Clinton Campaign: Obama thinks that the Democratic process is not in his best interest

The Clinton campaign held one of it's regular conference calls with Neera Tanden, senior policy advisor for Hillary Clinton, Howard Wolfson Communications Director and Phil Singer Deputy Communications Director.

Tanden started off summarizing Clinton's economic speech and her commitment to creating new jobs in the energy sector. A big emphasis of this was education and job training for workers to change into new, growing sectors of the economy and access to Pell grants for people who are working and studying.

When questioned about when the Clinton's tax returns would be made available Wolfson said that he had full confidence that the media would have everything they need to evaluate the Clintons within a week. When pressed about the delay, Wolfson said that Obama had delayed too when asked to produce tax returns.

When asked about Clinton's previous statement comparing the credentials for commander in chief to John McCain (i.e. Clinton saying I have experience in the senate and foreign policy, John McCain has experience in the senate and foreign policy, Obama has a speech he gave in 2002) the Clinton campaign reps said that there John McCain has credentials for foreign policy but he is wrong on the biggest foreign policy question of the day and that is the war in Iraq.

When asked about whether Hillary's comparisons to her credentials and John McCain's were a factor in recent Gallup polls that suggest that 28 percent of Clinton supporters would vote for McCain were the race to be between McCain and Obama. Wolfson answered that no, her comments have nothing to do with those numbers, which they discount because they are so close to the margin of error, and that the party will united around the Democratic nominee in the end.

The issue of the letter sent by Clinton donors to Nancy Pelosi came up. The letter told Pelosi to clarify her comments about superdelegates and emphasized the Clinton campaign's line that superdelegates should vote for whomever is best for the party and the country. The campaign reps on the call said that they did not help in drafting the letter and only received a heads up about it being send to the Speaker of the House.

The biggest criticisms of Obama from this conference call were:
-That Obama is not a creative thinker and he is a follower. He simply piggy backed on Clinton's $30 billion second stimulus idea.
- Obama believes that voter participation in the Democratic process is not in his best interest and he is the one standing in the way of the voices of Michigan and Florida voters being heard. Obama is the obstacle, not the legislatures or Democratic parties of these states.
- Obama, because he can not distinguish himself on policy matters, is resorting to pointed, intentional personal attacks on Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. The media is turning a blind eye to the hypocrisy of Obama's positive message about hope and unity.

Senator Hillary Clinton outlines her policy on Iraq

Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) addressed students and the public at George Washington University. It's a long road to peace, Clinton said, but it's a necessary road to travel, and we travel with others around the world.

It's been five years, Clinton said, and our people in uniform have done all that we asked of them, and more. For every American soldier that has made the ultimate sacrifice for this mission, she said, we should imagine, carved in stone, "they gave their life for the greatest gift one can give to a fellow human being, the gift of freedom."

The mistakes in Iraq are from our Commander-in-Chief, Clinton said. Ten months from now, she said, we will have a new president and a new opportunity in Iraq. It won't be easy, she said, and there isn't a magic wand to wave. It will take a president that is ready to be Commander-in-Chief on day one. It requires knowledge, confidence, and readiness, she said, and if you give me the chance, I will be that president, and I will face the obstacles in Iraq as they are, not as we wish them to be.

Today, she said, the Iraqi government has failed to provide basic services for their citizens, they have yet to pass legislation ensuring the equitable distribution of oil revenues, or even pass a law setting the date of provincial elections. By the middle of the summer when the additional surge forces have been sent home, we'll be right back at square one, Clinton said. As we continue to police Iraq's civil war, the threats to our national security, our economy, and our standing in the world, continue to mount.

Despite the evidence, Clinton said, President Bush is determined to continue his failed policy in Iraq until he leaves office, and Senator McCain will gladly "accept the torch" and continue to stay that course and keep us in Iraq for up to 100 years if necessary. They both want to keep us tied to another country's civil war- a war we cannot win. In a nutshell, she said, that is the Bush-McCain Iraq Policy: "Don't learn from your mistakes, repeat them." There is no military solution to the situation in Iraq, Clinton said.

The most important part of her plan, she said, is the first step: to bring our troops home and send the strongest possible message to the Iraqis, that they must take responsibility for their own future. No more talk of permanent occupation, no more policing a civil war, no more doing for the Iraqis what they must be doing for themselves. As we bring our troops home, she said, I will ensure we are fully prepared to take care of them and their families. I believe that when men and women sign up to serve our country, Clinton said, we sign up to serve them too.

Under her plan, she will continue to fight terrorism within Iraq, and also will work to secure stability within Iraq as the troops are successfully withdrawn and brought home. Right now, she said, no one doubts that the Iraqi government is failing its citizens. These failings are in part the fault of the Iraqis, and in part due to the Bush Administration's efforts to match political efforts with military ones.

We must convince all countries in the region and beyond, she said, to refrain from getting involved in the Iraqi civil war, to hold themselves and others to their past pledges to provide funding in Iraq, and to support the central role to the United Nations. My plan, Clinton said, are critical first steps, ones that draw on the strength of our alliances, and the power of our diplomacy, and uses the greatest military force on earth as a last, not a first, resort. Achieving all of this will not be easy, she said, but we don't have any choice.

