Subject: Hillary For President News Briefing for Monday, December 17, 2007
From: "Bulletin News Network" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: 17 Dec 2007 06:27:13 -0500

HILLARY FOR PRESIDENT NEWS BRIEFING (Executive Version)
Full version is attached and available online at http://www.bulletinnews.com/clinton

TO: CLINTON CAMPAIGN

DATE: MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2007 6:30 AM EST

TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS

SEN. CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN:

+ Clinton Works To Show Warmer Side To Iowa Voters.

+ Kerrey Endorses Clinton.

+ Clinton Won Endorsement With "Blitz" On DMR Editorial Board.

+ Bill Clinton Takes On Larger Role In Wife's Campaign.

+ Bill Clinton's Yucaipa Investments May Involve Offshore Company.

+ Clinton Engaging In Retail Politics In New Hampshire.

+ Clinton Developed Political Acumen As Iowa First Lady.

+ Clinton-Backer Nutter Predicted Obama Would Win White House.

+ Clinton Has Huge Lead Over Obama In Florida Poll.

+ Poll Indicates Women Hold Dimmer View Of Judith Giuliani Tryst Than Bill Clinton Affair.

+ Iowa's First Lady To Endorse Edwards.

+ Edwards Intent On Finishing Better Than Third In Iowa.

Sen. Clinton's Campaign:

CLINTON WORKS TO SHOW WARMER SIDE TO IOWA VOTERS. USA Today (12/17, Lawrence, 2.28M) reports Sen. Hillary Clinton, "trying to warm up an image some voters perceive as cold, starts a drive Monday to showcase her personal side with testimonials from friends, associates and constituents she has helped. The online and in-person campaign, complete with a website called TheHillaryIKnow.com, comes a day after Clinton won a key endorsement from The Des Moines Register." Clinton "had an unfavorable rating of 50% in a USA Today/Gallup Poll this month, compared with mid-30s" for John Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama. Taking steps "to fix the problem, Clinton has brought her mother and daughter to Iowa and featured them in TV ads." Newsday (12/17, Thrush) says Clinton "put up a wall between her private life and her politics" for most of her campaign, "she's showing a new willingness to get personal in an effort to warm up Iowa's chilly voters."

The AP (12/17) reports on Clinton's livestock-themed request for Iowa voters to "inspect me. You can look inside my mouth if you want. I hope by the end of my time with you I can make the case for my candidacy and to ask you to consider caucusing for me." Speaking "in a livestock auction barn" in Dunlap, Iowa, Clinton likened the experience to her quest to woo undecided voters in the closing days before Iowa's pivotal caucuses." Clinton "made her comments during the launch of a five-day campaign blitz across Iowa less than three weeks before the state's January 3 caucuses. Buoyed by the endorsement of the state's largest newspaper, Clinton said she 'could not be more pumped up' and that her campaign had regained its momentum after several shaky weeks." This article was published in at least 78 papers and websites, including the New York Times, the Charlotte Observer, the Miami Herald, the Washington Post, the Boston Herald and the Benton Crier.

ABC World News (12/16, lead story, 3:00, Harris, 8.78M) reported, "Iowa has been a tricky state for Hillary Clinton," but she "says she is pumped up" after getting the Register endorsement. On the CBS Evening News (12/16, story 2, 3:05, Mitchell, 7.66M), correspondent Jim Axelrod said, "Hoping she has finally got her campaign moving in the right direction, Hillary Clinton kicked off a cross-state tour of Iowa today, starting in Council Bluffs. ... Clinton and her surrogates hope to hit all 99 of Iowa's counties in the next five days." NBC Nightly News (12/16, story 5, 2:35, Holt, 9.87M) also reported on the Register endorsement and the Clinton campaign. The Financial Times (12/17, Guha) also noted the Register endorsement.

CBS News (12/16, Axelrod) reported on its 'From the Road' blog that despite the DMR endorsement, "Clinton was decidedly low energy" at a campaign event in Le Mars, Iowa. "She continues to try to distinguish herself from her two chief rivals by talking about her experience," and "continues to refrain from mentioning either of her two main rivals by name, and while she delivered her basic stump speech in muted style, there was a new wrinkle – wrapping up her speech with a plea for support on caucus night, Clinton promised to stand up for those who stand up for her."

