This is pretty big. Which state votes first in 2008, again?
Henry C. Jackson of the Associated Press reports:
Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a major political coup, has captured the endorsement of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who recently abandoned his own presidential bid, officials told The Associated Press on Friday.
Vilsack and his wife, Christie, planned to make the endorsement on Monday when the New York senator will be in the state, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the planned formal statement next week.Clinton spokesman Mark Daley would not confirm Vilsack's endorsement, but did say the campaign had a major announcement planned for Monday in Des Moines.
Iowa is the first test in the presidential primary with caucuses on Jan. 14, 2008, and backing from both Vilsacks is certain to boost the Democratic front-runner. A win in Iowa provides critical momentum, especially with a spate of primaries and caucuses early in the nomination calendar.
* * * * *
Clinton rival Sen. Barack Obama, who lost out in securing the key endorsement, shrugged off the news in an interview with the AP. The Illinois senator said he spoke with Vilsack briefly after the governor bowed out of the race, but his campaign had not been focused on securing the backing.
Read the whole thing at the link above. Hillary is doing what a frontrunner needs to do - and what McCain has failed to do - which is create an aura of inevitability. She had been sidetracked a bit by the whole Obama boomlet, but now seems back on track.
Speaking of Obama, notice his sour grapes here, too - as if he wasn't hoping hard for Vilsack's endorsement or, failing that, continued neutrality. Compare with his campaign's harsh criticism when Hillary hired SC State Senator Darrell Jackson as a consultant at $10 grand a month. What they didn't tell you was they had offered Jackson $5 grand a month, and were simply outbid.
What a whiner!
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2008 Presidential Race, Breaking news, Hillary, Vilsack
Comments (1)
I think Obama is still in t... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Matt Dobson | March 24, 2007 10:21 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I think Obama is still in the race. There seems to be a lot of anger at Hillary from the extreme left of the Dem party. Just think of the David Geffen, the youtube video portraying Hillary as 1984's big brother, that new book about Bill Clinton (see URL) and the whole dailykos machine that's behind Obama. There are a lot of dems that don't like her.
1. Posted by Matt Dobson | March 24, 2007 10:21 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on March 24, 2007 10:21