Clinton scales back campaign schedule in Wisconsin.

[Drunken Irishman]

I think this is a stupid move.

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton has scaled back her Wisconsin campaign schedule by a full day, and is now planning to leave the state after Monday morning instead of Tuesday morning.

The move suggests the campaign does not think it can overtake rival Barack Obama here. Obama has already campaigned in the state Tuesday night, Wednesday, Friday, and today. He also has single events planned for Sunday (Kaukauna) and Monday (Beloit).

http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=2/16/2008&id=35716

Why I think this is a stupid movie:

Clinton needs to find a way to stop the bleeding and I'm not sure she'll be able to do that March 4th, especially after another loss. Now while the polls show a tight race, it's entirely possible Obama bumps that lead up to 10+ by Tuesday. If that's the case, Clinton will be in even more trouble Wednesday morning of next week than she was Wednesday morning of last week. I don't get this move.

[Enrique]

1. thanks for your concern

it's so nice to see so many Obama supporters worried about Clinton's strategy.

[Drunken Irishman]

5. You're welcome, Enrique.

I'd be concerned if I were the head of a rival ocean liner to the Titanic and I saw it going down. Just because we're rivals, doesn't mean I can't comment on this sinking ship.

[grantcart]

11. It's not concern. After giving the facts, admitting his own self interest, he made an objective

statement on what he felt about strategy and tactics. I agree with him that extra time in Wisconsin will help narrow the margin and she may even win Wisconsin. Another several press cycles of Obama maintaining his winning streak will be disastorus.

It only makes sense to leave if her internal polling is showing that Wisconsin is going to be lost big and nothing is helping.

[Kahuna]

48. True that. It's always a sign when she skedaddles out of a state that

her internals are bad.

[VolcanoJen]

15. Well, we are political junkies.

Campaigns are fascinating things. If Clinton's abandoning Wisconsin the weekend before the primary, that's got to mean the internal polling looks weak, she's running low on funds, and she needs to fight hard for Ohio and Texas.

Watch what happens in Wisconsin, because rural Wisconsin and rural Ohio have very similar economies and demographics.

I'm not rooting on some kind of Clinton defeat... I'm just addicted to the politics of the thing at this point. It really is very, very interesting.

[catgirl]

81. We can't talk about the candidates strategies on DU?

No, we should just have sarcastic one-liners and avoid
responding to the actual content of the thread.

Drunkin, Clinton's strategy is see-through. She's given up.
The question now is, how much does Obama win by?

[thoughtcrime1984]

82. A friend of mine (Obama supporter) actually wanted to see Hil

on Monday. Not gonna happen.

[bunnies]

2. Where is she going?

The answer to that question = a state thats got her worried.

[usregimechange]

3. Retreat!!!

[SoFlaJet]

8. so where is going to give her big comeback victory speech?

in Texas? Tells me (and should tell EVER Cheese-head from Wisconsin too) one thing-she KNOWS she is going to lose-oh yea that's Wisconsin is another one of those states that don't count OR matter-To the Clintons only California, NY, and NJ apparently are states that matter

[dkf]

14. Geez it is beginning to resemble war, isn't it?

The US is a big ole battlefield, and Obama and Clinton are going at it state by state, mano a mano. Or is it mano a womano? lol.

[Alhena]

4. It is incredibly stupid- there's a 4 point gap in the polls and one extra day ...

campaigning in a huge state like Texas won't make much difference. But the message sent to Wisconsin voters by leaving a day earlier than planned comes across loud and clear- you don't matter very much.

[RiverStone]

10. Well, maybe her campaign has some inside information....

That her loss is more probable than advertised.

Either way --- good news for Obama's momentum!

[tekisui]

6. Simple answer: Her campaigning presence doesn't help her.

[grantcart]

52. it could be that they are embarassed with the comparrison of

numbers of people that show up for campaign events

[billyoc]

Sen. Clinton may be trying to save money

for her Senatorial primary challenges in '12, which I believe will be formidable.

[VolcanoJen]

7. Exact same thing she did before NE, WA, and LA.

Exact same thing she did before MD, VA and DC.

