Americans: Hillary Clinton.

The New York senator needs to prevail in the March 4 primary in Texas, the second most-populous and delegate-rich state in the nation, to salvage her dwindling chances of becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. Her victory hinges on winning a substantial majority of Hispanics, who are likely to account for about 35 percent of the Democratic primary electorate, Latino polling experts said.

The front-runner, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, is campaigning to cut into her base, with some success. To hold him off, Clinton probably needs to replicate her performance in the Feb. 5 primary in California, another state with a large Hispanic population, where she carried 71 percent of those voters, according to exit polls.

Clinton, 60, ``has to keep her base and expand her base or she loses,'' said Lydia Camarillo, vice president of Southwest Voters Registration Education Project, a San Antonio-based nonprofit group. ``Hispanics are finally in the driver's seat.''

Clinton, McCain Push Experience Button

By LAURA MECKLER and JACKIE CALMES

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barack Obama is facing attacks on two fronts on one of the toughest issues facing his campaign: whether he has the experience necessary to be the nation's commander in chief.

Both Sen. Hillary Clinton, his rival in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, and Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, are arguing that Mr. Obama, who has no military background and few foreign-policy credentials, is ill-equipped to serve as commander in chief. Both say he would stack up poorly next to Mr. McCain, a Vietnam War hero who has been involved in many foreign-policy debates during his Senate career. Mrs. Clinton also has some foreign-policy experience from her time in the Senate and as first lady.

Should Mr. Obama win the Democratic nomination, Mr. McCain plans to press the issue throughout the year. "It will be one of our major themes, certainly," said Charlie Black, a senior McCain adviser. On Tuesday night, in a thinly veiled reference to Mr. Obama, Mr. McCain asked if the nation is prepared to risk "the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate."

A Message from Hillary

Here's what you need to know this morning. We were outspent in Wisconsin by a 4 to 1 margin on ads -- and we can't let that happen on March 4.

If we want to win in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont, we've got to even the odds. We can't let the Obama campaign overwhelm us financially. Today, I am calling on you and other online supporters to act together, making sure we have the resources to create a fair, level playing field on March 4.

Contribute now to help us level the playing field.

Let this remarkable two-person contest for the Democratic nomination be determined by the strength of our ideas, the quality of our leadership, or the depth of our experience. But whatever you do, don't let the outcome of these crucial March 4 contests be decided by a lopsided spending advantage for the Obama campaign.

Only you -- our incredible online community -- can act quickly and decisively enough to create a level playing field. And with everything on the line, that's exactly what I'm asking you to do.

We're putting everything on the line. Contribute now.

There are just two weeks left before voters go to the polls in one of the most crucial days of voting yet. We must make sure we can hold our own against an avalanche of Obama TV ads, direct mail, phone calls, and online advertising.

I have total confidence that, as long as we have the resources to compete, March 4 will be a day of dramatic victories for our campaign. Let's make it happen.

Thanks,

Hillary
Hillary Rodham Clinton

P.S. I am counting on your leadership and financial support. Please do all you can -- and act as quickly as possible.

Hillary in Youngstown, Ohio:

In the end, this election comes down to one simple question. When the speeches are over and the cameras are gone, who can you count on to listen to you? You know you can count on me to stand up for you and to deliver solutions for you. If you know one thing about me it is this – when I say I’ll stand up for you I will and when I say I’ll fight for you, I will. That is what I’ve always done.

Obama's Plagiarism

Hillary Clinton's campaign advisers today sought to keep alive their contention that Barack Obama, her rival for the party's presidential nomination, acted improperly when he used another politician's words in a speech Saturday in Wisconsin, which is holding its primary today.

"He's running on his powerful oratory and his promises," Clinton's chief strategist, Howard Wolfson, said to reporters today on a noon conference call. "When that oratory comes from someone else, [he] should point that out."

And the campaign's focus on Obama's use of phrases that were part a gubernatorial campaign speech of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Obama's friend and supporter, seemed unlikely to fade. Before reporters hung up from the call with Wolfson, pollster Mark Penn, and Clinton advisers in Texas and Ohio, the campaign had E-mailed a press release that called into question Patrick's defense of his friend. The governor had told the New York Times that the two men spoke last summer, and he had suggested that some of his speech phraseology could be used by Obama to respond to critics. The Clinton campaign alleges that Obama's use of Patrick's words predated that.