The Des Moines Register (12/17, Jacobs, 158K) reports that Clinton "told a Council Bluffs audience of about 400 that the endorsement" from The Des Moines Register "was an honor 'because it was an important event in this process. And I am very grateful that they have zeroed in on the work that needs to be done by the next president, on my vision for our country, on my plans for change, and my ability to lead.' 'Our campaign is energized, we're picking up momentum,' she said, as her voice grew louder, 'and we're going all the way to Jan. 3!'"

The Sioux City Journal (12/17, Gallagher) reports that in her Le Mars stop, Clinton used basketball references and "served up political red meat in an attempt to close the sale." Clinton criticized President Bush's foreign policy and called for U.S. energy independence.

KERREY ENDORSES CLINTON. Bob Kerrey's endorsement of Hillary Clinton generated a large number of media mentions this morning, but they were often in news reports that focused more broadly on Clinton's effort in Iowa. The Chicago Tribune (12/17, George, McCormick, 607K) reports former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey (D) "endorsed Hillary Clinton for president Sunday, but stirred a continuing controversy by noting her chief rival's name is 'Barack Hussein Obama' and that Obama had Muslim ancestors." Kerrey said in an interview, "It's probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. There's a billion people on the planet that are Muslims and I think that experience is a big deal. He's got a whale of a lot more intellectual talent than I've got as well." Kerrey "had pondered a potential Obama endorsement before deciding on Clinton."

The New York Times (12/17, A22, Seelye, 1.18M) says Clinton picked up the "vote of confidence" from Kerrey "as she began a barnstorming tour." The Omaha World-Herald (12/17, Kotok) headlines its report on the endorsement "Kerrey Gives Clinton Clout."

The AP (12/17, Fouhy) reports Kerrey "said he was endorsing Hillary Clinton 'enthusiastically and unequivocally.' 'She inspires my confidence. The question is, does she inspire your confidence?' Kerrey asked." This article was published in at least 78 papers and websites, including the New York Times, the Charlotte Observer, the Miami Herald, the Washington Post, the Boston Herald and the Benton Crier.

CLINTON WON ENDORSEMENT WITH "BLITZ" ON DMR EDITORIAL BOARD. In a posting on the 'The Fix' blog on the website of the Washington Post (12/16, 723K), Chris Cillizza calls the Des Moines Register's endorsement of Sen. Hillary Clinton a "rare surprise," noting that the paper's reticence before the announcement resulted in "rampant speculation," which Cillizza suggests favored Sen. Barack Obama. He suggests that Clinton won the endorsement with a "three-week blitz to court the editorial board. Clinton and her husband met with the board over cocktails to make the case. A series of surrogates -- including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, EMILY's List chief Ellen Malcolm and Robert Kennedy Jr. -- barraged the board with calls in support of Clinton. High-level Clinton staffers -- including campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, pollster Mark Penn, policy director Neera Tanden and senior adviser Ann Lewis -- met individually with members of the board to make the case. The central argument was that Clinton -- and Clinton alone -- had the experience, both in and out of public office, to not only be elected president but also do the job from day one."

BILL CLINTON TAKES ON LARGER ROLE IN WIFE'S CAMPAIGN. In a front-page story, the New York Times (12/17, A1, Healy, 1.18M) reports that Bill Clinton is playing an ever-larger role in his wife's campaign. While the ex-president "is not running" Sen. Clinton's campaign, "less than three weeks before the Iowa caucuses, and with polls showing a tight race, he has become the most powerful force in her political operation besides the candidate herself. He is shaping strategy, challenging advisers on their assumptions and acting like a vice-presidential candidate in a general election -- attacking rivals so Mrs. Clinton can stay positive much of the time." But he "has at times been part of the problem." The Washington Times (12/17, Billups, 87K) takes a look at the unusually prominent role candidates' spouses are playing in the 2008 race.

