Subject: Hillary For President News Briefing for Wednesday, November 28, 2007
From: "Bulletin News Network" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: 28 Nov 2007 06:43:32 -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: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2007 6:30 AM EST

TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS

SEN. CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN:

+ Bill Clinton Tells Iowans He Opposed Iraq War From "The Beginning."

+ Clinton Calls For $1 Billion To Halve Minority Dropouts, Wins SC Clergy Endorsements.

+ Blacks View Clinton More Favorably, But Iowa Win Could Boost Obama.

+ Clinton Steps Up Criticism Of Obama's Healthcare Proposal.

+ Streisand Endorses Clinton.

+ Clinton Launches Nevada Caucus Media Blitz.

+ Clinton Working To Make New Hampshire Firewall Against Iowa Loss.

+ Obama Seen As Getting No Credit For Opposing Iraq War, Hillary Clinton's Vote.

+ Edwards Says Clinton's Certainty She'll Be Nominated Is "A Fantasy."

+ Survey Says Edwards Web Video Panning Clinton Popular.

Sen. Clinton's Campaign:

BILL CLINTON TELLS IOWANS HE OPPOSED IRAQ WAR FROM "THE BEGINNING." The AP (11/28, Fournier) reports that in Muscatine, Iowa, Bill Clinton said his wife "will bring America 'back to the future'" as he promoted "his own legacy in public life almost as much as his wife's presidential campaign." Showing "inconsistency on an issue that has dogged his wife, the former president also told Iowa Democrats that he 'opposed (war in) Iraq from the beginning.'" His visit to Iowa "marked the start of a battle of campaign surrogates - Clinton vs. Winfrey, the former president stumping for his wife and media mogul Oprah Winfrey backing Sen. Clinton's chief rival, Barack Obama, in appearances scheduled for next week." Clinton "himself said Winfrey ought to be for Obama because both hail from Chicago. He didn't mention that his wife is also from suburban Chicago." Clinton said, "I like Oprah Winfrey. We're friends." This article was published in at least 78 papers and websites, including the New Hampshire Union Leader, the Orlando Sentinel, the Spartanburg (SC) Herald Journal, the Charlotte Observer, the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Las Vegas Sun.

The New York Times (11/28, Healy, 1.18M) reports Clinton's statement on the Iraq war was "more absolute than his comments before the invasion in March 2003." Before the invasion, "Mr. Clinton did not precisely declare that he opposed the war. A week before military action began, however, he did say that he preferred to give weapons inspections more time and that an invasion was not necessary to topple Saddam Hussein. At the same time, he also spoke supportively about the 2002 Senate resolution that authorized military action against Iraq." Advisers to Mr. Clinton "said yesterday that he did oppose the war, but that it would have been inappropriate at the time for him, a former president, to oppose - in a direct, full-throated manner - the sitting president's military decision."

The Washington Post (11/28, A11, Kornblut, 723K) reports that in his statements, Clinton "glossed over the more nuanced views of the war he has expressed over time" and "expressed bitterness over getting a tax cut with money that could have been spent on the military." The Post notes Sen. Clinton's vote to authorize the war, adding that the Clintons "have grown increasingly critical of the war's management in recent years. Both have also pointed to their remarks, made before the invasion, in which they said they would like to see weapons inspectors finish their work in Iraq before launching an attack - a distinction that has allowed both Clintons to claim consistency on Iraq."

Oprah, Bill Clinton Wage Surrogate War In Iowa. Television coverage of Clinton's appearance tended to portray is as a head-to-head match up between the former president and Winfrey. NBC Nightly News (11/27, story 7, 2:20, Mitchell, 9.87M) reported, "It is a celebrity smackdown. Star wars. For Barack Obama, the ultimate celebrity endorsement, the Oprah factor." Oprah Winfrey: "This is my senator, my favorite senator." Sen. Obama: "Oprah, you're my girl." Mitchell: "Up against Clinton today in Iowa for his wife." Bill Clinton: "You need somebody who is battled tested, who will come across as strong and big and grown up and ready to do this job." Mitchell: "She is one of the world's most admired women and among the richest, able to transform unknown authors into best sellers and attract huge crowds. He according to some polls is the second most admired man in the world." In Iowa, "where Clinton and Obama are dead even, their celebrity surrogates are super weapons, targeting a key audience, women, who are now as much as two-thirds of Democratic caucus goers." David Yepsen, The Des Moines Register: "I think what Oprah Winfrey does is she brings out new women. She's a great salesperson. She could convince these women to take a look at Barack Obama, pay attention to politics that maybe they haven't played before."