Patrick, in a morning television appearance, called the accusations unfair and an attempt to "belittle [Obama's] ability to motivate people." Obama, who has said he should have credited Patrick, characterized the tempest as not a big deal and yesterday suggested that Clinton herself has used phrases from his campaign. But in a desperately fought battle, and with Obama threatening to extend his primary and caucus winning streak to 10 in Hawaii and Wisconsin tonight, the Clinton team appears determined to use the word-borrowing -- author-approved or not -- as part of an attempt to discredit the Illinois senator's strongest campaign assets.

"Senator Obama has put himself out there as a great orator," Wolfson said. "When he is found to be lifting passages of a speech from another elected official, it's significant."

Politico.com: Obama Plagiarizes Gov. Patrick's Words

Obama closely echoed a passage from a speech that Deval Patrick, now the Massachusetts governor, used at a campaign rally when he was running for that office in 2006.

The Clinton campaign circulated a pair of YouTube links of the two speeches on Sunday.

Here's Patrick at a rally for his gubernatorial campaign on Oct. 15, 2006, during the final stretch of his successful campaign against then-Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey (R):

“But her dismissive point, and I hear it a lot from her staff, is that all I have to offer is words — just words. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, [applause and cheers] that all men are created equal.’ [Sustained applause and cheers.] Just words – just words! ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ Just words! ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’ Just words! ‘I have a dream.’ Just words!”

Here’s Obama on Saturday night at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s Founders Day Gala in Milwaukee:

“Don’t tell me words don’t matter! ‘I have a dream.’ Just words. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ Just words! [Applause.] ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ Just words — just speeches!”

Hillary a "Rock Star" in Texas

(Washingtonpost.com) This story was written by Dan Balz.

Sen. Barack Obama left a phone message for J.D. Salinas, the county judge in South Texas's Hidalgo County, last weekend. Former senator Thomas A. Daschle called on the candidate's behalf last Wednesday. "He asked me to be part of the campaign," Salinas said. "I told him it was too late."

Salinas originally backed New Mexico's Bill Richardson for the Democratic nomination, believing that a governor from a state along the Mexican border with a lengthy foreign policy résumé had the credentials he was looking for. When Richardson quit the race, Salinas's decision to support Obama's rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, was easy. "She's the only candidate who's ever visited South Texas," he said.

Sixteen years ago, as a young volunteer, Salinas helped look after Clinton when she came to McAllen for a big South Texas rally the day before her husband was elected president. He hasn't forgotten that day. "There's no learning curve for Senator Clinton," he said. "She's been coming here for 30 years."

When the Texas primary campaign begins in earnest after Tuesday's vote in Wisconsin, Obama will find stories such as this all over the Lone Star State. From her incidental connections such as the one Salinas described from the 1992 campaign, to deep friendships formed working in Texas during the 1972 presidential campaign of George McGovern, to acquaintances gained from multiple visits over the past decades, Clinton is rooted in Texas as she is in few other states.

Texas is one of two populous states -- the other is Ohio -- with March 4 primaries, where the Clinton campaign sees the opportunity to arrest Obama's momentum. Both set up well for the senator from New York, at least in initial assessments. Ohio's economic woes make it potentially receptive to Clinton's focus on bread-and-butter issues. Texas, because of its large Hispanic community, provides a base of support that has been critical to Clinton in other states.

In Texas, Obama cannot replicate Clinton's affinity overnight. His advisers believe they can overcome many of her built-in advantages, enough at least to emerge with a close split in delegates under the state's convoluted primary-caucus system, by tapping into a new generation of Texans who have no connections to the Clintons and by arguing that the senator from Illinois would be the stronger general-election candidate. But as was the case in the run-up to Super Tuesday, his advisers say he will be in a race against the clock.

"My guess is, in Texas [Clinton's] base in the Democratic Party is broader than in any other state that I can think of," said Henry G. Cisneros, who accompanied Clinton on that trip to McAllen in 1992 and later served as housing secretary in her husband's administration. Referring to a former Texas governor, he said: "They have good ties to the Ann Richards liberals. They have good ties to labor in Houston. Good ties to some of the Democratic money in Dallas. Good ties traditionally to the African American community -- though it won't be as helpful -- and good ties to the Latino community."

