Subject: Hillary For President News Briefing for Tuesday, June 03, 2008
From: "Bulletin News Network" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: 3 Jun 2008 06:39:13 -0400

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

TO: CLINTON CAMPAIGN

DATE: TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2008 6:30 AM EDT

TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS

SEN. CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN:

+ Clinton Reportedly Preparing To End Active Campaign.

+ Poll Shows Clinton Leading Obama 60% To 34% In South Dakota.

+ Obama Camp Rallies Undecided Superdelegates, Seeking To Clinch Nomination.

+ Clinton Wins Support Of New York Superdelegate.

+ Bill Clinton Lashes Out At Vanity Fair, Purdum, Myers.

+ McCain Adviser Says Clinton Has Been Victim Of Sexism.

Sen. Clinton's Campaign:

CLINTON REPORTEDLY PREPARING TO END ACTIVE CAMPAIGN. Hillary Clinton will return to New York on Tuesday night to rally supporters and contributors to mark the conclusion of the Democratic primaries. Media reports generally agree that Clinton will not concede tonight, but will likely suspend her active campaign and visit key general election states in the weeks to come. The move comes as former President Bill Clinton told a South Dakota rally he expected it to be his final appearance in a presidential campaign, perhaps an indication of his wife's thinking.

The Washington Post (6/3, A1, Murray, Kornblut, 723K) reports in a front page story that Clinton "sent mixed signals about her plans throughout the day Monday. As her campaign recalled field staffers to New York, one adviser indicated that she would suspend, but not end, her campaign within days. But the candidate herself said she will continue to argue to the group of party insiders who will hold sway over the final outcome that her strong showing in recent contests demonstrates that she would be the more electable candidate in November." The New York Times (6/3, A1, Nagourney, 1.18M) reports aides "said Mrs. Clinton was not likely to withdraw from the race on Tuesday night, probably waiting until later in the week, once Mr. Obama's victory appeared clear."

The Los Angeles Times (6/3, A1, Nicholas, 833K) reports Clinton's campaign "has scheduled no events beyond a speech Wednesday morning in Washington. Clinton aides considered and rejected a plan to have her campaign later this week in states that will be important in the general election."

NBC Nightly News (6/2, story 2, 2:30, Mitchell, 9.87M) reported, "Hillary Clinton is telling voters and superdelegates she is still in the game." But advisers "say while she is a fighter, she is a realist. Today Bill Clinton signaled the marathon primary battle is all but over." Bill Clinton: "This may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind." ABC World News (6/2, story 4, 2:45, Snow, 8.78M) reported, "Senior Clinton advisers say she will not concede the nomination when she speaks back in New York tomorrow night. They think Obama simply won't have the delegates, the numbers to claim victory. But it's very unclear what will happen as the week wears on."

The CBS Evening News (6/2, lead story, 2:50, Reynolds, 7.66M) reported, "There's word that the Clinton advance staff, which plans events, has been called to New York for a meeting tomorrow night. While others were offered the option of simply going home. No such rest in the offing for the Obama campaign."

Bill Clinton Said To Have "Surrendered" In Milbank. The New York Times (6/3, Luo, 1.18M) reports in Milbank, South Dakota, Bill Clinton "took the microphone here on Monday and began with a lament that it might be his last day as a campaigner. If so, he went out venting the kind of anger that has punctuated his efforts to put his wife in the White House." He "jumped energetically around South Dakota to what were likely to be the final small dots on the Clinton campaign's 2008 electoral map - a campaign that at times seemed to be about Bill Clinton and the baggage he had brought to the race as much as it was about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her efforts to leave all that behind."

In the Washington Post's (6/3, A3) Washington Sketch column, Dana Milbank says, "It is a measure of the peculiarity of this year's presidential race that the road to the Democratic nomination runs through Milbank." Until Monday, Milbank, South Dakota's "greatest distinction was being the birthplace of American Legion baseball. But after Bill Clinton rolled into this small farm town in northeastern South Dakota, Milbank can now rightfully claim to be the place where Hillary Clinton's campaign surrendered." Speaking to "about 500 Milbankians -- about 15 percent of the town's population," Clinton said, "I want to say that this may be the last day that I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind. I thought I was out of politics until Hillary decided to run, but it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to be able to go around and campaign for her for president." The Post adds that he was "delivering his valedictory to Milbank -- or that he was talking to Milbank at all -- was a measure of the diminished circumstances of his wife's campaign." Milbank uses the word "Milbank" 30 times in the text of his column.

