RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Hillary in 2008

I wouldn't get too excited about newspaper endorsements if I were you. As the American Journalism Review points out, "the impact of endorsements on national or even regional elections – contests in which candidates are well-known among voters – is negligible."

• a Pew Center for the People & the Press study ... which measured media influences on voters during the 2004 presidential campaign, concluded that "newspaper endorsements are also less influential than four years ago, and dissuade as many Americans as they persuade."

Looking at the Rudy thread, the only two posts I made mentioning endorsements received by Guiliani involved politicians (not newspaper) backing him and, in one of those, I mentioned that endorsements are not particularly dispositive.

So your insinuation I'm somehow being a hypocrite isn't really "fair play."

....I mentioned that endorsements are not particularly dispositive...

Whereas, MEM, is crowing about the endorsements and taking about how "influential" the Des Moine Register is.

...In practical terms what does the Register endorsement mean for Clinton's campaign?
Unlike most newspaper endorsements that are relatively meaningless in the final analysis, the Register still carries real weight -- especially among undecided Democrats. John Lapp, a Democratic media consultant who managed Rep. Dick Gephardt's 2004 Iowa campaign, called the Register endorsement the "gold standard"; Anita Dunn, a longtime Democratic operative, added: "In a race this close, the Register endorsement is the most critical validator and probably the final one pre-caucus."
For Clinton, the Register endorsement should assure a segment of those who are on the fence about her that it's OK to back her. The fact that the Register editorial put such a focus on Clinton's experience and readiness for the office is likely to convince some undecideds that even though they feel little connection to Clinton personally, she is still the right and best choice.
On a symbolic level, the Register endorsement couldn't have come at a better time for Clinton. Whether grounded in reality or not, a sense of slippage in Iowa (and nationally) had taken over reporting about the Clinton campaign. Every day it seemed the campaign was taken off message -- most notably when Billy Shaheen, a former co-chair of Clinton's New Hampshire campaign, suggested to The Post's Alec MacGillis that Obama's past drug use would be fodder for Republicans in a general election.
The Register endorsement offers a break with that past, a chance for the Clinton campaign to close strong. To that end, Clinton's campaign is kicking off a five-day, 99-county blitz of Iowa today that begins in Council Bluffs with former senator and 1988 1992 presidential candidate Bob Kerrey (Neb.) endorsing Clinton.
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The latest daily poll from the Rasmussen Reports shows that New York Senator Hillary Clinton has rebounded in the polls and is now at her highest level of support since November.
Clinton leads with 40%, her highest mark in December so far. In second place is Illinois Senator Barack Obama with 27%, followed by former North Carolina Senator John Edwards with 13%. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson gets 3% as does Delaware Senator Joe Biden.
The respondents in the poll were all likely to vote in the Democratic Primaries and the daily results are based on a four-day average. And it is the same with the poll on the Republican race.
Both Clinton and Obama picked up endorsement of major news papers, Clinton from the Des Moines Register and Obama from the Boston Globe.
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I wouldn't get too excited about newspaper endorsements if I were you. As the American Journalism Review points out, "the impact of endorsements on national or even regional elections – contests in which candidates are well-known among voters – is negligible."

In general I agree but this particular endorsement is noted as being an exception to that. The timing & the influence of this endorsement has almost always helped the campaigns in major ways.

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Polls show state of races in Iowa, N.H.
Email|Link|Comments (9)By Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor December 19, 2007 09:49 AM

Two new polls solidify the state of the races in the first two states that will choose the next president.

In Iowa, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are neck-and-neck among Democrats likely to attend the Jan. 3 caucuses, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll published today. Obama leads with 33 percent, Clinton has 29 percent, and John Edwards is within striking distance at 20 percent. Obama's edge is within the 4-percentage-point margin of error for the poll, which was conducted Thursday through Monday.

In New Hampshire, Clinton continues to hold off Obama, according to a CNN/WMUR survey released today. Clinton, who was endorsed today by the Foster's Daily Democrat newspaper, has the support of 38 percent of likely voters in the Jan. 8 Democratic primary, compared to 26 percent for Obama and 14 percent for Edwards. That poll was also conducted Thursday through Monday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

In Iowa, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are neck-and-neck among Democrats likely to attend the Jan. 3 caucuses, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll published today. Obama leads with 33 percent, Clinton has 29 percent, and John Edwards is within striking distance at 20 percent. Obama's edge is within the 4-percentage-point margin of error for the poll, which was conducted Thursday through Monday.

But, if (as you now say) "nobody... has a lead on the Dem side," (emphasis added) that tends to discredit your earlier point, namely, that the Des Moine Register endorsement had helped her.

The timing & the influence of this endorsement has almost always helped the campaigns in major ways.

This endorsement has already brought her alot of good press that I think she's seasoned enough politically to use to her advantage.

It's not just me that recognizes the importance of the Des Moines Register's endorsement

my opinion is also backed by quite a bit of media that recognize the Des Moines Register's endorsement as a key one.

