I'll tell you exactly what happened to Hillary Clinton...

[CoffeeCat]

I live in Iowa and I had the opportunity to experience each campaign, up close and personal.
We know how fortunate we are, with our "first in the nation" position. Candidates hang out
here for weeks, and we get to see the whites of their eyes. I was close enough to Joe Biden,
to see that he was wearing a cashmere sweater. Any Iowan who wants to meet all of the
candidates--and even ask them questions--has that opportunity.

When the candidates began campaigning, I assumed--like most people in our country--that Hillary would
be the nominee and Edwards would run a competitive campaign in Iowa.

I watched these campaigns closely and it became clear--very early in the game--
that Obama and Edwards ran citizen-oriented campaigns--which micro-targeted people
and small groups with their detailed plans. Obama and Edwards furiously criss crossed
Iowa, meeting with small groups and answering individual questions as they stopped at
local restaurants, hospitals and bars.

I watched as Obama's and Edward's frantic schedules attracted very little media attention.
Meeting with ten farmers in Albia or a small group of nurses in Dubuque, didn't exactly attract
the CNN satellite trucks. However, those stops were impacting people--voters.

Hillary's large speeches in Iowa's biggest cities did attract the satellite trucks. This
created a distorted exaggeration of Hillary's impact and missed the invisible--yet powerful--
strides of Obama and Edwards.

I could almost feel the invisible undercurrents. Voters walked away from Hillary's large speeches
feeling like they didn't know her. Her campaign felt orchestrated and overly
managed. She wasn't winning voters, but her high-profile events gave the impression that
she was. Obama and Edwards were engaging voters--but without the glare of the spotlight.

Hillary stopped taking questions in Iowa, but not before some very egregious blunders.

At a rally in Newton, Iowa- a college student revealed that a Clinton staffer approached her, and said, "Would
you like to ask Hillary a question?" After agreeing, the college student reported that the Clinton staffer
circled an "environmental" question that had the words "college student" written next to it. With dozens of
hands raised in the audience, Hillary called on this student and Hillary's response to this question
began with, "Thank you for your question...college students often ask me this question..."

This college student couldn't believe what just happened and she came forward. The Hillary campaign
denied this and insisted it was an anomaly. Hillary staffers insisted that the college student not speak
to anyone about this incident. Two days later another Iowan came forward with a similar story--describing the
same notebook full of questions and a Clinton staffer prompting her.

(Full story on this event: http://web.grinnell.edu/sandb/questions.html

During a Hillary rally in Davenport, Iowa--a man asked her about Kyl/Lieberman. She became defensive.
In front of the entire crowd, she accused the man of "reading something that someone else sent to you".

(Full story on this event: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/10/07/clintons_iran_vote_prompts_a_h.html )

Hillary stopped taking questions for a long time, after these incidents.

Many Iowans were put off by Hillary's actions--as Obama and Edwards continued to build meaningful relationships
with Iowans.

My phone was filled with a constant stream of phone calls from Obama, Edwards, Biden and Richardson. I was
invited to events, speeches and town-hall meetings, daily. I rarely heard from the Clinton campaign.
As caucus-day approached, I attended an Obama house party and received emails and friendly visits from
Edwards and Obama canvassers. Their ground games were like nothing I've ever seen--and I've experienced
many campaigns as they roll through Iowa.

Meanwhile, Hillary had to fire a few staffers. One of her Iowa Directors was fired for sending out
"Obama is a Muslim" emails. The "Obama drug" stories began circulating through her paid staffers--both
nationally and in Iowa.

Hillary appeared to rely on impersonal events and dirty tricks. When Bob Kerry announced his endorsement
of Hillary, he said, "I can't wait for Hillary to run against Barack Hussein Obama!". It was like fingernails
on a chalkboard and it was so obvious. Kerrey later apologized profusely for the remarks.

Hillary did land the endorsement of the Des Moines Register, the local unions and our popular ex--governor
and DLCer--Tom Vilsack. Iowa's political apparatus carried Hillary--right over the heads of Iowa voters.

Hillary's polls began declining, while Obama's popularity rose and Edwards maintained second-place status. I heard two
high-level Iowa Democratic party officials--on a local radio program--speaking about Clinton's tanking "internals."

It's rare for anyone outside of a campaign to hear about "internals"--highly accurate polls that campaigns
guard vociferously. Those numbers were not supposed to be revealed, but they were a glaring symptom of Hillary's
arrogant and impersonal campaign.

In response to her sagging polls, Hillary launched a week-long, "Get To Know Hillary" press event.
Showcasing an entourage of Hillary girlfriends, former teachers and college pals, Hillary toured the Iowa
countryside. Her preschool teachers gushed about what a nice person Hillary was, and her friends talked about what
a good listener she had been. It was like watching someone run for national Prom Queen. Breaking the
absurdity ceiling, Hillary just happened to spot her previous Sunday School teacher--standing in the Iowa
crowd, "Is that you? Oh my gosh!", Hillary cried. A tearful, "coincidental" reunion occurred with the
cameras rolling. This went on for days.

Hillary's campaign then went PT Barnum, by announcing their new "Hillocopter" event! Hillary spoke on a
tarmac, and ended the event by flying away in her campaign-coined "Hillocopter". At this point, I wasn't
sure if Iowa was still a state or the site of a three-ringed circus. When her campaign promised me a
cute "Hillary Coffee Mug" if I returned a signed pledge card to the campaign--I knew that we had gone
down the rabbit hole and taken a left into some bizarre political game show--complete with cheap parting gifts.

Outside the circus tent, support swelled for Obama and Edwards. Their rallies grew and so did excitement for
their ideas, plans and call for "change". Hillary Clinton hadn't mentioned the word "change" in Iowa. Those
tiny dots on the map--where Obama and Edwards visited--were now connected and galvanized into a series of blowout
rallies. They had won over Iowans--one by one--and now those loyal supporters coalesced at record-turnout events.

Their ground games drilled down into individual precincts, neighborhoods and households. Now, when
the Obama and Edwards campaigns called me, we were on a first-name basis and they knew how my husband
was voting, the ages and names of my children and that my main concerns were Habeas Corpus, corporate
corruption, torture and illegal wiretaps.

After much research and a call from Obama himself (while I was decorating Christmas cookies), I agreed to
be a precinct captain for Obama and caucus for him. The Clinton campaign called me the night before the
caucus "to see if I had any questions". Needless to say, I didn't.

The soul of these campaigns played out, in technicolor, in Iowa. Edwards and Obama respected that voters
were thirsty for accessible, honest candidates and meaningful dialog. Iowans received those things in spades
from the Obama and Edwards campaigns. Touting her "inevitability", Hillary not only underestimated the power
of the people--she discounted it and put her faith in gimmicks, dirty tricks her political machinery.

If you want to know what happened to Hillary---it happened "on day one" of her campaign--and you need to look no
further than Iowa. On the wrong track "from day one", Hillary's campaign maneuvered around "We The People"; while
Obama and Edwards coalesced an honest, open relationship with "We The People".

[Arugula Latte]

1. Good, detailed post.

:thumbsup:

[Angela Shelley]

2. Thanks for your insight and honesty,

and your ability to write so well.

[breadandwine]

150. Message from a right winger…

I just received yet ANOTHER cryptic message by carrier pigeon from Stella, that right winger from Texas! She says the Hillary campaign's still got plenty of fight left in it ---


"Lesson fer Libruls Number 5:

Dear Librul. Well it looks like time fer Elmer Fudd ta go after another wabbit! All right you lilly liver! Now get this up straight! Gore won’t back Bama and neither will Edwards. Word is Edwards is leaning Hillry. So it’s back ta Hillry gettin’ the nomination. Bama ain’t got no fight in his belly! It’s me again, Smashmouth, Stella the Texan with the last word on the election, and Bama. Bama got too much “My Friend Flicka,” “Ozzie and Harriet” and “Leave It To Beaver”! Stella the TEXAN here again from big ole TEXAS, moron. FerGIT about ‘Bama winnin’ all them contests. Them’s just WIMPY states! An’ DC ain’t even a state! It don’t matter cuz Texas is Hillry’s firewall. How’s Bama gonna win Texas with the Latino vote an’ all? Bama’s only got one ethnic group, buster. Does a leopard change its spots??? ‘Nuf said! An’ Ohio is gonna be Bama’s DOOMSDAY. Guvner’s fer Hillry, an’ all them ‘lectrical vote machines, vote TABULATORS, all them lil electrons zippin’ around faster an’ a speedin’ lightnin’ bolt! You ever hold an electron in her hand? Ever catch a moonbeam in yer hand? No way ta check up on all them SUBATOMIC PARTICLES zippin’ around. Perfect fer hackin’ inta. NSA boys uh take care o’ THAT! You KNOW you can’t beat the MACHINE. Face up TO it. Hillry’s the one you need, Hillry’s the one gonna get the nomination! Now smores about the MONEY. Hillry raked in seven million bucks! Seven million! Seven, count ‘em seven MILLION! Loanin’ money ta the campaign, not payin’ staffers? FerGIT it! Hillry’s got NEW BLOOD in the campaign with Maggie Williams. An how’s Bamer gonna raise money from all them little Lilliputian DOUGH-nators! Thirty-two million? That money fell off a truck! Ain’t never gonna happen again! So fergit the whole dang thirty-two million thing! He only wins caucus states cuz he’s got them hippie squads o’ grass roots organizers! Ta all you ‘Bamaniks, grassroots organizin’ don’t mean NUTHIN’! Grass? Isn’t that what they call marijuana? Nuf said. Ahm gonna lay it on the line again fer all you dumb libruls and THIS time I’m nailin’ it on the head, buster boy. First things first. Nominate Hillry. SHE’S THE ONE YOU NEED. FOLLOW ORDERS AN’ NOMINATE HER. You’ve HEARD the cry of the people, right on her town hall infomercial! It was NOT scripted. So listen to REAL PEOPLE an’ vote fer the little drummer girl. Cuz the GOP needs someone with a rubber band smile and no ideas ‘cept what she got from ‘Bama to run against so we can take back the REAL hill, CAPITOL Hill, after you LIBRULS stole it. We’re stealin’ it BACK fair an square, donkey face. And MIGHT I ADD she’ll be puttin’ up Carville as the new DNC head. Say goodbye ta the 50 state strategy, cuz you Dermacrits belong confined ta a few coastal states or what I call BANTUSTANS. Nuthin’ like a good quarantine to isolate a Dermacrit outbreak. And never mind about Hillry’s staff in a panic over a string o’ losses! Repeat after me: FIREWALL. I said FIREWALL. F.I.R.E.W.A.L.L. THAT’S what Texas an’ Ohio is and you KNOW you won’t win THERE. Ahm just lookin’ forward ta yooz cryin’ yer lil eyeballs out when you hit that Texas an’ Ohio backstop. Bill a be campaignin’ in Texas ta bring home the bacon fer Hillry. Trust Bill. He’s Superdog. An’ stop worryin’ about Hillry firin’ her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, long-time leader of Hillaryland, the Ceasar-ess of Friends Of Hillary! You jus’ shutcher face and don’t think about it. Patti wasn’t fired. She was EXCESSED from the office! Got nuthin’ ta do with her bein’ MEXICAN so stop playin’ the race card. Things are FINE in Hillaryland! Just FINE! Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE you libruls! I love you ta pieces! I am so lookin’ forward ta Hillry gettin’ the nomination! Just like Ann Coulter’s votin’ fer Hillry! Now you march ta the votin’ booth RIGHT this minute an’ do what Stella says, Vote fer WONDER WOMAN. She can’t lose. Pay no attention to Whitewater, Madison Guaranty, Susan McDougal, Rose Law Firm, Filegate, Robert Fiske, Kenneth Starr, the cattle futures scandal, photos of Hillry smoochin’ it up with Yasser Arafat’s wife, uranium deal in Kazakhstan, Pardongate, sellin’ the Lincoln bedroom, Clinton’s third term, travelgate, Vincent Foster’s suicide, Bill gettin’ impeached, skirt chasin’ all OVER the White House, Monica’s dress, Monicagate 24/7/365 and all the rest of it! But ahm openin’ up a can o’ LOSER JUICE 5000 all over Bama cuz we GOPers got NUTHIN’ on Hillry! You ferGIT about all that cuz Hillry’s a SYMBOL! That’s all you need ta know. I am woman hear me strong. Keep singin’ that. Besides. After that internet contest ta pick her CAMPAIGN SONG you just KNOW she’s WITH IT on the internets! Trust Hillry ta protect net freedom! DLC? That stands for DO LOVE CLINTON! Ever hear the expression “Don’t fire till you see the whites of her eyes” --- I mean the whites of THEIR eyes, papaya mouth? Well fergit it. We Republicans would NEVER go dirty on Hillry! What, you think we’re just waitin’ till she gets the nomination? We LOVE Hillry! We can’t WAIT fer her ta get the Dem nomination! We just love her ta pieces! THAT’S why Rupert Murdoch loves her so much! All his hostin’ her and donatin’, an’ all? You think he’s got somethin’ up his sleave? Course not! He just loves her out o’ the goodness of his blushing little heart! I say the goodness of his blushing little heart!! Ya hear me? The goodness of his blushing little heart!! Pay no attention ta all them LEFTISTS tellin’ yuz that Hillry’s road kill in the fall. If we had dirt on Hillry, how come we didn’t FIND any? Now I been hearin’ yuz callin’ Hillry “Cruella deHill.” Now you shutcher trap! Hillry’s the nicest candidate there ever wuz! Race card? Fergit it! Trust a Texan! She never pulled no race card! Cuz McCain’s a geezer an we need somebody really LOATHESOME on the Dermacrit side to bring out all us Death’s Head Republicans ta the polls ta vote! Bama’s a nobody but we got a dossier on Hillry the size o’ Fort Knox, motor mouth. Ya know why yer a motor mouth? Cuz you won’t shut up, biker breath! But the Repubs? We’re nice, polite an’ quiet! You think we’re gonna be runnin’ anti-Hillry ads day an’ night? NEVER! Mentionin’ Hillry in all our fund raisin’ appeals? When did we ever do THAT? Don’t be ridiculous. Hey. We don’t even CARE about money! We’re too NICE ta use that big dossier we got on Hillry! We would never USE it because --- WE LOVE HILLRY. An’ one more thing. About them SUPERDELEGATES. You don’t REALLY think the GROWNUPS is gonna let a bunch o’ commie pinko lefty kiddies start runnin’ off with the party, now do you? Listen ta Ann Coulter. No time ta think! March ta the slaughterhouse RIGHT THIS MINUTE and nominate Hillry! Because: We. Love. Hillry. Kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss. You better love her too. Trust me. Trust Stella the Texan. With Hillry you can’t lose. So vote fer Hillry."

I still haven't figured out what to send back to Stella by carrier pigeon....

[dicknbush]

161. Is this supposed to be funny?

[crispini]

163. That is extremely offensive.

You'd think since you people need our votes you'd have finally shut up about Texas, but apparently not.

[mwb970]

164. Good Lord.

Who would ever bother to read all of that?

[nxylas]

166. Even if the author learned to break up the text into paragraphs...

...the faux-dialect would still make it unreadable.

[grantcart]

3. two weeks ago I saw her on Nightline and she was terrific

She was relaxed, humorous and engaging. If they had run this Hillary and fired their pollsters and their packagers and their expensive strategists she would have won. If she had voted on the IWR as if it were a secret and not trying to protect herself from attacks on the right in a general election she would have run.

Too much hat and not enough cattle, no too much packaging and not enough present

[Cha]

64. Well, there ya go..or not even hired

those pollsters and not gone diving into the dirty trick bag. Lots of wrong turns and wrong ways..and this is what it would be like if they strong arm theirselves in again.

Too much packaging and not enough gift..:( and they're freakin' insulting the American public while they're so busy packaging.

[Divernan]

181. Her campaign made initial bad decisions & then just kept doubilng down.

Excellent OP. Thanks!

[Cleita]

4. It's seems like from the beginning the media has been distorting

the coverage of the candidates, favoring Hillary and subsequently Obama after Iowa because they couldn't ignore him anymore. Edwards should be the nominee with Obama as his VP. But we are getting our candidates pre-selected for us again it seems.

[Radical Activist]

45. Hillary is popular in the media centers of NY and DC

so the press thought she was that popular everywhere. Obviously, they were wrong.

[Occam Bandage]

5. It's the difference between "Yes We Can" and "Yes She Can." Fantastic post.

[phantom power]

6. Treating this as a theory...

it doesn't explain why Edwards never quite gained traction, and eventually flamed out.

[NashVegas]

20. The Press Wanted the Bigger Story

Of the first possible female POTUS v the first possible black POTUS. He came so close to winning Iowa, but you'd never have known it by the newscasts.