CNN's The Situation Room (11/27, 4:20 p.m., Blitzer) broadcast, "Now that we learned Oprah will be campaigning for Barack Obama, the Clinton campaign [is] sending out its top gun. That would be Bill Clinton, brandishing a star power in Iowa today." Because the Clinton's "have stronger political roots in New Hampshire than they do" in Iowa, Hillary Clinton is struggling to make a lead in the polls there. Right now, "Bill Clinton...really has the best connection with Iowa voters at this point. He can turn out a crowd."

Bill Clinton's Visit To Iowa His Fourth. The Des Moines Register (11/27, Jacobs, 158K) reports it was "Bill Clinton's fourth trip to Iowa to campaign for his wife, and his second solo trip. Hillary Clinton is in South Carolina today, where she talked about doubling government money for HIV/AIDS research in the United States, and increasing spending to fight the infection globally." In Muscatine today, Bill Clinton "had only pleasant words for Obama – and four other Democratic presidential candidates."

The Des Moines Register (11/28, Jacobs, 158K) reports Clinton ""told the crowd of Iowans" at a rally in DeWitt "that it would be entertaining to see Hillary Clinton pitted against Rudy Giuliani – or, for that matter, Fred Thompson, or Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee or John McCain. But none of them can defeat his wife, he said." He said "he had a lot of dealings with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani when Clinton was president 'and I think they would certainly be an interesting pair.'" Clinton said he has "gotten a kick out of" Romney's campaign, "now that he's campaigning to all these social conservatives, he's basically asking for forgiveness for most of what he did as governor. He basically says, 'Well, if you were governor of Hades, you'd act like a devil, too. I did a good job of representing my constituents, but now that I have a chance to ascend to heaven, I'll say it's whatever.' So that would be an interesting election."

CLINTON CALLS FOR $1 BILLION TO HALVE MINORITY DROPOUTS, WINS SC CLERGY ENDORSEMENTS. The AP (11/28, Davenport) reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton, speaking in Bennettsville, South Carolina, proposed boosting early childhood education and teacher incentives by some $1 billion over the next ten years to "cut minority dropout rates in half." Clinton called high dropout rates a "crisis of untapped potential" and lamented the need for greater mentoring and parental engagement. The AP notes that "Clinton's day in South Carolina began her being endorsed by 88 ministers, most of them black, in a state where nearly half the Democratic primary voters are black." This article was published by the Aiken (SC) Standard and the Lakeland (FL) Ledger.

An additional AP (11/28) report notes that "The clergy were drawn to the New York senator for her views on health care, jobs and other issues," according to state rep. Harold Mitchell (D). "Nearly half of South Carolina's Democratic primary voters are black, and ministers can play a huge role in shaping the political direction of their congregations. More than 60 ministers gathered with Clinton on a stage at a hotel and her campaign said 88 were in the room where the endorsements were announced." This report was published by at least 80 papers and websites, including the Washington Post, the Washington Examiner, the Spartanburg (SC) Herald Journal, the Miami Herald and the Charlotte Observer.

The Spartanburg Herald-Journal (11/27, Spencer) reported on its website that Clinton and "Obama have been locked in a tight battle for black voters in South Carolina." Meanwhile, "Of the 60 ministers on stage, only two of them were white. The crowd was much more diverse."

The Greenville (SC) News (11/28, Hoover) adds that the mass endorsement is "a potentially serious blow to fellow Sen. Barack Obama, the field's lone black candidate in the primary field." The News notes that Clinton "already holds a widening lead over Obama in early-voting South Carolina. ... Mixing appreciation for the endorsement with red-meat rhetoric, Clinton pledged to end the war in Iraq and declared 'the era of cowboy diplomacy... over. The world will breathe a sigh of relief when the Bush administration. ...' she said, her closing words lost amid cheers." Meanwhile, "The endorsements may have been the outgrowth of a closed door meeting her husband, former President Bill Clinton, held with area ministers prior to an address Oct. 29 at USC-Upstate." The piece reports that the Clinton campaign didn't release the names of the ministers or their churches.

Television coverage of the event tended to focus on Clinton's effort to woo black voters in the state. The CBS Evening News (11/27, story 3, 2:20, Couric, 7.66M) reported, "It's 37 days until Iowa, and according to the latest polling, Democrat Hillary Clinton is trailing Barack Obama there. Five days later, it's New Hampshire, where Clinton's lead has been cut almost in half since September to 14 points." But "today, Clinton was looking ahead to South Carolina, one of the states where she's battling Obama for the support of black voters." At an event in Spartanburg South Carolina "Hillary Clinton surrounded herself with African-Americans in a state where half the Democratic voters are black, and where Barack Obama is working hard to overcome a double-digit deficit in the polls." This is "the first time the Clintons have had to compete for African-American support."