The Young Turks who helped Clinton register voters and organize Texas for McGovern in a hopeless battle against Richard M. Nixon -- Garry Mauro and Roy Spence -- are at the center of her campaign in the state. Others, like Cisneros, who became friends later or joined the Clinton administration during the 1990s, are fanning out as surrogates in what has become a campaign to save her candidacy.

RFK Jr and Cesar L. Chavez Endorse Hillary

Hillary on the Larget Beef Recall in US History

The news today of the largest beef recall in our nation's history is yet another troubling reminder that we have done too little to protect our food supply. This incident also reveals a danger to our children, since the Hallmark company is the second largest supplier to the U.S. School Lunch program. I believe that American families should not have to worry about the safety of the food on their dinner tables or in their children's school lunches. That is why I have long been calling for common-sense - and long-overdue - food safety reforms, building on my work in the Senate. As President, I will fully fund our food safety system so that our inspectors have the resources and manpower they need to do their jobs. I will create a single food safety to replace the patchwork of regulation we have now. I will implement an effective recall system so that potentially tainted food immediately comes off of grocery store shelves and families receive instant notification. I will strictly enforce safety rules and impose stiff criminal and civil penalties on violators. And I will crack down on the slaughter of sick or injured cows, a practice which poses health risks to families and children. Now more than ever, America needs a President who will deliver concrete reforms that fill the gaps in our food safety system.

Hillary Pulling Out All the Stops

Her strategists have talked constantly about Texas and Ohio, which vote March 4, rarely mentioning Wisconsin and its primary Tuesday.

Even so, she has made a highly visible effort in the past week in Wisconsin, using a full range of political tools — toughly worded television commercials, top-level surrogates, satellite interviews and conference calls with reporters — to create an effective presence.

She hopes to blunt Obama's momentum, either by beating him or coming close. Whatever the outcome, she's positioned herself to say that it came without a full-fledged effort.

State polls show only a single-digit gap between the two Democratic candidates in the race for 74 pledged delegates, with Obama leading.

"I'm hoping that Wisconsin is not going to let the rest of the country dictate how we vote," said Dawn Foster, 50, a Clinton voter who lives in the town of Portage. "Obama says that Hillary feels she's owed the nomination. I don't see it that way. I think she's earned it through all she's done in her career."

And Clinton has been fighting for it. Her campaign is taking on a newly assertive tone, a likely preview of what's to come in Ohio and Texas, starting with a debate in Austin on Thursday.

Obama flip-flopped on financing

WASHINGTON — The campaign of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton hammered rival Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday for refusing to reaffirm his commitment to accept public financing in the general election, a development a top aide criticized as "a pretty big flip-flop" and an opening for Republican attack.

Clinton hasn't acknowledged that Obama is likely to be the Democratic nominee — she says she is — and she also hasn't promised to accept public financing herself. The issue, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson says, is that Obama made a campaign pledge but now won't promise to keep it.

The One To Take the Lead

by Susan Wood, PhD.

Senator Clinton made the difference. The FDA suddenly announced it would approve emergency contraception for use without a prescription for women 18 and older - one day before FDA officials were to face a determined Senator Clinton and her colleague Senator Murray at a Senate hearing in 2006. No one was more surprised than I was. I hope all of those who benefited fromthis decision know that it wouldn't have happened if it had not been for Hillary Clinton.

A Special Message from Democrats.com: IMPEACHMENT UPDATE

Something very important happened in Congress on Thursday, thanks to all of your emails and calls. After 7 years of cowering in fear of every dictatorial demand from Bush and Cheney, House Democrats finally rose up and said NO.

First, House Democrats refused to give immunity to the telecom giants for illegally wiretapping the calls and emails of every American - despite two Bush press conference hissyfits and endless Corporate Media lies.

Second, House Democrats declared Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten to be in contempt of Congress for rejecting subpoenas to testify about the U.S. Attorney scandal, despite a faux-angry walkout by Republicans. Watch Rep. Robert Wexler's excellent floor speech.

Could this be the start of holding George Bush and Dick Cheney accountable for their innumerable High Crimes, ultimately through impeachment?

The main problem we face is time. Since this is an election year, Congress will stop legislating and start campaigning full-time in May. Since impeachment hearings take time, those hearings must begin now.