[TexasBushwhacker]

185. Exactly, they went after THE BIG STORY

rather than covering the campaign in a straightforward manner. The thing that's so disturbing is that they all covered the campaigns the same way (except Faux of course). CNN, MSNBC, all the networks, most of the magazines. It was all about THE BLACK GUY and THE LADY. Newsweek is the only mainstream periodical that's had a cover story about just about every candidate from both sides.

[DemReadingDU]

33. Yeh, what happened to Edwards?

The media were always reporting sightings of Edwards. Edwards was Everywhere. I marveled at his stamina to keep his schedule. I don't recall that Obama traveled as much as Edwards or that the media discussed Obama's schedule. Can't figure out how Obama took off and not Edwards.

:shrug:

[theboss]

34. Edwards just didn't have "it"

Obama had it. I assume that if you were in nightclubs in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1936, you might see two or three singers tecnically better than Frank Sinatra. That doesn't mean much in the end.

Edwards lost the "insurgent" label to Obama and couldn't compete with Hillary as the "established" candidate and got squashed between the two.

[HDPaulG]

62. My Edwards theory.....

His message appealed to the 55% that don't vote...

[Little Star]

199. He was run over by the Obama train, imho. No Obama and

Edwards would probably be leading right now. John didn't even see it coming. Sad but true.

[RaleighNCDUer]

96. Remember Iowa? The day after he comes in 2nd, the MSM

declare it a 2 person race - between #1 and #3 - as if he wasn't even there.

That's what you get when you blend news with entertainment - if the news doesn't have the right dramatic arc, you just rewrite the script, just as you'd do on CSI.

[John Q. Citizen]

118. They did the Edwards the same they did to Kucinich. Dismissed.

[Triana]

136. Damn straight. Edwards didn't LOSE anything - he was SHOVED OUT by..

..the lame$tream media. They wanted corprat-friendly candidates only.

[Irishonly]

170. Very True

I remember when Elizabeth asked Tweety what he had to do to get press coverage and I got the impression that MSNBC wasn't going to cover him. I don't know what the local press did when he came but when he was in Los Angeles I saw no coverage.The MSM started talking about the historic race.

[Nay]

153. EXACTLY, EvilDUer. The story, to remain compelling and reportable

in the eyes of the media, had to keep Clinton and Obama in, and dump Edwards, no matter how well he had done. I also was enraged at the fact that Edwards came in SECOND and then was treated like a no-show!!! WTF!!! It was at that point I realized for sure that the media do indeed suck, and I have good reason to never watch any of it. And I haven't for several years. It is simply maddening, and I won't take part.

[dchill]

178. There you go.

This primary "race" has been scripted for your consumption by the corporate media. Pundits are supposed to be founts of information, but in reality they are founts of disinformation. Graphs showing the amount of media attention given to each candidate show that Edwards got many more votes for each percentage point of coverage than any other candidate, and many more votes for every campaign dollar spent. The media machine just ran over him.

It's a setup. If Barack Obama wins, it won't be because the powers that be didn't try to stop him. Now that he's the "front runner", the media will be drooling over stories that they decide are "really, really bad news" for him. Like, for instance, the NYTimes theory* that he exaggerated his drug use in his best-selling book. Yeah, that seems likely.


*theory = front page news

[BumRushDaShow]

7. On the wrong track from day one.

That about sums up your post and is truly ironic given the campaign's much-touted motto.

[Mme. Defarge]

53. Couldn't agree more!

[nomorewhopper]

8. jealous of you iowans, and kicking your amazing post n/t

[mrreowwr_kittty]

9. Thank you for that excellent read.

As an Arizonan (Super Tuesday state) I certainly wasn't the focus of the kind of intensity you were in Iowa but what drew me to the Obama camp was the fact that he was the first candidate to have an organized campaign on the ground here. As far back as February of last year, people were doing house parties and meetings. We opened offices in Tucson and Phoenix back in October, whereas the Clinton campaign opened theirs in mid-December. The first thing her campaign did here was set up a steering committee of local political luminaries. A steering committee! We were laughing our asses off over that at Obama HQ. Nothing says it's strictly a top down campaign and all about face time for social climbers like that. They did hardly any canvassing or phone banking, but I did get half a dozen robocalls the day of the election.

Unfortunately, despite all our efforts and the endorsement of our wildly popular female Governor (Napolitano) for Obama, we lost the state by 10 points. Of course, that's coming from a start of being as much as 30 points behind in the polls. Ultimately, our large Hispanic and retired populations were too much to overcome. That, and independents have to reregister a month before the election. A lot of them didn't know that and thousands were turned away at the polls.

Anyway, thanks again for the detailed description of your experience. I think you are right on the money with what you said.

[lisa58]

10. Wow...I want to live in Iowa.

[Yael]

11. I have enjoyed your snippets in other threads about the Hillocopter

coffee mugs and the ground game. Thanks for putting it all in one thread.

K&R and bookmarking. Well done.

[Mme. Defarge]

57. Has anyone on DU

mentioned "Pantsuit One"? Right before New Hampshire a journalist speaking on Ed Schultz disclosed that this is how campaign insiders refer to her official campaign jet.

[Lerkfish]

12. thanks for the very detailed and interesting post: made me feel I was there

and it explains on a ground level what we're seeing from "Hillocopter" level.

[Diane R]

13. I always enjoy your posts, thanks for sharing. But, I hope another state gets to be first next time

[alcibiades_mystery]

14. I never read posts this long

But this one caught me. Very well written! Excellent, actually.

To micropolitics! :cheers:

[Bread and Circus]

15. This is shocking me (I thought it was just rumors):

Meanwhile, Hillary had to fire a few staffers. One of her Iowa Directors was fired for sending out
"Obama is a Muslim" emails. The "Obama drug" stories began circulating through her paid staffers--both
nationally and in Iowa.

[npincus]

16. excellent post- you ought to submit to Huffpo

sheer hubris on the part of HRC's campaign. How much $$$ is she lavishing on her atrategists?

[ellacott]

22. That's a great idea

This was an excellent post.

[Cha]

68. Yes, it should be read by

even more peeps!

[dicknbush]

160. Yes by all means get it onto a Hillary Hater sight ASAP

Especially now that Erica Jong has published a very succinct and clear piece about why woman are hated in this country on the Huffpo sight.

[Bread and Circus]

17. Very nice write-up and it goes to the heart of the charge that

incompetence abounds in her campaign.

If she can't run a campaign, how can she run a country?

[eppur_se_muova]

192. Or maybe, the wrong kind of competence. nt

[NashVegas]

18. Thanks for the Post, TS

Very insightful.

[Whisp]

19. what a great post! thank you so much. rec'd! nt

[Barack_America]

21. The most informed voters chose Obama, and that means something.

Iowa was before the "movement", the "cult", the "media bias" and the well-publicized speeches.

The voters in Iowa simply got to know the candidates and what they and their campaigns represented inside and out...and they chose Obama (and Edwards) over Hillary.

That should mean something to all of us.


ETA: Thanks for this wonderful post.

[awaysidetraveler]

23. Nice post.

It's a detailed story and an accurate one.

Thanks for sharing your story.

[RoadRage]

24. Great Writing..

As a neighbor in Nebraska, we looked to the east in Envy all through January, not even thinking it would matter much. We were happy & surprised to be a viable caucus for Obama this month, and a lot of his support came from watching commercials we saw in January (Omaha and Council Bluffs share TV Markets, so we got to see some commercials).

K&R

[grace0418]

25. I used to think it would suck to have to deal with all the primary hoopla in Iowa.

Now I'm jealous. I'm in Illinois so Obama was a given. I'm sure there was a bit more of what you describe going on downstate, but in Chicago it was decided from the start.

Wonderful post. Thank you for taking the time to write it. Amazingly, you haven't gotten flamed yet. I'm utterly shocked.

[tilsammans]

26. Wow, excellent post . . .

. . . I've bookmarked it and will be sharing it with friends.

It's sad, though. Hillary is so bright, yet so much of her campaign style (as you revealed in such detail) is canned and impersonal. Some of it, I hate to say, looks right out of the GWB playbook. Ugh.

Bill was successful because people viewed him as approachable. Wha' happened? :shrug:

[NJCher]

167. That's how the Dark Side plays it

Bill was successful because people viewed him as approachable. Wha' happened?

(As you well know, Corporate America is behind the Dark Side.)