POLL SHOWS CLINTON LEADING OBAMA 60% TO 34% IN SOUTH DAKOTA. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader (6/2, Ellis) reported on its website, "A new independent poll released on the eve of South Dakota's primary shows" Sen. Hillary Clinton "with a substantial lead over" Sen. Barack Obama. Clinton "leads among likely Democratic voters 60 percent to 34 percent for Obama, according to the American Research Group Inc." The ARG survey of 600 likely South Dakota Democratic primary voters (+/- 4%) shows Clinton holding "a large lead among women – 63 percent to 30 percent. Among men she leads 56 percent to 39 percent."

Obama Has Narrow Edge In Montana. An American Research Group survey of 600 likely Montana Democratic primary voters taken May 31-June 1 shows Obama leading Clinton 48%-44%.

Clinton's Sioux Falls Campaign Stop Mirrors Husband's Final 1996 Rally. The AP (6/3, Walker) reports, "As her husband did in 1996, Hillary Rodham Clinton used a rally in South Dakota's largest city Monday evening as the last stop in her campaign. But the former first lady gave no inkling she would yield the Democratic race for president to Barack Obama before the last primary votes are tallied Tuesday in South Dakota and neighboring Montana."

The Yankton Press & Dakotan (6/3, Johnson) writes about Clinton's campaign appearance in Yankton, SD, noting her comments regarding the voters choosing a president to "hire," reporting on Chelsea Clinton's appearance by her mother's side, and adding that "Clinton's visit to Yankton Monday marked the first time during the current campaign that a presidential hopeful has visited the city."

The Rapid City Journal (6/2, Woster) reported on its website that Clinton "made her last in-person pitch to West River Democrats on Monday in Rapid City, urging voters to support her today in the South Dakota primary election and keep believing in her as a presidential candidate this fall." Clinton campaigned in a local restaurant, and "said she had gotten to know the city in three visits and liked what she saw."

Clinton's South Dakota Trips Win Over Some Voters. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader (6/3, Ellis) also reports on Clinton's South Dakota trip, noting that her "frequent campaign stops here have won her some respect. In Yankton hundreds turned out to see her. In Sioux Falls, campaign officials estimate 3,500 to 4,000 people attended the event at the W.H. Lyons Fairgrounds. Many stood outside listening to the speech on speakers. John Skilbred of Yankton thinks Clinton has a better grasp of rural issues than Obama. ... There was just one problem for Skilbred: He voted two weeks ago, and he voted for Obama. He wanted it back."

OBAMA CAMP RALLIES UNDECIDED SUPERDELEGATES, SEEKING TO CLINCH NOMINATION. Media reports this morning predict that after the votes are counted in the South Dakota and Montana primaries today, Obama will benefit from a wave of superdelegate endorsements that will wrap up the Democratic nomination. Obama has reached out to Hillary Clinton herself, offering to meet after "the dust settles," while his aides have reached out to key Clinton supporters. The New York Times (6/3, A1, Nagourney, 1.18M) reports in a front page story that Obama's campaign "began a concerted effort on Monday to rally undecided superdelegates around him so he can claim the Democratic presidential nomination after the primaries end on Tuesday night." Obama campaign advisers "said that they were orchestrating an endorsement of Mr. Obama by at least eight Senate and House members who had pledged to remain uncommitted."

The AP (6/3, Raum) reports Obama "said Monday he has asked Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for a meeting on her terms 'once the dust settles' from their race." Obama said, "The sooner we can bring the party together, the sooner we can start focusing on John McCain in November." USA Today (6/3, 4A, Kiely, 2.28M) reports for the "second day in a row, Obama tossed verbal bouquets at Clinton before a crowd of his supporters. He assured them that the Democratic rift will be repaired."

On ABC World News (6/2, story 3, 1:25, 8.78M) George Stephanopoulos said, "Keep an eye on the candidate's schedules. Barack Obama is now set to be in New York Wednesday night. Does he decide to stay? That could indicate a reconciliation event on Clinton's turf Thursday. Right now her schedule goes blank after Wednesday. The man to watch could be Chicago's Congressman Rahm Emanuel. He's a former close aide to President Clinton, and he is also a close friend of Obama, no one may be better placed to broker a deal between the two camps."