Internal polls in WI must be looking ugly. She's off to TX and OH, I assume.

I predict she'll abandon OH for TX the weekend before March 4th.

[WilyWondr]

41. She has not even been in WI yet.

After the Potomac primaries she went to TX for some reason and BHO came to WI.

She appears to be using the Giuliani 101 campaigning technique.

[NJSecularist]

9. Her internal polls probably tell her that Wisconsin isn't as close as the public polls say

Much like how Obama didn't show up in California the weekend before Super Tuesday despite the fact that the public polls were saying he had a chance to win.

I'd imagine Hillary's internals are telling her the same thing about Wisconsin.

[HeraldSquare212]

12. Wasn't the governor of Wisconsin already blasting her for not campaigning there

when her ads were making so much about talking to voters?

[Drunken Irishman]

13. Yup, received big press in Wisconsin, too.

And now she's pulling out early.

That's not a good message to send to the voters.

[VolcanoJen]

17. Add Wisconsin to the long list of "States That Don't Count"

All part of the "Insult 40 States Strategy."

[Yael]

19. "Insult 40 States Strategy"

:rofl:

[VolcanoJen]

23. Wish I could take credit for it!

Thanks, Markos of Daily Kos! That's a keeper. :-) And I have a feeling we're going to be provided with many, many more reasons to use it. Look out, Hawaii and Wisconsin!

Kos - Clinton's "insult 40 states" strategy

[ZinZen]

55. Beautiful phrasing Volcano Jen!

[Tatiana]

66. Insult 40 States Strategy!!!!!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Oh hell... I've got to use that one!

[MoJoWorkin]

16. Thanks, that is a bit of good news.

[Yael]

18. Congrats, Wisconsin -- you don't count!

Her internals must be tanking.

[ginnyinWI]

57. well if crowds are any indication:

In Waukesha,WI Obama filled the Expo Center with over 1.000 people--to standing room only. Next day, Bill Clinton was at the same venue and only had about 400.

[MadBadger]

20. She should take down those debate ads

[MadBadger]

21. Delete

[WilyWondr]

22. She abandoned WI all week

BHO has been on the local news all week in WI and has held events all week in WI while HRC was in TX and OH running attack adds against BHO in WI. That is dumb.

Who thinks the people of WI did not notice this?

[Yael]

25. It doesn't matter because they don't count anymore.

[WilyWondr]

32. I think it matters

It will be great to have BHO riding 9 straight wins into March 4.

2 weeks of publicity about his winning and her losing.

[Bread and Circus]

24. In my opinion, Wisconsin is a must win for Obama... it's the first large primary

with no special slant to it that can be marginalized by Hillary "blacks don't count" Clinton.

I hope this is a sign that Hillary thinks her goose is cooked there.

[NJSecularist]

26. Winning Wisconsin is a large breakthrough for him..

As you said, it's the first large primary that Obama can win that Hillary can't marginalize. It would be a breakthrough if he won Wisconsin, a state with a 92% white population and only a 5% black population. In addition, many of those 92% are low-income, which is Hillary's base.

I'm convinced if he wins Wisconsin, he'll win Ohio.

[woolldog]

49. Isn't Wisconsin

a lot more progressive than Ohio, as far as it's brand of liberalism? There seem to be 2 different types of democrats in Ohio and Wisconsin, no?

[NJSecularist]

50. They are a bit more progressive

But still, the demographics in Wisconsin favor Hillary by a wide margin.

[VolcanoJen]

61. More progressive in WI. Much larger population in OH.

But, watch what happens in Wisconsin carefully. The rural areas of Wisconsin have almost identical economies and demographics to rural Ohio. Only difference is that rural Ohio has more voters... which, if Obama wins those voters in Wisconsin, bodes incredibly well for him in Ohio and through to the nomination.

What did the Wisconsin polls look like, two weeks out, I'm wondering?

[woolldog]

71. Poll from 2 weeks ago:

Feb 6

http://www.americanresearchgroup.com/pres08/widem8-701.html

[VolcanoJen]

72. Wow! Clinton 50, Obama 41

If those numbers get flipped on Tuesday night, that should all give us some perspective as we look at the Ohio and Texas polls today, a good two+ weeks out.