Back when Bill first ran, he wasn't part of the dark side.

Now the Clintons have been in DC for a long time and we see Bill has made his deals with the power structure, especially Poppy Bush. They are now part of the cadre that the corporate elite chooses for us as "elected leaders."

Corporate America has a "corporate marketing view" of all this. They think a candidate can be sold to the populace on sound bytes, clever commercials, saying focus-group tested words, market research, television commercials that create an image, etc. It is entirely out of their realm to do real grassroots. That is not to say they won't simulate grassroots (AKA astroturf), but that's the one thing corporate American cannot do in their campaigns. And that's where Obama and Edwards outsmarted her, according to our OP.

My POV is based on being a former corporate marketing manager who managed ad budgets in the 25-50 million a year range.



Cher


edited to add missing letter

[FlyingSquirrel]

27. I believe this may explain her apparent contempt for "caucus states"

But caucuses are not undemocratic - if anything, they are the exact OPPOSITE of undemocratic. What's undemocratic is big media buys and influencing the masses with a commercialistic approach, turning them out to vote for you in a primary with little TRUE information about yourself (information they could see, feel, hear, taste!) And even if the candidates don't spend much time in your state, you get to spend a little time with other REAL people such as yourself, mingle, share ideas about the candidates, make an opinion based on things you're hearing from people who are actually engaged in the process instead of just watching the tube or reading little news briefs in the paper. I wish all states would go to a caucus system. It's even more democratic when it happens on a weekend - when most people do not work.

[HeraldSquare212]

28. And now her main criticism of Obama is that he just gives speeches.

Once again, with the Clintons, it's all about projection.

[WinkyDink]

41. More of her tone-deafness. She likes debates, because she likes to show her knowledge.

But obviously people want more than a winning argument.

I think this is part of Bill's frustration, that she doesn't have his charisma.

[Cha]

70. Can't she show her knowledge

in a speech? Those "speeches" are what got people to know Obama better..but hilary got to taunt so I'm sure she's having fun.

[IsItJustMe]

29. Grass roots versus staged media events. I have noticed that also. I think you are making a valid

observation.

[intaglio]

30. Thanks for this,

It also gives a huge insight into how the Media (TV, Radio, Newspapers) are having to play catch up. It may end up one day as candidates leading the news not the news leading the candidates

[Cha]

71. That would be

lovely! :)

[Kurovski]

31. "National Prom Queen".

With her own "Hillocopter", no less. :rofl:

K&R.

[Cha]

72. It's insulting..

to the American public..that's what makes it so easy to deride. You don't insult people and expect them to think you're grand.

[Kurovski]

83. The "Hillocopter" thing would be cool to seven year olds.

Yep.

[Cha]

86. It's so..

Landing on the Lincolnesque.

[eilen]

110. Hillocopter? That's something right out of "The Simpsons."

She really did that?

[Kurovski]

119. She really was touring in a helicopter.

"Hillary Clinton set to whir across Iowa"
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/12/hillary_clinton_set_to_whir_ac.html

"STEINHAUSSER: She is coming back here tomorrow. She is in New Hampshire today. And it is not any warmer there. I'll tell you that. She's coming back tomorrow and she's doing what is being called a "Hillocopter" tour, not a helicopter tour, but a "Hillocopter" tour. Get it? She'll be getting in a helicopter and flying around and seeing all the counties."

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0712/15/cnr.06.html

I'm going on the fact that the OP stated it was dubbed "Hillicopter" by the campaign. Was it officially sanctioned cuteness, or yet another doofus move by underlings? I cannot find conclusive proof. Nor does my research reveal if Senator Clinton landed on the lawn at 742, 743, 94, 59, or 1094 Evergreen Terrace. :hi:

[thoughtcrime1984]

32. K&R

[ORDem]

35. kick n/t

:kick:

[More Than A Feeling]

36. Along similar lines...

in the early, early days of the campaign, Hillary was touting the attention and support she was receiving from the blogs, but all that amounted to was her purchasing advertising on them. I started to get the picture that average people were just going to be stage props for her, rather than genuine influences. It looked like she wasn't willing to put in the work it would take to build genuine relationships with online activists, despite her hiring of the well-known blog guru, Peter Daou.

[truedelphi]

137. Ya know In "Primary Colors"

the Bill and Hillary prototypes import poor people to the benefit and campaign functions on the Governor's lawn, bussing them in, so it looked like they had a lot of people rallying around them.

I used to think that "PC" was a real hit piece, but then it became apparent a lot of what Klein was saying about the Clintons was real. (Not everything but a lot.)

[RaleighNCDUer]

172. She might have benefited by reading it herself,

BEFORE starting this campaign.

[truedelphi]

193. Ain't that the truth! n/t

[MelissaB]

37. Excellent read!

Thank you!

[Scurrilous]

38. Great read.

K & R :thumbsup:

[WinkyDink]

39. That is one of the most informative posts I've ever read here. Thank you.

It makes me sad for tone-deaf HRC, but it needed to be said.

Well, as I opined when I was for Edwards: Hillary is simply not a "people person". I relate to that, as I am not, either. But that enables me to see the forced bonhomie; the weird point-to-the-audience-member-you-"recognize"-while-raising-your-eyebrows; the reliance on cold facts and figures to make a case, depending on logic to trump emotion.

[Apollo11]

156. Is Barack Obama a natural "people person"?

I don't think Obama is a natural extrovert and empathizer. But then neither am I.

Bill Clinton and John Edwards appear to have that talent for connecting with people and projecting a kind of personal warmth and emotional connection. How much of it is real I don't know.

Obama does not go around telling people "I feel your pain" or "this is deeply personal to me".

But what Obama does have is something that makes people believe he is honest and sincere, that he loves America and that he is in politics for the right reasons, not just so he can be in the spotlight. Does he even really enjoy being in the spotlight?

We know that all the candidates are partly driven by personal ambition. There's nothing wrong with that. But Obama talks a lot about how change has to happen from the bottom up. That's why his campaign slogan "YES WE CAN" is so effective. Because it's all about "WE".

[NJCher]

169. Stop Pointing Hillary

the weird point-to-the-audience-member-you-"recognize"-while-raising-your-eyebrows;


Oh, you too!?

:rofl: That drove me so nuts I had to research it and I found out that this is something campaign advisers tell candidates to do. This gesture supposedly gives the candidate something to do while they walk across the stage. It makes it look like they know someone in the crowd.

I hate that phony staged gesture so much that I was going to do a Photoshop graphic of a pointer dog with Hillary's head shopped in to replace the pointer dog's head. The caption was to be "Stop Pointing, Hillary." I didn't get it done, strictly for time reasons, but you get the idea.

bush does the pointing thing all the time. Yech, all these corporate robotons make me sick: :puke:




Cher

[New Dawn]

40. K&R

[Neshanic]

42. Well isn't that special? Your insight into the campaigns which of course

us non-Iowans cannot experience is fascinating. Such a labor to have the daily soap opera of presidential campaigns played out for your states personal amusement.

[K Gardner]

46. "Cynicism is a sorry kind of wisdom."

[Neshanic]

55. Thanks, but I got the pencils with that slogan.

[K Gardner]

56. Evidently you need a few more !

[Neshanic]

59. I like the hats, is it true that they had to make them larger than normal?

[bettyellen]

58. Don't worry, Be Happy! Bobby Mc Ferrin said it first, and some think, better. LOL.

[Cha]

76. That's right..ignore hilary's failings and

latch onto some faux meme that makes you feel better.

[bettyellen]

183. i'm not ignoring anything. but thanks for making stupid assumptions...

not suprising this with us or against us BS.
sad.

[Radical Activist]

47. This post tells us what's good about having a few small early states.

People get to know candidates personally beyond big staged media events. There are some good things about this system.

[Voltaire99]

145. Want to buy a ride in the Hillocopter?

I hear Hillary's having fundraising trouble; pony up now for a special seat!

[K Gardner]

43. I remember you writing about the Cookies and Obama, and wondered what you'd

ever decided about that. Its fascinating to hear this and you always tell a story so well ! Thanks for taking the time to compose this so coherently and in a fashion that is a superb antecdote for the rest of this "race". Always a pleasure to read your posts, Two Sparkles ! :applause:

[Radical Activist]

44. Hillary has been surrounded by the elite class for too long

to run the kind of campaign that will work in Iowa. Midwesterners can spot a fake. We appreciate authenticity and that isn't Hillary's strong point. You summed it up well.