The latest daily poll from the Rasmussen Reports shows that New York Senator Hillary Clinton has rebounded in the polls and is now at her highest level of support since November...Clinton...picked up endorsement of ...the Des Moines Register

Never said that the endorsement had helped her.

Last week/earlier this week:

[quote=Matter-eater Man]The timing & the influence of this endorsement has almost always helped the campaigns in major ways.

This endorsement has already brought her alot of good press that I think she's seasoned enough politically to use to her advantage.

It's not just me that recognizes the importance of the Des Moines Register's endorsement

my opinion is also backed by quite a bit of media that recognize the Des Moines Register's endorsement as a key one.

The latest daily poll from the Rasmussen Reports shows that New York Senator Hillary Clinton has rebounded in the polls and is now at her highest level of support since November...Clinton...picked up endorsement of ...the Des Moines Register

Never said that the endorsement had helped her.

Never said that the endorsement had helped her.

Yes I did.

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Geez, MEM...this is getting a little sad.
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Non-responsive and attacking a Republican. Sadly, I'm not surprised.

The timing & the influence of this endorsement has almost always helped the campaigns in major ways.

This endorsement has already brought her alot of good press that I think she's seasoned enough politically to use to her advantage.

It's not just me that recognizes the importance of the Des Moines Register's endorsement

my opinion is also backed by quite a bit of media that recognize the Des Moines Register's endorsement as a key one.

The latest daily poll from the Rasmussen Reports shows that New York Senator Hillary Clinton has rebounded in the polls and is now at her highest level of support since November...Clinton...picked up endorsement of ...the Des Moines Register

Never said that the endorsement had helped her.

Yes I did.

I agreed with you in general about endorsements & it's why I don't make a big deal about who gets them usually. It's not just me that recognizes the importance of the Des Moines Register's endorsement however...

Washington Post

The timing & the influence of this endorsement has almost always helped the campaigns in major ways.

This endorsement has already brought her alot of good press that I think she's seasoned enough politically to use to her advantage.

It's not just me that recognizes the importance of the Des Moines Register's endorsement

my opinion is also backed by quite a bit of media that recognize the Des Moines Register's endorsement as a key one.

The latest daily poll from the Rasmussen Reports shows that New York Senator Hillary Clinton has rebounded in the polls and is now at her highest level of support since November...Clinton...picked up endorsement of ...the Des Moines Register

Never said that the endorsement had helped her.

the Des Moines Register's endorsement isn't just like any other

ABC News has learned that the campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has registered the names of two Web sites with the express goal of attacking her chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

It's the first time this election cycle a presidential campaign has launched a Web site with the express purpose of of launching serious criticisms on a rival.

Votingpresent.com and Votingpresent.org are domains hosted by the same IP address as official Clinton Web sites, such TheHillaryIKnow.com, which was launched with much fanfare this week.

The Clinton campaign intends to use these new Web sites to paint Obama as cowardly.

Clinton has attacked Obama for having occasionally voted "present" as an Illinois state legislator when it came to contentious legislation.

It was a legislative maneuver that was sometimes part of a plan by Democrats to give cover to vulnerable colleagues, though in some instances it appears that Obama voted present to avoid taking a position with some political risk -- such as with a bill that would have allowed children as young as 15 who committed crimes with firearms on or near school property to be prosecuted as adults.

The Obama campaign referred to the websites as "politically motivated attacks in the eleventh hour of a closely contested campaign" and defended Obama's "present" votes.

"Over more than a decade in public office, Barack Obama has successfully led the way on difficult issues from welfare reform, to the reform of a broken death penalty law in Illinois to a battle for long-overdue ethics reforms in Washington," said spokesman Bill Burton.

"Among the thousands of votes he cast in the Illinois Senate, he used the present vote on occasions when he believed bills were drafted in an unconstitutional manner. On other occasions, he voted present as part of legislative strategies, such as ones crafted by pro-choice forces in Illinois to thwart maneuvering by the opponents of a woman's right to choose."

Clinton has used these present votes to paint Obama as full of words but not action.

"I don't think people want a lot of talk about change," she told Iowans early this month. "I think they want someone with a real record -- a doer, not a talker. After eight years of incompetence, they don't want false hope, they want real results."
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I think it's smart of Hillary's campaign to highlight Obama's "present" record.

Wow. I'm really surprised to hear that, given your usual record of independent thinking and unflinching willingness to stand up against negative campaign tactics practiced by leading democrats.
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I think it's just another example of your pattern of weaselly behavior o/b/o Mrs Clinton, discussed in detail yesterday.

You spent a good deal of time trying to tell us that Hillary wasn't behind all these attacks on Obama, blaming Republicans for the attacks and, therefore, being very critical of the attacks. Now, when she's caught actually setting up a website to call another candidate "cowardly," you deviate from your standard "Hillary is above that sort of thing" talking point and defend her actions.

I had thought maybe, just maybe, when you posted the article you were trying to be a bit balanced about Hillary and call her out for something. But, in the end, it was just more blind Hillary support from you.