[ginnyinWI]

58. if he wins Wisconsin,

He wins either Texas or Ohio, too--and then the White House.

[Omega3]

74. yeah, and pretty soon we's gonna have indoor plumbin' too!!! now I gots to go to my job on the farm

stick to NJ ok?

[asjr]

27. The Obama Express has already left the

station. Should it start losing steam all those former Clinton and Edwards supporters who have started riding the rails with it will keep it going by using their feet a la Flintstones. They are very afraid they will be left behind. All those delegates who are eager to switch from one candidate to another in a hurry must not have been all that loyal to begin with. The entire political season has been one big bag of poop.

[Yael]

28. Actually no. He was there all week and has events tomorrow and Monday

She bought attack ads and aired them from Texas.

People aren't as gullible as she takes them to be.

[smoogatz]

38. He just held a big rally here in Eau Claire.

It was mobbed; people started waiting in line in the snow at about 6:00 a.m. It just ended about ten minutes ago.

[Yael]

44. Did you get to go?

[smoogatz]

47. The Mrs. went, but didn't get in.

Our babysitter went about two hours early and was among the last let in.

[Diane R]

29. But, if she thinks she'll be the nominee, would she want to blow off WI? Maybe knows she's losing.

[jenmito]

30. So if she loses WI, will it be just one more state that doesn't matter? Whose voters won't even be

aknowledged by Hillary?

[tokenlib]

31. Maybe her internals have her winning??

...by a comfortable margin??

[NJSecularist]

33. When you have a comfortable lead in a state

You don't leave and let your opponent eat into that lead.

It's counterproductive and it goes against one of the main tenets of politics.

If you have a comfortable lead, you stay in the state and keep campaigning and pad your lead. Ala Barrack in Virginia and Maryland.

[jenmito]

34. And it means she doesn't plan on thanking the voters Tuesday night.

Same ol' pattern of acting like the election never happened.

[Eurobabe]

35. Waving the white flag in WI

Another one bites the dust?

:woohoo:

[MoJoWorkin]

36. On his schedule is Eau Claire, Kaukauna and Beloit----looks like he is finishing up by

going for all of Wisconsin's legislative districts. I think it is a good sign.

[smoogatz]

43. Just now finished in Eau Claire.

Huge (for here) rally in the university basketball arena, also shown live on local TV.

[thoughtcrime1984]

62. My wife and I were there!

She was able to get in, my job prevented me from getting there early, so I heard his speech to the overflow crowd, and got within 6 feet of him. Very impressive figure, that Obama! :)

[NJSecularist]

63. Could you give me a link to his schedule?

Thanks.

[loveangelc]

37. I think it's a stupid move too. If Obama wins Wisconsin by 5+ its not a good thing for her.

and will likely be reflected in polls.

i think she's depending on her "stellar" debate performances to slow his momentum and idk if it will work.

[Hill_YesWeWill]

39. I've noticed she's done this before, this is becoming a pattern with her

if she's not up by 20 points she leaves the state and doesn't even try to compete. Whereas, even when Barack is down 20 points he gets himself in the state and trys to meet literally every voter.

If she's going to continue giving up on states, and claiming 21 states out of the union are meaningless, maybe she shouldn't running to be the leader of these united states

[woolldog]

40. Maybe not...

Well whenever Clinton campaigns somewhere her popularity actually drops as people get to know her. And the gap narrows between her and Obama. So maybe this is a good strategy. LOL.

[SKKY]

42. She's probably going to "patch" her firewalls....

...Texas and Ohio are not going as she hoped.

[Tropics_Dude83]

45. WOW I am stunned

Maybe her campaign is in such utter disarray that they don't know which way is up. This is the only thing I can come up with. Wisconsin has ALWAYS been a critical democratic primary since at least 1988. I don't understand why she'd give up on it. Neither can the media, even CNN. Things appear to be coming apart at the seams.

This is truly Guilani 101.

[BlackVelvet04]

46. your concern is appreciated I'm sure.....

not

[Yael]

51. Is that all ya got?

No defense of why this is a good thing?