BLACKS VIEW CLINTON MORE FAVORABLY, BUT IOWA WIN COULD BOOST OBAMA. The Politico (11/28, Mark, Kuhn) reports a new poll of African Americans shows that six weeks "out from the first round of presidential voting, Hillary Rodham Clinton gets better reviews than Barack Obama among African-American voters." The survey "of 750 African-Americans, conducted from Oct. 5 to Nov. 2, and released Tuesday found" Clinton "was rated favorably by 83 percent of respondents, while 10 percent perceived her negatively. Obama, meanwhile, garnered favorable ratings from 74 percent of blacks, with 10 percent viewing him negatively." John Edwards "was rated favorably by 45 percent of respondents, while 19 percent rated him unfavorably, found the poll, sponsored by the AARP."

McClatchy (11/28, Talev) reports the AARP/Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies poll finds black voters "may be leaning toward supporting" Clinton "for the Democratic nomination over" Obama "because they're dubious that America is ready to elect a black president." The poll "confirms that African-American likely voters favor the two leading Democrats, and it underscores the stakes for both in Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses, where the voting begins. Obama and Clinton are running neck and neck in Iowa, recent polls show, though many voters remain undecided." But if Obama were to win Iowa, "in a nearly all-white state, that might convince black voters that he's electable and persuade them to vote for him over New York Sen. Clinton in later contests where their votes could spell the difference, such as in South Carolina."

CLINTON STEPS UP CRITICISM OF OBAMA'S HEALTHCARE PROPOSAL. The Chicago Tribune (11/28, McCormick, 607K) reports that in Des Moines, Hillary Clinton "defended her increasingly aggressive approach on the campaign trail Tuesday and stepped up her criticism of Sen. Barack Obama, taking him to task by pointing to an Illinois health care initiative he backed as a state lawmaker." The "heightened combativeness from the New York senator toward her leading primary rival came in an interview offered to the Tribune by the former first lady's campaign as she traveled in South Carolina." Clinton said, "One of the things Sen. Obama takes credit for as a state senator is a health care task force that looked into the question of how do you provide universal health care in Illinois. [That report] was clear: if you want universal health care you have to have a mandate." The Tribune adds that although the "task force did recommend a mandate, it also suggested exemptions to penalties for Illinois residents who could not buy insurance or get it from an employer. When Gov. Rod Blagojevich unveiled his health-reform proposal earlier this year, he ultimately stopped short of such a requirement."

The Chicago Sun-Times (11/27, Sweet) reported on its politics blog on an interview with Clinton in which she said Obama "is 'trying to have it both ways' when it comes to covering the nation's uninsured. ... 'Once again he is trying to have it both ways. He is for a mandate, he is against a mandate. He is for universal coverage, he is against universal coverage,' Clinton said in a phone interview from South Carolina. ... To buttress her point, Clinton noted that an Illinois health care task force Obama helped create when he was a state senator called for a system where people would be required to obtain health insurance. 'And one of the things that he takes credit for as a state senator is a health care task force to look into the question, how do you provide universal health care in Illinois?'"

STREISAND ENDORSES CLINTON. The AP (11/28) reports Barbra Streisand, "who hedged her bets months ago with donations to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, has settled on one presidential candidate. It's Hillary." Streisand's "endorsement is hardly surprising. In Hollywood, as in politics, timing is everything, and Streisand's endorsement comes one day after another entertainment superstar, Oprah Winfrey, announced she would campaign for Clinton rival Barack Obama." NBC Nightly News (11/27, story 7, 2:20, Mitchell, 9.87M) reported Streisand is "a funny girl but no match for Oprah."

CLINTON LAUNCHES NEVADA CAUCUS MEDIA BLITZ. The Reno Gazette-Journal (11/27, Damon) reported on its politics blog that Clinton campaign chairman Rory Reid "bordered on the edge of hyperbole" in announcing "a massive voter education effort on the [Nevada] caucus. They've set up a Web site, will be establishing a caucus hotline and are holding dozens of educational meetings across the state. The education effort is 'ecumenical' as Reid put it. In other words, all voters, regardless of who they support, are free to attend and learn about the caucus." Reid added, "Many voters see Hillary Clinton as the face of the caucus. So I think it's natural for us to want to provide people that look at our organization with the additional information so they are comfortable." John Edwards and the Nevada Democratic Party refuted this notion.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal (11/28, Ball) reports that Clinton's campaign "plans to begin holding dozens of meetings across Nevada to help Democrats understand what they're in for on Jan. 19." Clinton's camp "rolled out its 'Nevada Caucus 101' effort on Tuesday. In addition to 32 educational meetings across the state in the coming week alone, the program also includes a new Web site and will feature a staffed hot line. Anyone interested in caucusing, not just Clinton supporters, is invited, Clinton Nevada campaign chairman Rory Reid said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. ... The Clinton campaign might have put a slogan on the idea, but it doesn't have the market cornered on efforts to educate voters about the caucuses. Representatives of several other Democratic campaigns said they have been conducting their own caucus training sessions outside the 'mock caucuses' and other outreach the state Democratic Party has been doing. 'The Obama campaign began our voter outreach months ago,' said Shannon Gilson, Nevada spokeswoman for" Sen. Barack Obama's campaign. John Edwards' and Gov. Bill Richardson's campaigns "also said they had done their own training."