Thanks to your emails and calls, 18 Democrats support Rep. Robert Wexler's call for Cheney impeachment hearings:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/cheney
But that's not enough - we need 100 Democrats to support Wexler in order to force Speaker Pelosi to hold these hearings.

This week, every Member of Congress will be home working at their District Offices and meeting with the voters who elect them. So let's send them a loud and clear message: Start Impeachment Hearings for Dick Cheney Now.

One great way to send that message is through "Honk to Impeach" actions at the District Offices of your Representative. These actions are fun and passing cars love it. It just takes 2-3 brave people to have a successful 1-hour event.

Here's a national map with ongoing honk-a-thons:
http://www.communitywalk.com/impeach
If you don't see one near you, call your bravest friends and pick the date(s), time, and contact info. Find District Offices by searching for your Representative here:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt?command=congdir
Then create a map login and click "add a marker."

To find other honkers, connect with activists in your Congressional District by logging in to Democrats.com and clicking "local":
http://democrats.com/local
Click [Post] next to your Congressional District and blog about your plans. All the details you need are here:
http://www.democrats.com/honktoimpeach

Since it's Washington's Birthday, we've created a special flyer you can print and hand out called WWWD: What Would Washington Do?
http://www.democrats.com/files/WWWD.doc

Time is running out so let's hit the streets this week!
http://www.democrats.com/crucial-week-for-impeachment

ABC News: Clinton Will Fight As Long As It Takes

ABC's David Chalian, Teddy Davis, Eloise Harper, Kate Snow and Sunlen Miller report: Sen. Hillary Clinton is ready to fight for the Democratic nomination all the way to the Democratic National Convention in August if that’s what it takes, but her top strategists say they’re not expecting a nasty brawl in Denver.

"My prediction is there will be no fight," said Clinton campaign advisor Harold Ickes on a conference call with reporters Saturday. "All of this is going to be settled out before we hit the floor."

"We don’t think our party or our candidate will be served by a bitter floor fight," he added later.

But Ickes also made it very clear that Clinton would not give up without a fight -- no matter what happens in the upcoming primary battles with Sen. Barack Obama.

Ickes conceded that Clinton is not doing as well in the fight for delegates as she might have been doing if her campaign had paid more attention to states that hold caucuses -- states where Obama has scored big victories recently.

"We didn’t make as much of an effort as we probably should have," he said.

But he predicted that Clinton will "hold her own" in Wisconsin on Tuesday night and said the campaign expects her to win in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island on March 4. Ickes said the demographics of Pennsylvania also favor Clinton and predicted she will win there on April 22.

While the Obama campaign has predicted he will stay ahead in the race for delegates, the Clinton camp says Obama is getting ahead of himself and declaring victory prematurely.

"He'd like to be nominated right now, but there are a lot of delegates who have yet to be selected," Ickes said.

They see a tied ballgame.

After the last Democratic primary contest in Puerto Rico in June, Ickes said Clinton and Obama will be "neck and neck."

"Shortly after that she will wrap it up," he predicted.

That presumes that Clinton will be able to convince Democratic superdelegates -- party leaders and elected officials -- to support Clinton even if the people they represent have voted for Obama.

Ickes said those superdelegates, which the Clinton campaign prefers to call "automatic delegates," will be key.

"The central fact is, notwithstanding all the controversy ginned up by the Obama campaign, both of these candidates are going to need them," Ickes said.

Both campaigns continue to aggressively court superdelegate support.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said today that they would continue to pursue superdelegates even though they believe they can win the nomination without them.

"We're not going to unilaterally disarm as the Clinton campaign does its best to use superdelegates to overturn the will of the Democratic voters," Burton said.

Clinton's camp, meanwhile, contends that superdelegates should not be swayed by the voters of their districts but should support the person they think is best fit to be president.

"Automatic delegates are supposed to exercise their best judgment," Ickes said.

The Clinton campaign is also continuing to push for delegates from Florida and Michigan to be counted at the convention.

Ironically, last summer Ickes -- as a sitting member of the Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Commission -- voted to strip those states of their delegates when the states moved up their primaries to dates before February 5. Those moves were seen as a threat to the traditional first states Iowa and New Hampshire and were therefore punished by the party.

"With respect to the stripping, I voted as a member of the Democratic National Committee. Those were our rules and I felt that we had an obligation to enforce them," Ickes said.