[Coexist]

48. this was a fascinating look into Iowa politics

You are very lucky.

thanks for the wonderful post.

[Cha]

77. Yes, it is fascinating..we're fortunate

to have TwoSparkles on DU and giving us the bird's eye view.

I love that mad scientist Obama you have, FLDem!

[Coexist]

87. ...

I got the mad scientist from gopsux - he/she said to share it, so feel free to take it!

[Cha]

89. Wow! I was hoping

you might say that..I'll borrow it for a wee bit. Talk about fascinating me.:P :hi:Thank you, FLDem!!

[sloppyjoe25s]

49. great post! - her appearance with the "cute mexican american boy" was same stunt...

...politics we are sick and tired of.

I saw same at her rally here in NM, where they FORCED everyone in line to put on a "I Will Vote for Hillary" sticker just to get in to hear what she had to say.

[Cha]

78. E gods! Did mark penn pick that up

from rove or what?

[HooptieWagon]

116. Egads

That sounds like one of chimp's loyalty pledges.

[dicknbush]

126. THEY FORCED PEOPLE FORCED YOU SAY......Wow how brutal.

People who are sponsoring a political rally want you to show a sign of support under the presumtionm that you are there to support the candidate and they FORCED you wow I hope you had the courage to stand down the brute force of an event planner!

[rodeodance]

143. hey--I went to the obama rally night and got handed a big sign--why make

it sinister? Good god. don't you have some issues to discuss instead of spewing more Hillary hate?



I saw same at her rally here in NM, where they FORCED everyone in line to put on a "I Will Vote for Hillary" sticker just to get in to hear what she had to say.

[RaleighNCDUer]

177. There is a difference between being handed a sign - which you

could refuse - and being given a sticker to wear as a requirement for entrance to the event.

A lot of people go to events to LEARN about the candidate, not to whoop and cheer them.

[Stephanie]

50. Very interesting analysis.

I think you've nailed it and I think it boils down to what I believe is her Achilles heel: her fundamental insincerity.

[Mme. Defarge]

51. Bookmarked --

and K&R!

[AtomicKitten]

52. Inevitability goes poof.

[GenDem]

54. Fascinating -- k & r

Thank you so much for writing such an interesting and detailed synopsis of what you experienced in Iowa.

[powergirl]

67. Is that your schipperke???

My dear schipperke, Francine, passed away about 10 years ago and I miss her like crazy! Is that your doggy???:hi:

[GenDem]

74. I have two

That's our female -- Sidney. we have a male named Max. Aren't they the most amazing breed? Our two Schip's are so smart. We just love them to pieces.

[powergirl]

91. They are smart and smell nice too!

I have another dog, Bonnie, a lab and I love her to death and my kids adore her. She was really sad when Francine died. (she lived to age 20 years) I'm looking into getting another Schipperke. They are really cool.

[GenDem]

93. I read somewhere that they can live to 30

They have long lifespans, for sure. I like the quirky personality traits. Our male gets in my husbands lap and lays on his back in the crook of his arm like a baby.

We had a lab that was beloved, too. We lost her about 8 years ago.

[Cha]

60. Thanks, TwoSparkles!

What an amazing account of a campaign gone wrong at the get-go. I had no idea about the "hillacopter" ride and a few other revelations. I saw the word hillocopter on DU but didn't link on to see what they were talking about.

Your stirring report of on the ground reporting from Iowa ties in with what Joshua Green writes about in the Atlantic magazine.

"Such arrogance led directly to the idea that Clinton could simply project an air of inevitability and be assured her party’s nomination. If she wins—as she very well might—it will be in spite of her original approach. As one former Clinton staffer put it to me last spring: “There was an assumption that if you were a major donor and wanted to be an ambassador, go to state dinners with the queen—unless you were an outright fool, you were going to go with Hillary, whether you liked her or not. The attitude was ‘Where else are they going to go?’”

Much more..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4568468

Absolutely bookmarking your report and I can't thank you enough for the excellent writing..

[frog92969]

61. Thanks for that perspective,

very informative.
K&R

[The_Casual_Observer]

63. According to a Hillary hating Obama hack....

[Voltaire99]

146. Aw, why so glum? Take a ride in the Hillocopter!

For the right donation, you can sit next to Hillary and she'll let you admire her IWR vote!

[powergirl]

65. One Vote at a Time - to a win

Well said Dos Sparkles. You expressed beautifully how easy it is to lose site of how these elections are about our fellow human beings who have real problems and need someone to listen and act on their concerns. A think tank does not work. One vote at a time is the only way to make change. It's too bad that Senator Clinton is making these mistakes. I know that in her soul she is a good and decent human being that really wants to make things right for all of these people. She should do that on a personal level and quit listening to the machine.

That said, I'm with Obama this year. He is an inspiration to me, my husband and my young children. My six year old was playing "President Obama" with his friends! And we live in TEXAS!!! Who knew!!! Let's Hope!

:toast:

[Cha]

80. "PLaying President Obama"!

That cracks me up! :D

[L0oniX]

66. Hillary uses the term "I" while Obama uses "we". n/t

[publicatlarge]

69. Very nice account...

Fascinating account of your up close experience in Iowa. Your bias against Hillary Clinton is very clear, and I wonder if that was also the general feeling in Iowa going in. I get the distinct feeling that Hillary was behind the eightball there, before her campaign even got off the ground. Have a friend in Iowa who has been filled with a fear and loathing of Hillary Clinton for the past two years. Also did not realize that Obama went everywhere in Iowa as Edwards did. Thanks for fleshing out this information.

Great post!

[Usrename]

73. Best post ever about this primary race!

:thumbsup:

I'm wondering, because you probably know more than most from your experiences, do you know if any of the candidates were ever asked about impeachment, and if so, what their response was?

That was the number one question selected by the public for the YouTube debate, but somehow it got killed without a whimper.

I'm just curious if anyone knows how early in the campaigns the subject became taboo.

[cottonseed]

75. Great read.

Thanks.

[angie_love]

79. This is probably the most insightful post I've read here

Thank you, this sums it up very well what happened to her campaign. Her issue is that she didn't take Obama and Edwards seriously. It severely damaged her by ignoring Obama and claiming her inevitability status. It hurt her immensely. We'll see if shes able to come back and win it but I dont' think anyone will ever forget how superb Obama's campaign has been thus far.

[muntrv]

81. Hillary's campaigns, with the pre-set questions, appear so Bush league.

[FrenchieCat]

82. That's why I respect Obama's bottom up campaign so much......

it is so much more dimensional and worthwhile, till it ain't even funny.

Thank you for this! :hi:

[KoKo]

84. Hillary's "Gang of Five" and Mark Penn/Wolfson SQUANDERED her Money!

Just like Shrum and the rest Squandered OUR MONEY for KERRY!

Giving away "coffee mugs" and the rest and all you report...doesn't make a "Grass Roots Deanlike Campaign" ...it's just a "Throw Money Away to the Annnointed Campaign."

Thanks..I hope you aren't fleecing us with this report...it sounds very authentic...and it sounds VERY BAD for HILLARY... The Campaign who thought Trinkets and Soundbytes was all she needed.

I would have hoped better from her. :shrugh: I would have figured she'd learned something...from all those "Years of Experience." :-(

[rucognizant]

85. I got a sense of that early in the game..........

I was a Dean delegate last time. He ran that kind of personal informal campaign ( as Obama & Edwards) One time we had an idea, I called the headquarters in Vt and within 24 hours they had utilized the idea, deciding that it was good one.
As a result I got e-mails from ALL the prominent Dems. all the time. So I was on Hillary's list. I sensed, the impersonal faux togetherness from the start.
Being pretty pissed with the Dem.s none action in 2007, and having my SS income outpaced by inflation, I got really tired of deleting e-mails requesting funds, so I spent a morning calling them all, DLC. DCCC. DNC & CLinton's campaign headquarters, and requested to be taken off the list, that they were on probation until they had done something to prove themselves to me!
And until the morning of our caucus last Sunday I was still pondering who would be the best choice. ( It would have been Kucinich, then Edwards.)
Caucus IS GOOD! Very Democratic! Our moderator began by stating the reasons he was for Obama, then opened it up for discussion. A 40's woman spoke about why she woukld vote for Hillary, whichI countered with playing devil's advocate. "What about her vote against the ban on cluster bombs?" ( The fact that she voted to authorize the war has been overworked. The vote for cluster bombs is a much clearer bad vote!
Well an unsophisticated fellow ( NRA) stood up and started to protest his right to use them without Govt. interference: HIS RIGHT TO USE CLUSTER BOMBS! Another persion asked what they were..........
("Father forgive them for they know not what they do!") At least they have finally decided to come out & participate. Unlike Iowans who take this business seriously, Many Mainers have exercised the option of staying out of politics completely. And Republicans are even registering Independant or Democrat!
( Last time we swayed enough Clark supporters to the Dean camp to make 2 delegates for Dean! ( small town 1,200. souls; 200 Dems. 18 attended!
This year 45 attended!)
Caucus provides an opportunity for those who are working several jobs to learn from their neighbors ( retirees mostly with time to read, watch cspan, or go online)

[I Vote In Pittsburgh]

128. Thank you and the OP

These are great, informative posts.