CLINTON WORKING TO MAKE NEW HAMPSHIRE FIREWALL AGAINST IOWA LOSS. In a report on 'The Trail' blog of the Washington Post (11/27, 723K), Dan Balz writes about an "intimate" meeting between Sen. Hillary Clinton and "just five voters at the Goffstown [New Hampshire] home of Judy and Joe Lanza. She talked health care and education and she asked as many questions as she answered. But this was more than a casual conversation about policy or a photo op for the cluster of reporters and photographers peering in from the adjacent living room. It was a critical part of Clinton's methodical effort to build a New Hampshire firewall in the event that things go badly for her in Iowa." Balz notes that Clinton's "formidable edge" in New Hampshire has waned, and that the Iowa caucuses could have an unpredictable impact there. "Given the uncertainty in Iowa, New Hampshire becomes all the more important for Clinton. Between now and Jan. 8, the date of the New Hampshire primary, her campaign here will be focused on two tasks: converting the many undecided voters and deepening the commitments of those voters who have already said they are supporting her."

OBAMA SEEN AS GETTING NO CREDIT FOR OPPOSING IRAQ WAR, HILLARY CLINTON'S VOTE. In his Washington Post column (11/28, A23), Peter Beinart says in "the Democratic primary, surely" Obama's "biggest advantage is that a little more than five years ago, he denounced the Iraq war and Hillary Clinton voted for it. In other words, on what many Democrats consider the biggest issue of their adult lives, he was right and she was wrong." But he is "getting virtually no credit for it." How is "this possible? Part of it is that Clinton has moved steadily and skillfully toward where most Democrats are. She now regularly pledges that if President Bush doesn't end the war, she will. Critics say she's fudging -- that asterisks in her plan would keep combat troops in Iraq as far as the eye can see. But most Democratic voters don't seem to care. From what they can tell, there's no difference between Clinton and her opponents. As of today, she's as antiwar as anyone else." That's "why the 2002 vote is so important," and that is "where Obama runs smack into America's strange indifference to the past."

EDWARDS SAYS CLINTON'S CERTAINTY SHE'LL BE NOMINATED IS "A FANTASY." NBC Nightly News (11/27, story 9, 3:50, Williams, 9.87M) reported, "Tonight, In-Depth, we continue our making of a president series with our conversation in New York today with Senator John Edwards, the former Democratic senator from North Carolina ran for VP under Senator Kerry last time. This time, he's made a huge investment in Iowa, where a lot of the talk instead is about Clinton and Obama. This weekend, he's up against the high wattage barnstorming of Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. I started out by asking Senator Edwards what effect that might have on his campaign." Senator John Edwards: "That glitz has tended to pull the media attention in that direction. I think my job is to do the hard work in the trenches in Iowa and New Hampshire and make sure the people know what I want to do in Washington to fight for the change we need." Williams: "Senator Clinton yesterday told an interviewer she was certain she would be the nominee." Edwards: "If she's certain, she's living in a fantasy world." Williams: "Can it be said you're content with where you are, given the investment and time and money you've put into this race so far?" Edwards: "No. Absolutely not. First of all, I'm never content. I'm not content where my country is. I think we can do much better than this." MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews (11/27, 7:00 p.m., Matthews) also noted Edwards' comments in its overview of campaign activity.

SURVEY SAYS EDWARDS WEB VIDEO PANNING CLINTON POPULAR. The Hill (11/28, Blake) reports, "John Edwards's attempt to label Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as a parser was a hit across the board, according to a survey of political insiders by Wilson Research Strategies. Edwards's Web video, titled 'The Politics of Parsing,' features clips of Clinton saying apparently contradictory things at a presidential debate in Philadelphia in late October. As might be expected, Republicans scored it highest - a 7.9 on a scale of zero to 10. But Democrats and independents both scored it 6.6 or higher, which is well above the average for the survey."

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.