Bill Clinton Still Seen As An Asset To Clinton Campaign. Newsweek (12/24, Wolffe, 3.12M) reports that Clinton's campaign "is struggling at an alarmingly late moment before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. Last Friday, her team released a cozy TV ad featuring Clinton's mother and daughter in a bid to humanize the candidate and recover in the polls after sustained attacks by Barack Obama and John Edwards. ... Managing the Bill factor is even trickier. According to aides who declined to be named speaking about the campaign's inner workings, the former president is a free agent within Hillary's organization, and he knows her -- and political strategy -- better than anyone on her staff. It was Bill, aides say, who crafted and delivered her new slogan of the week: that Hillary was 'an agent of change.' Bill's reach in the operation includes tweaking press releases, calling senior Hillary staffers and campaigning on his own in Iowa. Aides say there is no tension between him and her staff, even when their advice is displaced by his." Jonathan Alter writes in Newsweek (12/24, 3.12M), "If Clinton fails to win the nomination -- now a distinct possibility -- a big reason will be that she never fully inhabited the real Hillary, who has been, as her husband accurately put it, a 'change agent' at every step of her life. Instead, faced with an opponent who thoroughly embodies change, she has often come across like the cautious candidate of the Washington Democratic establishment, afraid to jeopardize her chances in the general election by sounding strident."

BILL CLINTON'S YUCAIPA INVESTMENTS MAY INVOLVE OFFSHORE COMPANY. Bloomberg (12/17, Burger, Donmoyer) continues coverage of Bill Clinton's decision to reduce his ties with Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Cos., LLC., to reduce the possibility of conflicts of interest given the campaign of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton. Bloomberg notes that one of the three Yucaipa "investment entities" with which Bill Clinton has a "financial stake" may be based in the Cayman Islands. Sen. Clinton has railed against companies who "create a mailbox, or a drop, or send one person to sit on the beach in some island paradise and claim that it is their offshore headquarters."

CLINTON ENGAGING IN RETAIL POLITICS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. The Boston Globe (12/17, Wangsness, Bombardieri, 404K) reports on Sen. Hillary Clinton's efforts "to bond with the neighbors of Montgomery Street" in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Globe narrates a number of encounters Clinton had with homey-sounding folks, adding, "Canvassing is the oldest method of campaigning in the book, but it's a rarity for Clinton, whose one-on-one encounters with regular voters often occur at large town hall meetings and crowded rope lines. In recent days, though, having lost ground among women in Iowa, and as her campaign has withstood criticism for attacking her Democratic rival, Barack Obama, Clinton's campaign appears to be making a special effort to show a human touch."

CLINTON DEVELOPED POLITICAL ACUMEN AS IOWA FIRST LADY. The Concord Monitor (12/17, Liebowitz) reports that when Bill Clinton was "campaigning for re-election as Arkansas Governor in 1990," Sen. Hillary Clinton defended her husband during a press conference by gubernatorial rival Tom McRae. "Hillary Clinton maintained then that her appearance at McRae's press conference was coincidental; she just happened by the Capitol when, overhearing McRae's comments, she was spurred to protect her husband. But the incident was a devastatingly effective form of political combat. The public exchange - which turned McRae into what one Arkansas political columnist called 'a blubbering idiot' - marked a departure for the first lady, who until that point tended to play a more behind-the-scenes role in her husband's campaigns. It also reflected one of the lessons she took away from Bill Clinton's 1980 defeat after one term as governor: Let no attack go unanswered."

CLINTON-BACKER NUTTER PREDICTED OBAMA WOULD WIN WHITE HOUSE. The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/17, Gelbart, 402K) reports, "Mayor-elect Michael Nutter last week wholeheartedly threw his support behind Hillary Clinton in next year's presidential race." However, "several months earlier, Nutter left the distinct impression that Philadelphia might need a different friend. At a mayoral forum at Central High School in Philadelphia last February, each of the five Democrats running in the primary was asked to predict the next president. Nutter's answer: 'I'll go out on a limb. Sen. Obama.'" But "that was before the Illinois senator distributed an e-mail to the supporters of U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, one of Nutter's rivals in the race, asking them to contribute to Fattah's campaign committee."

CLINTON HAS HUGE LEAD OVER OBAMA IN FLORIDA POLL. A Datamar survey of 600 likely Florida Democratic presidential primary voters conducted December 9-13 (+/- 4%) shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading with 44.0%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama 20.0%, John Edwards 14.3%, Gov. Bill Richardson 3.8%, Rep. Dennis Kucinich 2.7%, Sen. Joseph Biden 2.0%, Mike Gravel 1.2%, and Sen. Christopher Dodd 0.3%.