[bagrman]

188. No black box involved means it's accurate.

[NeedleCast]

88. Great Post!

Well reasoned, well thought out and well said. How I wish that more were like this.

[shireen]

90. interesting, insightful, well-written. K & R

That was a fascinating read. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

I'm convinced a Democrat will win in November. So eight years from now, we need someone like you, TwoSparkles, following each candidate around and writing a blog about him or her exactly like you did in this OP. It would be a great way to share the experience in Iowa with the rest of us. We have 8 years to plan this. Maybe it could be a DU-sponsored project? :)

Thanks!

[mopinko]

92. the hillocopter!! bwahaha. & the ground game

i know some of the people from the obama campaign, and let me tell you, we know how it is played here in chicago. and we like to win. so, maybe a lot of people thought that hillary was gonna win, but the pros from chicago KNEW! make a note of that, folks. also note that many of them were part of bill's team. these folks don't walk away from that for no reason.

the hillocopter- reminds me of danny rostenkowski. he was in the fight of his life against this poor mook who happened to be the republican candidate when the whole house banking scandal happened, and rosty was charged with raiding the office supply and postage budgets to buy trinkets for his friends. at the time, lots of things were getting slashed, one of which was the coast guard. this left lake michigan without a nearby rescue facility. to try to make up for that, rosty got ahold of an old air force helicopter. he flew to chicago in it, got one the teevee, and all. it was instantly dubbed- the pork chopper.
the mook served one term. (michael flannigan, iirc)

sorry, that is all pretty off track, but i can't help thinking of that story when i hear about politicians and helicopters.

[southerncrone]

94. Thanks for this insight, Sparkles. As many of us struggle to decide

who our nominee should be, it is personal observations such as yours, that help us make the decision.

I personally don't want to continue with the Bush/Clinton corporate-hugging era. But your story underscores my decision to support Obama.

Thanks for this post. :hi:

[windbreeze]

95. well, this certainly makes the whole thing make sense...

I couldn't figure out whether they were just unorganized, or had bad advisors or what was going on....now I understand...too bad...you'd think she'd know better...wb

[Cant trust em]

97. I'm moving to wherever the the first primary is in 2016

I want some candidates to ask me what I think. Living in California, this has been an unusual year. Finally my state counts for something.

[klook]

98. Damn, what a great piece of writing!

Thanks for the excellent history of the HRC campaign in Iowa. I really appreciate your insights.

[Kablooie]

99. Wow. That fits right in with my views of Hillary. I'm almost surprised that I was so correct.

I'm for Obama because he doesn't seem to be part of the old school politics.

Hillary always seemed to be playing in the same sandbox that Bush plays in.
They don't trust the people and work to misrepresent everything they do so they won't be held responsible.
She's old politics, exactly the thing I want exorcised from our government.

Obama seems to come from a different place. He appears to have an honesty about him. Perhaps it's a naeve honesty but I think it's the best hope we have.

[9thkvius]

100. Thank you VERY much

for an excellent post. I think you have found words to express what many of us have been sensing. I think Senator Clinton is going to discover that ditching her crappy political advisers and speaking from your heart, with passion (like Gore did after the 2000 election and Edwards did after the 2004 election) is a really, really good idea. I hope she discovers it in time, but I think it may already be too late. She has already lost my support. On Super Tuesday here in Alabama, I voted for Obama.

I am going to copy your post and let some friends of mine read it. It really is that good.

[bagrman]

101. thank you Sparkles.

[bagimin]

102. Thank you so much for the insight.

sure to be dismissed as drivel by some.

[milkyway]

103. Hillary's campaign is a historic failure. Thanks, this post provides a framework

for future historians trying to dissect what happened. Certainly there's a history book to be written about the Iowa campaign.

And those staged events only got worse. The ridiculous Florida victory celebration was pathetic, only to be topped by the Hallmark infomercial. My god, what were they thinking?

And about those two tearing up incidents--like Bill's claim in Nevada that he witnessed attempts to suppress voters, both incidents occurred midday the day before voting, in time to get on the final news cycle, which begins with the evening news and continues through the morning newspapers and television shows. In light of all the stagecraft in Iowa that you discuss, everything they do seems contrived.

[IndieLeft]

104. I'm not surprised one bit.

When sincerity is the name of the game, people pay attention. It's why Obama has more pledge delegates, a better ground game, better judgment. Sometimes politicians have been in the game too long and the game kinda advances without a candidate even feeling it.

Your post re-iterates the change that is occurring.

[gateley]

105. And another thank you - I enjoyed this! nt

[thevoiceofreason]

106. Wow

I have heard similar stories. So nice to hear first hand corroboration.

[Tatiana]

107. "Iowa's political apparatus carried Hillary--right over the heads of Iowa voters."

***Loved*** that line! :rofl:

This was a well-written, highly interesting account of the campaigns in Iowa. Thank you so much for sharing your insight with us. Given your narrative, it is obvious why Hillary continues to lose.

She says she cares about people, but doesn't really seem to show it.

[RaleighNCDUer]

182. I think that she does, in truth, care about "the people"

but she doesn't feel herself to BE "the people". She is different from, and separate from, "the people". They are the masses, the mob, the hoi polloi, and when she talks about mandating health insurance she has no real connection with what it takes to manage your finances when you make 25K/yr, or less.

There's a kind of paternalism there in her care for "the people" - like "what would they do without us?"

For the most part, we'd do very well.

[Tatiana]

190. I like your assessment of things. n/t

[gorfle]

108. Fantastic insight!

Thank you for the very insightful post. I confirms this ex-Republican is voting for Obama.

[Major Hogwash]

109. Thank you for the long and detailed post. Hillary said Iowans were "just hicks who didn't get it."

The day after she lost in Iowa.

The Hillary campaign is so screwed up they called me the day after we held our caucus in Idaho. The gal on the phone asked me how I was going to vote in our caucus. I was surprised because it was like she was asking me to confirm how I had voted the night before.

So, I said rather sheepishly, "uh, we held our caucus here in Boise last night, ma'am."
To which the gal said, "oh, I didn't realize that they had already voted in Boise, Iowa" and hung up.

If they can't get the date right, or the state right, what else can they screw up!

[NJCher]

171. That's funny!

To which the gal said, "oh, I didn't realize that they had already voted in Boise, Iowa" and hung up.


So "If it's Super-Tuesday, this must be Nebraska!" is an entirely likely quote around the Clinton phone bank.



Cher

[Hekate]

111. I love the insights from the early, smaller, states. Californians will never get that attention....

We are simply too big. Chances of my attending a free-to-the-public town-hall sized meeting with Hillary or Obama are nil.

In 2004 a friend of my sister's started posting from New Hampshire. He had decided to attend every Democratic candidate event he possibly could, and then write his first-hand impressions of the candidates. His bulletins were invaluable in helping me form my own opinions.

As far as I am concerned, the nation gets a chance to learn about the candidates close-up vicariously because of the way they interact with voters in places like Iowa and New Hampshire.

California's primary votes should not be an afterthought, the way it's been for so long, but I still think the early states provide a very valuable platform.

Thank you for your insights.

Hekate

[Laelth]

112. Powerful. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[SammyWinstonJack]

113. K&R

[burythehatchet]

114. I'll tell you when I became disgusted. There was an event where she was situated

in the middle of a very large crowd. As the rally was winding down and she was answering a question, a man with her detail came up to her and motioned that it was time to go to the next event. She lifted the mike up to her lips and said something like "oh, I think we owe the people here all the time they deserve". It was a completely harmless statement, but the scripted nature of the incident bothered the hell out of me.

