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Clinton camp seeks to transfer “must-win” label |
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By Aaron Blake
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Posted: 02/29/08 02:28 PM [ET] |
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who has lost 11 straight Democratic presidential contests, is attempting to push back her firewall even further, beyond Tuesday’s vote in Texas and Ohio.
Whereas former President Bill Clinton previously said his wife would need to win those two states to win the Democratic nomination, the Clinton campaign is now pitching all four contests on Tuesday as must-wins for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
Rhode Island and Vermont will also vote in what some are labeling as a second Super Tuesday.
In a conference call Friday, top Clinton aides said that the media has not adequately explored Obama’s ties to indicted developer Tony Rezko. The press should also be asking more questions about a Canadian Television report that a senior Obama aide told the Canadian government that the candidate is not as anti-North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as his campaign rhetoric suggests, the Clinton aides said.
The Obama campaign has repeatedly denied that any such conversation took place.
Adviser Howard Wolfson lectured reporters about Rezko and said that if the roles were reversed, his campaign would be answering many more questions. Rezko will go on trial next week.
The alleged media bias, which the candidate herself posited in a debate this week, plays into the Clinton campaign’s expectation-setting for Tuesday’s contests.
A Clinton memo released Friday called all four states “must-wins” for Obama. The campaign says this is because he has the media, finances and momentum all on his side, and because he is acting like the nominee.
“If he doesn’t win all four of the contests, I think it demonstrates that there is a concern on the part of Democrats with giving him the nomination,” Wolfson said. “We’re banking that that concern is real.”
The memo and rhetoric add to growing signs that Clinton might attempt to stay in the campaign even if she loses the two crucial states on Tuesday. The campaign has also opened two campaign offices in Wyoming, which holds its contest the following Saturday.
In other events related to Tuesday’s contest, a Clinton spokesman said that, contrary to reports, the campaign has not threatened legal action that could delay the caucuses in Texas.
A Texas Democratic Party lawyer had said in a letter Thursday that Clinton aides had threatened to sue the party because of its convoluted method of selecting delegates, which includes both a popular vote and caucuses.
Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said no such threat had been made.
“There has not been any kind of threat, whether it be direct or veiled, floated and there’s no legal action being taken,” Singer said. “We’re simply asking for the procedures that were being discussed to be put in writing, as I think any smart campaign would do.”
The Obama campaign continued to push that storyline Friday afternoon, with Texas House Democratic leader Jim Dunnam saying he was “disturbed to hear” the Clinton campaign might have mentioned a lawsuit.
Dunnam said such talk is “threatening to undermine the enthusiasm and excitement” that Texas Democrats have seen in the form of record-breaking early voting.
Sam Youngman contributed to this report.
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