POLL INDICATES WOMEN HOLD DIMMER VIEW OF JUDITH GIULIANI TRYST THAN BILL CLINTON AFFAIR. The New York Daily News (12/17, Kennedy, 729K) reports, "A straying husband is bad. But a home wrecker is worse - at least when it comes to who should end up in the White House. That seems to be the judgment of women polled by the Daily News. More were likely to punish Judith Giuliani for trysting with the then-married mayor when she was Judith Nathan than Bill Clinton for cheating on his wife in the Oval Office. The News' national poll of female voters found women - by a 40% to 35% margin - said Judith Giuliani's affair with Rudy made her less suitable to be First Lady. However, they were more forgiving about Clinton's adultery, with 42% saying his affair doesn't make him less suitable to be First Laddie and 34% saying it does. ... Maybe it's because many women think the Big Dog is under control now that he's had heart surgery and become an international statesman. Only 15% of respondents in the poll said they worried about another sex scandal exploding should the Clintons return to their old digs on Pennsylvania Ave. ... Hillary Clinton has said she might put her husband to work helping out with diplomacy, and 54% of women in the poll said they approved. But only 37% liked Rudy Giuliani's plan to have his wife, a one-time nurse, take a role in health care issues. ... Blum & Weprin Associates surveyed 569 female registered voters for The News. The survey had a margin of error of" +/- 4.1%.

IOWA'S FIRST LADY TO ENDORSE EDWARDS. The Des Moines Register (12/16, Leys, 158K) reports Iowa First Lady Mari Culver, "who had said she would stay neutral in the presidential race, has changed her mind" and plans to endorse John Edwards. She said "her husband, Gov. Chet Culver, will not endorse anyone, and she said her stance does not imply that he supports Edwards." Mari Culver said, "If the governor wanted to show a preference for a candidate, he would do so. My endorsement is as Mari Culver, Iowan. ... I'm my own person. I have my own political interests." Edwards said, "It's a big boost, and I'm proud to have her. She cares about children, families, battered women -- a lot of the issues I care deeply about."

The AP (12/17) reports adds that "Culver was a trial lawyer before her husband won the state's top elected job, and she has made disadvantaged children and families a main cause of her tenure as first lady. That meshes well with Edwards' focus on fighting poverty and helping the middle class. `He has been a true champion of the middle class and I share his interests,' she said. `He's right on the issues that matter most and I think he's got the vision and he's certainly got the most detailed plan.'"

EDWARDS INTENT ON FINISHING BETTER THAN THIRD IN IOWA. Newsweek (12/24, Campo-Flores, Smalley, 3.12M), in its cover story profile of John Edwards, reports Edwards had "envisioned the campaign coming down to a two-person race between him and Hillary Clinton --a match-up he thought he could win by exploiting her divisiveness and high negatives. Barack Obama spoiled that by rivaling Edwards in charisma and optimism, siphoning away money and attention. And early missteps -- the $400 haircut, the 25,000-square-foot mansion, the job at a hedge fund -- raised questions about his authenticity and fed an impression among some voters that his common-man populism was more conceit than conviction. Now, with the Iowa caucuses just a few weeks away, he finds himself trying to talk his way up from third place." In an accompanying interview with Newsweek (12/24, Campo-Flores, 3.12M) Edwards is asked if he is "getting any negative feedback on the period when you were more combative with Hillary Clinton," Edwards said, "Not really, no. I thought it was important for people to understand the differences, the substantive policy differences between us." Time (12/24, Tumulty, 4.03M) notes that "in his newer, more populist incarnation," Edwards "has hammered away not only at President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and the special interests that he says call the shots in Washington but also at front runner Hillary Clinton. At one point, he even refused to say whether he would endorse her if she won the Democratic nomination." According to U.S. News and World Report (12/24, Walsh, 2.03M) reports, "The political pros say now is the time for the negative stuff, in Iowa and beyond."

Copyright 2007 by the Bulletin News Network, Inc. Reproduction without permission prohibited. Editorial content is drawn from thousands of newspapers, national magazines, national and local television programs, and radio broadcasts. The Hillary For President News Briefing is published five days a week by BulletinNews, which creates custom news briefings for government and corporate leaders. We can be found on the Web at BulletinNews.com, [email-masked], or called at (703) 749-0040.