[dicknbush]

122. You interpreted it as scripted...what proof do you havve that it was scripted?

You saw or heard what you wnated to see or hear....admit it you were never for Hillary either!

[CaptJasHook]

168. Why don't you admit that you have blinders on

I haven't seen any response you have on this thread that contains any substance. Just some men hate women memes and simplistic whining.

Congratulations, you've just made my short ignore list that I reserve for the mindless.

[milkyway]

123. Another moment that felt scripted to me: in NH, after much media attention to the

size of the Obama crowds and the unfilled seats at Clinton events, Hillary had an event where she delayed the start for at least ten minutes while she stood on stage directing people where to sit, constantly making the point that there were so many people that wanted to see her, and making several references to all the people in the overflow room. To me, it came across as blatantly contrived.

[NJCher]

174. that is so lame

... directing people where to sit, constantly making the point that there were so many people that wanted to see her...


If Hillary were a poster on DU, she'd have to buy her own hearts!



Cher

p.s. after having read most of this thread, I think it is amazing how, when we all come together with our observations, we can put together a pretty accurate picture of what somebody's all about.

and on another topic, the other day my husband and I were at our computer and we had the TV news on. Hillary was delivering one of her sound bytes and the words came hurtling out of my mouth, "You phony bitch!" I was rather shocked at myself since I don't normally talk in such terms (as I tell my students, a college education gives one more "resources" for expression), but wow, at some level she really comes off to me as contrived.

[aaronbees]

115. A microcosm of the whole campaign....

and Sen. Clinton's grand failure as a campaigner. Great post, TwoSparkles, and thanks for the insight into Iowa's real politics.

[psychopomp]

117. This campaign will be the focus of much study

and this is a very good beginning in that direction. The "conversation" Sen. Clinton had with voters was through a loudspeaker!

[UndertheOcean]

120. Great Post !

Thank you !

[dicknbush]

121. Tell the truth you never were for Hillary in the first place.

This story just points out the idiocy of this whole process. Everyone of these people running for president has to create a false persona that they think is appealing to all the yahoos out there especially those "Independent" goofs who enjoy sitting on the fence and glory in the attention they get for being...STUPID!

[lukebc]

197. "dicknbush" vomited: "Tell the truth you never were for Hillary in the first place"

GUILTY AS CHARGED!!

While I recuperated from the self-inflicted stab wounds into my heart from having to listen to the incomprehensions of george w. MONKEY I learned that hillary Clinton was going to seek her "rightful place on the throne"...... which pushed me to tie a rope around my neck and jump off the nearest fence...... only to learn that I had used cheap imported jute twine..... while convalescing I had a epiphany and decided - AND VOWED - that rather removing myself from this existence, I would work to see that the pestilence of the bush's and the Clinton's that has so seriously infested - AND DONE GREAT DAMAGE TO - the American body politic MUST BE ERADICATED AT ANY AND ALL COSTS!!!!

[SCDem]

124. Same experience here in South Carolina

Obama staff had been here (regional staff) since May - first canvassing in South Carolina in June. Regular canvassing since August.

Edwards did not have staff here in SC - he was actually kind of absent or a movement for him until just 2 weeks before the primary.

Hillary did not have regional staff until November and did not start canvassing till December.

And the results showed the work of all three campaigns and candidates.

[dicknbush]

125. You got a lot of nerve to say you are my friend.......

YOU JUST WANT TO BE ON THE SIDE THAT WINNING!!

You are all a bunch of cowards and Robots...Go watch a face in the crowd. Ya bunch of lemmings.

I promise you this in 2012 we will still not have adequate health care for every american

In 2012 we will still be in Iraq killing innocent people!

[dicknbush]

127. I'll tell you why Hillary is in trouble alot faster then this

She figured to play to the big states and just thought all the smaller states would get in line. It hasn't happened because people are suckers for false talker and empty suit with pretty teeth. B.O. stinks and soon we will all get a nose full and man is it going to stink!

[HCE SuiGeneris]

187. Your comments reek of something foul...

[workinclasszero]

129. Great post!

Thanks for your insight. Insincerity still oozes from the Hillary campaign as it has from day one. Your post shows this clearly. This also explains the contempt and scorn Hillary has for the states that dare to reject pre-packaged message.

I also believe that the Hillary presidential campaign 2008 will be studied in the future as the textbook example of how not to run a campaign.

[candice]

130. Was she doing her job in the Senate, or campaigning elsewhere?

Obama served one year and then started his campaign. I hope the taxpayers of New York are not subsidizing Hillary either. She's supposed to be a policy wonk who works her butt off.

[fujiyama]

131. Fascinating read

Informative and reasonably put together. Some Hillary supporters could have got something out of it if they had read something like this earlier.

Hillary's campaign was simply too staged and calculated for its own good. I believe Mark Penn was a PR/Marketing guy earlier, which explains why everything seemed so fake. To him Hillary was just another ad campaign. That's why they gave away swag at her events. The world of advertising depends on bullshit to sell goods. Politics, at least on a local level like the IA caucus, requires some authenticity.

[LittleClarkie]

132. Off topic, but you've got me wondering now

What did 2004 look like to you. Did you end up with similar impressions about Kerry, Edwards, Dean et al?

[MelissaB]

158. I'm interested in knowing how it compares, too. n/t

[ClayZ]

133. Thanks, TwoSparkles! K and R

[progressive_realist]

134. K&R n/t

:kick:

[girl gone mad]

135. Hillary has frequently underestimated the intelligence..

of the voters.

[amborin]

138. but, wait,

Edwards spent years on the ground in Iowa, getting to know folks first hand....yet he did not come in first, as hoped...so spending lots of time with the folks is not the crucial variable

so your post is intersting, but it doesn't prove anything one way or the other

[NJCher]

176. excellent point

But perhaps Edwards didn't account for the impact of the media completely muscling him out.



Cher

[dailykoff]

139. Wow. No wonder she sounds like a robot.

"College students often ask me this question," that's rich. Frankly Hilly's debate performances appear to be equally pre-scripted, as I very strongly suspect they are, just like Dumya's were.

[trashcanistanista]

140. K&R for the insights.

[earth mom]

141. You didn't mention all the bussed in voters for Obama in Iowa.

Nice way to take Iowa. NOT!

I will never forgive Obama for that underhanded trick! :grr:

[Ken Burch]

142. Nobody was bussed in from outside Iowa. This would've been discredited Obama at the time

If it were true.

[earth mom]

147. C'mon it was ALL over DU and even on Edwards blog. Do a google search. nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

184. Either you misunderstand, or you are deliberately spewing bullshit.

The students bussed in were students who were attending school full time in Iowa. They will be voting in the GE in Iowa. They live the majority of the year in Iowa. But they were home for the semester break in Illinois. They will not be voting in Illinois.

They have the right to caucus in the state in which they will be casting their vote.

And, BTW, Hillary had every right to gather out-of-state students who back HER, and return them to caucus for HER. Nobody would have complained.

[NJCher]

186. another perspective

Underhanded? Not so sure about that. Younger voters have traditionally been ignored by candidates because they don't turn out like other groups, like seniors.

Obama may have been very creative in going after a group of voters that have to date, been virtually ignored.



Cher

[Voltaire99]

144. Superb! Still laughing at that woman and her "Hillocopter"!

What your post reveals in miniature -- and thank you for the time you took writing it -- is a record of banality, of trivialities, hideously revealing in what they said about Hillary's insulated life and her patronizing view of the little people.

Hillary viewed the nomination as her prize. It was to be a coronation. And so, as you aptly put it, she embarked on her national prom queen tour. Prom queens demand adoration; it is their default requirement from the world.

But oh -- what if a prom queen should be scorned!

The party may be finished with her. But in her fury, she will not be finished with the party.

Wait for the endgame.

[donheld]

148. One of the best posts ever on GD:P

Thank you.

[DFW]

149. Great, detailed post

It sounds like Hillary completely forgot how Bill won in 1992.
I'm surprised he didn't tell her.

[SKKY]

151. Buying a vote for a coffee cup...

...yea, she kinda underestimated the voting populace, huh?

[Blue Gardener]

152. Thank You TwoSparkles

I couldn't agree more. When Hillary started her "You Go Girl" campaign here in Iowa I think she turned off a lot of voters. Playing the gender card was not the best idea. The Iowa voters I know would never pick a candidate based on gender or race. To think we would do so is insulting.