NBC Nightly News (6/2, story 2, 2:30, Mitchell, 9.87M) reported, "With an almost insurmountable lead in delegates," Obama "was in Michigan, reaching out to the Clinton supporters he will need in the fall." The CBS Evening News (6/2, lead story, 2:50, Reynolds, 7.66M) reported, "Speaking in the battleground state of Michigan today, Obama offered the kind of generosity they only the victor can offer the vanquished." Sen. Barack Obama: "Senator Clinton has run an outstanding race. She is an outstanding public servant and she and I will be working together in November." Reynolds: "Sources tell CBS News most of the seventeen still uncommitted superdelegates from the US Senate are expected to endorse him shortly along with at least a dozen House members."

CLINTON WINS SUPPORT OF NEW YORK SUPERDELEGATE. The AP (6/3, Barrett) reports, "One of New York's last undecided Democratic superdelegates said Monday she will support" Sen. Hillary Clinton, "even though Barack Obama is poised to capture the party's nomination. Irene Stein of Ithaca, chairwoman of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee, told committee members of her decision in a letter, and confirmed her choice in a phone call. 'I have been watching this campaign through its whole course,' she said. 'I've reached a point where I can unhesitatingly say that I can cast my vote for Hillary Clinton.'"

Louisiana Democratic Party Chief -- A Superdelegate -- Backs Clinton. The AP (6/3) reports, "The chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party is throwing his superdelegate backing to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Party chairman Chris Whittington said he thinks Clinton is the better candidate to beat Republican Sen. John McCain in the fall."

BILL CLINTON LASHES OUT AT VANITY FAIR, PURDUM, MYERS. The New York Times (6/3, Luo, 1.18M) reports after a weekend "in which his aides sought to discredit an article in Vanity Fair that, relying primarily on anonymous sources, raised questions about his judgment, the company he keeps and whether he was spending time with other women, Mr. Clinton unleashed a tirade against the article's author, Todd S. Purdum, a former reporter for The New York Times. Mr. Purdum is married to Dee Dee Myers, a White House press secretary under Mr. Clinton." According to the Huffington Post Web site, Clinton, "as he worked the rope line at an event here, called Mr. Purdum 'sleazy,' 'slimy' and 'dishonest.' Speaking to a reporter for the Web site - who campaign aides said did not identify herself as a journalist, said she hated the article and asked for his reaction - Mr. Clinton said the article was part of a pattern of media bias against Mrs. Clinton and in favor of her rival for the Democratic nomination, Senator Barack Obama."

The Washington Post (6/3, A1, Murray, Kornblut, 723K) reports in a front page story that at his stop in Milbank, Bill Clinton "also launched a tirade against Vanity Fair writer Todd Purdum, who recently published a sharply critical article about his post-White House conduct. He called Purdum 'sleazy' and a 'scumbag' in comments to a reporter for the Huffington Post, a liberal Web site, leading a spokesman for the candidate to issue an apology."

MCCAIN ADVISER SAYS CLINTON HAS BEEN VICTIM OF SEXISM. The Washington Post (6/2, Franke-Ruta, 723K) reported on its 'The Trail' blog, "A top adviser to...Sen. John McCain said that she believes Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has faced sexism on the campaign trail. 'I think women in positions of power are treated differently, and the treatment of her demonstrates that,' former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina told Portfolio magazine in an article published today. 'I have a lot of sympathy for what she's gone through. A lot of women recognize she's been treated differently, whether they're Democrats or Republicans.' The timing of Fiorina's comment is intriguing, given that the McCain campaign has reached out to Clinton's supporters in a low-key but targeted way. It also comes as many Clinton backers are still smarting from the divisive Democratic primary and as a significant number say that they will not vote for Clinton rival Sen. Barack Obama in the fall. The McCain strategy for reaching women across the aisle involves praise for Clinton and connecting with some of the newer women's media outlets, such as the community BlogHer and MOMocrats blogs, which have been invited to join McCain campaign conference calls."

Copyright 2008 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, or called at (703) 483-6100.