ST. PAUL -- Advisers to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Sunday that Senator John McCain's selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate would lead to a greater role for Mrs. Clinton as she campaigned this fall on behalf of her former rival, Senator Barack Obama. Mrs. Clinton's friends said she was galled that Ms. Palin might try to capitalize on a movement that Mrs. Clinton, of New York, built among women in the primaries. And Democrats used strong words on Sunday to rebut the notion: Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts said that women would not be "seduced" by the Republican ticket, and Guy Cecil, the former political director of Mrs. Clinton's campaign, said it was "insulting" for Republicans to compare Ms. Palin to Mrs. Clinton. Nevertheless, Clinton advisers said they expected that a bloc of her female supporters would give Mr. McCain a second look because of Ms. Palin, and that Mrs. Clinton was probably Mr. Obama's best weapon in response. But asked if the Palin pick would lead to a new political marriage between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, a senior Clinton adviser, Ann Lewis, said: "Not a political marriage. She is not on the ticket. Senator Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate. Hillary will do what she can to help." Mrs. Clinton's advisers said they expected that in light of the Palin selection, she would focus her efforts especially on working women -- middle- and working-class, married and single -- in swing states where she ran strong, like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Mrs. Clinton's friends said she was galled that Ms. Palin might try to capitalize on a movement that Mrs. Clinton, of New York, built among women in the primaries. And Democrats used strong words on Sunday to rebut the notion: Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts said that women would not be "seduced" by the Republican ticket, and Guy Cecil, the former political director of Mrs. Clinton's campaign, said it was "insulting" for Republicans to compare Ms. Palin to Mrs. Clinton.
Nevertheless, Clinton advisers said they expected that a bloc of her female supporters would give Mr. McCain a second look because of Ms. Palin, and that Mrs. Clinton was probably Mr. Obama's best weapon in response. But asked if the Palin pick would lead to a new political marriage between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, a senior Clinton adviser, Ann Lewis, said: "Not a political marriage. She is not on the ticket. Senator Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate. Hillary will do what she can to help."
Mrs. Clinton's advisers said they expected that in light of the Palin selection, she would focus her efforts especially on working women -- middle- and working-class, married and single -- in swing states where she ran strong, like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The last thing the Republicans should've done is given Hillary and Bill a reason to come out swinging. They just gave it to them.
Welcome back, Hillary. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
I say this without having read any blog commentary on the Joe Biden choice (yet), so I don't know how it went down in Orangeland and what strategies were analysed behind it. I thought Sebelius would have been the best choice from the offer. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Remember, Biden authored the Violence Against Women Act and killed the Robert Bork nomination to the Supreme Court (which might very well have saved Roe). Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