[grantcart]

54. If you have been reading her posts you will already know that

that is in fact all she has lol

[BlackVelvet04]

56. Why would I defend it?

She must have a reason and I'm not privy to her reasoning.

[Yael]

64. On what alternate universe does this send a good message?

[BlackVelvet04]

65. In what alternative universe did I say it did? n/t

[Yael]

67. So the message is that her campaign in WI is in the tank?

[BlackVelvet04]

69. You have a reading comprehension problem, don't you?

I don't know what her reasoning is. I'm not privy to her private thoughts and decisions.

[Yael]

76. No, I am deliberately baiting to you to agree with me.

:D

[BlackVelvet04]

78. that's not going to happen....

this isn't my first rodeo.

[CreekDog]

53. yes it is

:hi:

[Auntie Bush]

59. As an Obama supporter...why do you care to waste a post on

showing your concerns for Hillary? Just wondering.

[Political Heretic]

60. Some people are political junkies - like me.

I support a candidate, but I also like to analyze the political strategy on both sides.

[Tatiana]

73. I think just from a logical perspective, we do feel Hillary is a smart woman.

It's become harder and harder to reconcile her intelligence with these tremendously stupid moves.

Which personally makes me question whether or not she's as smart as I once thought.

[Auntie Bush]

79. That makes sence...but you really don't know the reasons behind the move so

you really don't have the information to accurately decide if it's a good move or not and it certainly has nothing to do with her intelligence. I wouldn't presume that Obama was dumb for some of his decisions. Besides...aren't the campaign managers the ones who make such decisions?

[Tatiana]

80. There is no good reason for pulling out from WI. NONE.

Unless they are running low on money, and well, that's another example of fiscal mismanagement, which I don't want to be reminded of.

Yes, campaign managers make these sorts of decisions, but never without first consulting the candidate. So Hillary OK'ed this decision. And it is a stupid one. She is down by only 5 points in polling. That means the race is basically dead even. She should be fighting for Wisconsin. She's got a bigger spread in Texas and Ohio at the moment. There is no real reason why she isn't campaigning daily in Wisconsin and taking the fight to Obama. She is supposed to be the fighter. But what I constantly see from Hillary and her campaign is retreat when she finds herself behind.

I want someone who's going to fight even if the odds say there's a good chance of losing. And I'm not seeing her do that. Hillary is ABSOLUTELY capable of winning Wisconsin. And she's going to lose it, because she gave up and retreated.

My interest is in having and producing the best candidate possible from this democratic nomination process. If she happens to steal the nomination, I want to feel good about voting for her in the GE. And these sorts of mistakes, miscues, mismanagements do not reassure me that she will do well. They don't reassure me at all.

[Auntie Bush]

83. Did you ever stop to think

that maybe there was a good reason...like maybe her chances of winning in bigger states may be in danger? If so, then she made a smart decision as it would put a nail in her coffin if she lost in Texas etc.

[ginnyinWI]

68. It's looking better and better for Obama

All signs point to it: major endorsements (governor, mayors of all the major cities), good media attention, good press, Hillary's obviously distasteful attack ads, overflow crowds for Obama where he's spoken all week, and he has been here campaigning continuously (except Valentine's Day) since he got here on Tuesday. He's spoken to large and small crowds, university audiences and regular, has had local TV interviews, as has Michelle.

People here know when they are being BS'ed and disregarded. And there are plenty of Republican voters here who are fed up with their party and ready to switch. Add that to the Independents who are already on board. It's an open primary.

Tonight's Founder's Day Gala in Milwaukee will be on C-span tonight--both Obama and Clinton will be there--for anyone who wants a closer look at what's happening here.

[jasmine621]

70. M aybe, just maybe it has something to do with the weather forcast for

over 5 inches of snow?

[Yael]

77. Thats on Sunday/Monday -- while she is there

Monday/Tuesday are looking great, but she will be in Ohio and/or Texas delivering her Comeback Kid speech.

[Avalux]

75. She doesn't know what she's doing and her campaign is floundering.

What a mess.

[tgnyc]

84. if Obama wins by 9 or more, it's all over for her. She still doesn't understand how

momentum works.