But now Ickes, as a member of Clinton's team, wants to change the rules.

"Why should Florida not be heard at the convention?" Ickes asked today.

He said some 1.7 million Democrats voted in Florida and their voices should be heard. And he rejected the idea of a do-over, as some have suggested.

Although she did not actively campaign in Florida -- under an agreement made by all of the Democratic candidates -- Clinton easily won the majority of Florida's delegates back in January.

"The process has taken place. Everybody was on an equal footing. We see no reason for a re-do," Ickes said.

Madison (WI) Capital Times: Hillary Clinton clearly is best to lead nation

In the upcoming Democratic presidential primary, Wisconsin voters are blessed with two candidates who are smart, energetic and forward-looking. Nonetheless, the state's residents have to decide who will be the most qualified starting on the first day in the Oval Office. My choice is Hillary Clinton.

I have had the good fortune to observe Clinton's career while living in New York. Up close, she is an unusually tough and savvy as well as charming political figure. While not as visible as Mayor Rudy Giuliani on 9/11, she showed great mastery in the difficult days after the attacks in helping to bring about the physical and emotional recovery of New York City and gaining federal assistance for ground zero workers exposed to toxic air.

As important, in her eight years in the Senate, she has compiled a strong liberal voting record in the tradition of Wisconsin's great Sens. Bob La Follette and Gaylord Nelson. While she has known defeats (e.g., health care in 1994), she has turned her reversals into legislative prowess on Capitol Hill.

Her work on the Armed Services Committee and her fact-finding visits overseas belie the notion that she has limited foreign policy experience. Her vote for the congressional resolution on Iraq in 2002 was a vote for continued weapons inspection and diplomacy and in opposition to pre-emptive war, as she clearly stated in her Senate floor speech. Today she is trying to prevent the establishment of permanent U.S. bases in Iraq by requiring prior congressional approval for any such outposts.

Of extraordinary importance, she has taken the lead on the most important economic crisis to face our country in decades. She was among the first of the Democratic contenders to propose a bold economic recovery program designed to rescue the nation from recession. Over a month ago, Clinton advocated for $70 billion in emergency spending and a backup of a $40 billion tax rebate should economic conditions worsen. Hers is a direct attempt to help the most threatened people in America -- namely, lower-income families facing foreclosures of their mortgages, those in need of home heating aid, and people who require extended jobless benefits.

Her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, belatedly came out with his own plan, which seemingly lifts most of his ideas straight out of Clinton's proposal.

On a more specific level, Clinton's recommendations on helping Americans caught in the subprime mortgage mess are far-reaching. She has called for a moratorium on foreclosures, a freezing of interest rates, the use of federal subsidies to help homeowners keep up with payments and restructure loans, and augmented regulation of the financial industry.

Obama has come up with an alternative plan, which, by contrast, does none of these things but tinkers around the edges. He backs a bill against mortgage fraud, supports an average $500 tax credit for homeowners, and endorses additional funding for a limited class of homeowners. His is a tepid response to an enormous tragedy.

In many ways, Clinton is to the left of Obama. She has outlined a program of universal health insurance -- meaning that every person in America would be covered. By contrast, his plan is more restrictive and would leave millions of people uncovered.

Lastly, Clinton is a fighter for change. Obama, on the other hand, is a self-described conciliator. What Democrats want today, however, is a battler, not a mediator. They have suffered enough from the vicious blows of President Bush and the Republicans. What the party needs is a nominee who will take the contest directly to the opposition. Come the fall showdown, a candidacy of "friendly persuasion" is going to be Swift-boated into oblivion.

Stephen Schlesinger is a specialist on the foreign policy of the Clinton and Bush administrations and is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers.

The Latest in News from the Clinton Campaign

Making News: Automatic delegates' "role is to exercise their best judgment in the interests of the nation and of the Democratic Party," according to Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean.

By the Numbers: "Ohio's makeup favors Clinton" reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Read more.

Previewing Today: Hillary holds "Solutions for America" town halls in De Pere, Wausau and Madison, Wisconsin. President Bill Clinton attends church services in Columbus and holds "Solutions for America" rallies with Gov. Ted Strickland in Toledo, Canton, Steubenville, and Marietta, Ohio. Chelsea campaigns for her mom in Hawaii.