[Perry Logan]

154. Erica Jong: "Unfortunately the Hillary-Haters are in charge..."

"Patriarchy:1000, Hillary:0"

"Ever since I wrote an article in the Washington Post ten days ago, I've been getting love letters from women and super-smart men and brickbats from the Hillary-Haters. Unfortunately the Hillary-Haters are in charge. They monopolize the networks, the newspapers, the talk shows -- both radio and TV. They are crossing their legs for fear of castration. They are wearing the body armor our troops never got. Or got too late to matter. They are determined that a woman will not prove herself competent as Commander in Chief.

What's their ammunition? Oh, it's simple. They call her Mrs. Clinton, not Ms. or Senator. They pull out those nutcrackers in the shape of her supposed thighs. They complain about her ankles -- too thick. They complain on Fox TV that "White women are the problem" -- (idiot boy Kristol, the brain-damaged scion of Irving who rose through nepotism like our unelected "president"). Then they say she has "baggage" -- which could mean wrinkles, or her husband, or her daughter Chelsea whom they say she is "pimping." Then they say she never divorced Bill -- as if it's anyone's business. Then they moon over Obama's rhetorical style. Then they make it appear that she's a drone or a worker bee and has no royal jelly. Or else she has royal jelly and is queen bee. And that's her problem."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erica-jong/patriarchy1000-hillary_b_86408.html

[Spider Jerusalem]

157. That has absolutely nothing at all to do with the OP...

and you can't dismiss valid criticism of Clinton's campaigning style and reliance on scripted interactions and cheap gimmickry as 'Hillary-hating' or a manifestation of patriarchal misogyny. Attempting to do so is nothing more or less than a weak attempt to evade the discussion.

[dicknbush]

159. Actually it has everything to do with it

The insanity of the Obama freaks is sickening. I truly hope that if he wins he will be the dismall failure that America has come to expect form those who are voted in as a reaction to previous administration. Rather then take the time to really understand the positions of candidates we play American Idol Presidency and Swoooooonnnnn over the most telegenic. If hillary was a hot babe things would be very different I assure you Americans the dumbest people on the earth. Oh and by the way there will be no Health care at the end of Obamas first term if he is elected and we will still be in Iraq.

[RaleighNCDUer]

179. That is today's REALLY BIZARRE comment.

If Hillary wins, I HOPE that she will be completely successful at everything she tries to do for the country. I HOPE that all the faith her followers have pinned on her won't be wasted.

And you HOPE that if Obama wins that we suffer a national disaster.

Your hatred reveals itself as the unreasoning monster it is.

[adabfree]

155. Hot Dang....Great Freaking Post

[sfam]

162. I LOVE the "Obama called me part..."

This REALLY shows how different campaigning in Iowa is from the rest of the country. I'm sorta jealous about this, but at least you all really take this all seriously. Perhaps some states might not.

[Vinca]

165. Great post. I think you nailed it.

After Obama is sworn in you'll have a great Christmas story to tell every year.

[Hart2008]

173. K & R

:kick:

[mckeown1128]

175. Kick and Rec.

Thanks for a great post.

[GoldieAZ49]

180. She has always come off as not wanting to get to close to the people

she is so far above 'the great unwashed'

Looks like she will be the one hung out to dry!!

Thank you TwoSparkles!!!

[Skittles]

189. why do you use a woman's first name

but surnames for the men?

[syberlion]

195. Because there is already a Clinton and to avoid

confusion, she's Hillary and he's Clinton. Besides, her own posters have Hillary on them. I can understand some gender sensitivity, but let's not get carried away... :crazy:

[Skittles]

196. um

that sounds like something a repuke would say

[NC_Nurse]

191. A very informative, well-written and accurate post.

K&R and thank you for putting it all together for the rest of us. :hi:

[Hazelrah]

194. kick

[psychopomp]

198. We will see if the new, closer format changes things

Her new "town hall" style meetings might put a new face on the campaign but I am not sure if it will be scripted like those of bush*.

[Guava Jelly]

200. Thank you for this

I feel I may have actually learned a thing or two.
K&R

[dailykoff]

201. She'll soon be down to her 29%

and unless they can pull off some major election theft the Clintons will return to a town called hopeless.

[CornField]

202. TwoSparkles!

Ever since caucus night, I've had people calling and emailing me with two questions:

1 - What happened to Clinton in Iowa?
2 - What happened to Edwards in Iowa?

Your very detailed post is excellent and, at least in my opinion, a very accurate representation of how Clinton lost the Iowa caucus. I'd only add two things to your account.

Back in November 2006, there was another candidate in the race for the White House: Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. While many Iowans immediately jumped on his bandwagon, others refused. There was talk, even back when he first announced, that his bid was only to "hold" the first-in-the-nation state. That is, much like when Sen. Tom Harkin ran many years ago, no one expected other candidates to campaign in Iowa so long as one of Iowa's favorite sons was on the ballot.

Vilsack ended his bid a few months later, citing a failure to raise enough money to continue. He nearly immediately turned and endorsed Clinton's bid for the president, effectively launching her campaign in the state. This was after Vilsack had cherry-picked many of the best from the 2006 coordinated campaign staff and set up several offices throughout the state. (At this point, Edwards was still visiting Iowa regularly, but not even he had a real presence in the state.) The look of what was happening -- while the DNC rules committee churned on and Michigan and Florida began banging their chests -- didn't sit well with many Iowans.

Many Iowans, including most of those who began the presidential season supporting Vilsack, now confess their belief that Vilsack was little more than a stalking horse for Clinton -- that he was attempting to hold a state where she did not poll well in order to remove it from the equation. Vilsack's drop from the race came after other candidates -- Edwards, Biden, Dodd and even Obama -- had made it clear that they would campaign in Iowa despite Vilsack being a candidate.

The other factor item that your post touches on, but does not specifically address, is the Iowa ground staff. There is always tension in Iowa between national campaign staff members and local activists because the state is won by ground games and because each player believes they know how best to pull off a victory. Usually, the county people and the national campaign people work out some sort of compromise. (Little stuff -- like not phone banking after a certain time at night or on Sunday.) When the Clinton staff came into Iowa, most residents were awed by "the machine." Staffers walked in lock-step and everyone always seemed to be on the same page. But as those interested in the campaign soon came to understand, the Clinton campaign machine was of want for no one.

As I've spoken with Iowans from all areas of the state there is one word used almost exclusively to describe the Clinton ground staff: arrogant. Instead of coming into communities and opening themselves up for comment, suggestion or whatever, the campaign staff came into the community with a plan that they would execute. Period. Even if it wasn't working. Even if it dismissed local activists. Even if it ignored years and years of grassroots campaigning in Iowa. As far as the Clinton campaign was concerned, their primary objective was to get Iowans to their caucus sites. What the campaign missed, however, was the conversations prior to caucus night. (Ironically enough, Clinton's first trip into Iowa was dubbed "Let the Conversation Begin.")

TwoSparkles is correct in every aspect of her observations of the Clinton campaign. They didn't interact enough... for instance, in July I covered dueling campaign stops in the same eastern Iowa city by Clinton and Sen. Chris Dodd. The differences were striking. While the Clinton event was held behind barricades and hay bales, Dodd walked along the river with his daughter riding piggy back. One event very scripted. Another event loose and relaxed. One event designed to keep the public away from the candidate. Another event designed to bring the candidate to the public.

And, in the effort of full disclosure, Obama had his own difficulties in campaigning in Iowa. He was met with thousands during his first trip into the state after announcing. Public events were always huge -- many people leaving because of no seating or places to stand. In this respect, he and Clinton both had their hands full. Retail politics cannot be done in groups of 1,000 to 2,000 people. In the end, however, Obama was able to find a solution to the odd problem of having too much excitement around his event. By the time the Clinton campaign even began to consider they weren't campaigning intimately enough, it was already too late. (Thus the "I knew Hillary when" and the "Hillocopter" nonsense.)

One final note -- I've noticed in some of the responses to TwoSparkles OP that some are snagging on the "You Go Girl" slogan. That did not originate from the Clinton campaign. It was, and is, the brain child of EMILY's List -- which continues to campaign on behalf of Clinton.

[Kurovski]

203. Kick. (nt)

[Drunken Irishman]

204. I think this thread needs a good kick!

[Warren DeMontague]

205. Yep. "Overly managed", that hits the nail on the head.

I'm not sure who, precisely, outside of some very insular tanks of party poo-bahs and DLC waterheads, thought running her was such a sure-fire, brilliant idea. Probably the same people who thought her voting for the IWR was the "politically prudent" thing to do.