Clinton Comments on Campaign Shakeup

By: Fernando Suarez
Topics: Hillary Clinton

(CBS)

From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In an impromptu press conference following a visit with supporters Hillary Clinton said her former campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, is "a dear friend and trusted advisor and there is just too much to be done so we had to add some more people."

Clinton's comments are the first she has made publicly since Solis Doyle stepped aside yesterday afternoon. Clinton downplayed the campaign shift saying, "There really is no significant change. It's merely that we've got to get more help. We just don't have enough help."

When asked if losing Solis Doyle in the role of campaign manager would hurt her among Latino voters - Solis Doyle is Hispanic - Clinton said, "no, not at all."

"We have a very strong base and she's deeply involved in the campaign going forward and she always has been for 16 years."

Clinton was also asked about the losses in over the weekend in states like Washington, Nebraska, Louisiana and Maine. "We always knew this was going to be rough," said Clinton, "and I had no illusions about that I feel very good about Ohio and Texas and we are moving forward."

Despite her positive outlook, the campaign has been on damage control. Campaign spokesman Doug Hattaway told CBS News that the loss in Maine yesterday was primarily due to "bad weather" which in turn "hurt senior [citizen] turnout." Hattaway admitted "we have problems with caucuses; if this were a primary we would have won this thing."

But as the campaign moves forward and with time increasingly becoming a factor, a typical day for Clinton involves a multitude of issues, targeted messages and trying to be in as many places as possible.

Late last night, Clinton spoke at Bowie State University, the oldest Historically Black University in Maryland. And this morning, Clinton just hosted a "coffee and conversation" with supporters at the National Council of Negro Women building in Washington, D.C., in what seems to be renewed effort to court black voters.

Later today, Clinton zips over to Baltimore where she will visit a General Motors Hybrid Electric Technology plant. The campaign said that the economy remains a key issue for most Americans, hence, her focus on energy issues as part of a plan to jumpstart the economy through clean energy technology.

From a conversation in Washington to a policy discussion on energy in Baltimore, Clinton heads south to the University of Virginia to speak to a political science class. When asked about the strategy of going after young voters, voters who primarily tend to turn out for Obama, Hattaway said the campaign will "continue to court young voters."

So, why is Clinton covering so much ground in places where the campaign claims she is unlikely to win, and among voters she has traditionally not fared well with like African-American and youth voters? It's all about lowering the threshold of Obama's lead in those places, in other words, staying competitive to keep the delegate race close.

For example, yesterday, the campaign kicked off its first event in Manassas, Virginia, an area with a large Hispanic population. But upon arriving to the event site, it was mostly white women who filled the crowd. Hattaway acknowledged that it was a key area for targeting voters through the media.

"Lots of times we are picking it because of media market," Hattaway says. With the presidential contest in flux, it's all about the delegates. So when the Clinton campaign lays out their daily schedule, it's just as strategic politically as it is logistically.

Somewhere in the mix of these strategic campaign stops and targeted messages are all of the behind-the-scenes conference calls that reporters dial into on a daily basis, primarily to listen to the campaigns provide "updates" on the state of the race. Today is no exception. Hattaway says we can "expect a call on Senator McCain and contrasts." It's all in a day's work.

2 Comments Have Your Say
Email Story Send to a Friend
Share This Tell Your Friends
Tweet This Tweet This
More Share It

Add a Comment


by jh673 February 11, 2008 9:23 PM EST: From:--Jim--So.California I don''t see anything wrong with putting a fresh face on Hillarys'' campaign. It''s a fresh start and with all of the negitive reporting of Hillarys'' campaign in the past, I would think the press would see this in a better light. It makes me wounder why any and every attempt by Hillarys'' campaign, to move forward in a positive way is meet by the press in a negitive manor. How about fair and equal treatment by the press and media. Wouldn''t that be a nice change?; Reply to this comment


by famulla-2009 February 11, 2008 1:43 PM EST: Hillary Clinton drops her campaign manager
Sir
I think we draw conclusions very fast like children who are offered two flavours of ice cones, strawberry and vanilla. Now we have the to be president Short of Cash, Taps Her Own Coffers Clinton said during a press conference Wednesday that she loaned her campaign $5 million. "I believe the campaign would have a great month fundraising in January," she said. "We intended to be competitive and we were..." So this is new? No.. The manager should have left before and as soon as he found out that the cash was becoming a wee difficult.
I thank you.
Firozali A. Mulla MBA PhD
P.O.Box 6044
Dar-Es-Salaam
Tanzania
East Africa; Reply to this comment