Showdown in Ohio

By Ellen Ratner

Last Monday, Cleveland, Ohio, had its usual winter snowfall. I was traversing the state from Columbus to Cleveland getting a sense of how the state might vote this Tuesday. The race is on between Sens. Obama and Clinton, and it is a must-win state for Clinton.

It used to be in presidential politics that "So goes Ohio, so goes the nation." But the nation's demographics have changed, and Ohio is not the microcosm of the United States it once was. The United States is about 69 percent Caucasian, but Ohio is 84.6 percent Caucasian. Industry has left Ohio. It was once considered the powerhouse of the Midwest, especially for iron, steel and industry. Fifty years ago, Cleveland was the seventh largest city in the nation; now it ranks around 40.

The Clinton people felt they had Ohio sewn up. Almost all the influential politicians have been stumping for the senator from New York. The governor; the lieutenant governor ( Lee Fisher, whom I have known since childhood) and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the very influential member of Congress from the Cleveland area, have been out for Clinton full time. The problem is that that Ohio has had a very, very hard time lately, and although Bill Clinton is beloved as is Gov. Strickland, their charm and reputations are not able to sooth the sting of General Motor layoffs and NAFTA blowback. In addition, the Ohio plains are littered with closed factories that moved to China. Five years ago, for example, the Ohio Art Company, makers of one of America's all-time top-selling toys, Etch-A-Sketch, moved its factory to China, decimating the town.



Given the demographics of race and age in Ohio, most would assume that it would favor a Clinton candidacy. But Ohio has endured years of disappearing jobs and neglect for developing new industry and technology. As of the latest Sunday polls, Obama was within one point of Clinton.

Growing up in Ohio when it was an industrial powerhouse of the nation, I understood the values that many in Ohio still hold near and dear. So having sat in the debate hall last Monday night, I was not surprised when many of the citizens were furious with Tim Russert for what they considered was an unnecessarily contentious debate. They said they wanted to hear about issues, not his Sunday-style "Meet the Press" "gotcha journalism."

But his questions may have turned the debate and may actually make the Ohio election closer than anyone thought. Here is a play by play of some of the moments inside with Ohioans:

Obama brought up the issue of her campaign making "robo" (automatic calls) after he was attacked for sending out mailers on Clinton's health care plan. She skillfully moved the conversation to getting to his facts on health insurance. Was it that skillful? The audience could not get the dreaded "robo calls" out of their minds. So he sent out a mailer – big deal. Throw it away. Would you rather get a mailer or a "robo" call? There was much seat shifting in the audience at the very mention of "robo" calls.

Then, Clinton says her plan will be affordable. Obama moves his hands in disbelief. The audience chuckles. Clinton nicely goes after the moderators asking why she always gets the first question and invokes the "Saturday Night Live" skit. The audience had been told not to react, but makes a soft booing noise.

Obama warms up Ohio sounding good on trade. She sounds good on green jobs, but doesn't explain what that would look like in Ohio. Clinton delivers her line of the night about him not having one hearing on his subcommittee. He scores on his summary about Iraq, "Once we have driven the bus into the ditch, there are only so many ways you can drive the bus out." The audience loves the analogy. They can relate.

It went back and forth for an hour and a half but Obama used the magic word. No, it was not the "please" and "thank you" that we learned in our Ohio public schools. It was the other word that was present in all of our elementary school teachers' admonitions: "Fair." We were taught to always be fair. Tim Russert takes a page from the Clinton campaign and asks about Obama's changing stance on taking public financing in the general campaign. Obama hits bingo and says if he is the nominee he will sit down with Sen. McCain and makes sure it is fair. That one word won him many votes in Ohio and makes Tuesday's primary a very close race indeed.

Hillary Clinton's Chief Strategist and Communications Director hold conference call

Chief Strategist of the Clinton campaign Mark Penn and Communications Director Howard Wolfson held a conference call to discuss the "State of the Race."

Mark Penn said that "millions of people" know who the right person is to be the manager of the US economy where, he said, the next president is likely to inherent all the economic problems left by the current administration. He said that Clinton can end the war in Iraq and protect the country. He attacked Obama for a statement in 2004 when he said that he didn't know how he would have voted on the 2002 Iraq war resolution. Then he said that momentum is tipping in favor of Clinton on the "most important issues" and he predicted a her success in tomorrow's contests.

Howard Wolfson spoke very critically of Barack Obama. He highlighted two developments that he said arose in the last couple of days. The first concerns a memo that is circulating in Canada about the Obama team having allegedly discussed details regarding his position on NAFTA with Canadian officials despite denying that any discussion on NAFTA had taken place. But Wolfson said that the Canadian press revealed that a "senior member of Obama's economic team" spoke with Canadian officials saying that Obama's message on NAFTA in Ohio is "just rhetoric." Wolfson said that this is a "major story" in Ohio and told listeners that this news comes after Obama has been "unfairly attacking" Clinton on trade. The second issue Wolfson brought up was the controversy involving real estate developer Tony Rezko who is in court facing federal charges of attempted extortion, money laundering, and fraud. Rezko was an Obama supporter with alleged ties to his campaign. Wolfson said that the Clinton campaign is urging Obama to "come clean" and reveal everything they can about relationship between Obama and Rezko but that they are refusing.