Hillary found her voice — will she keep it?

By Weekly Archive On Jan 15, 2008

Well,
what do you know? There’s a lot of life left in the old girl yet!

It’s
one of the most amazing comeback stories in American politics — and
one of the most embarrassing moments for members of the media. The
day before the New Hampshire primary, everybody was writing off
Hillary Clinton. Her campaign was falling apart. She was going to
lose New Hampshire to Barack Obama by at least 10 points. She’d soon
fire her chief strategist and campaign manager — assuming, that is,
that she was still in the race. The Drudge Report announced she was
dropping out.

Which
isn’t quite the way it turned out. Sen. Clinton surprised everyone by
bouncing back and beating Barack Obama in New Hampshire by 3 points.
A narrow win, to be sure. But still, a win for her and a defeat for
him. What happened?

A
couple of things made the difference. First, Clinton realized she
needed to change her message, and did so. In the final New Hampshire
debate, when John Edwards identified himself and Obama as agents of
change and branded her as the status quo, Clinton shot back that
talking about change was not enough. You also had to be capable of
delivering change. She had done so, she pointed out, while they had
not. And voters should go for reality, not just rhetoric. It was a
very effective argument for action over words, and undercut Obama’s
inspirational appeal.

In
the same debate, Clinton turned what could have been an awkward
moment into a political plus. When moderator Scott Spradling asked
her why she wasn’t as likeable as Barack Obama (an absurd question),
she made a joke of it, observing with mock seriousness: "You
hurt my feelings." Obama didn’t help himself by jumping in with
the lame comment "You’re likeable enough, Hillary" —
reminding every female viewer of the reluctant words of praise they
often have to drag out of their insensitive husbands.

And
then came the "emotional moment," endlessly seen around the
world, when Hillary teared up while responding to a question about
how she put up with all the pressures of campaigning. No big deal
when Mitt Romney’s eyes filled with tears on "Meet the Press,"
but pundits immediately and unanimously declared that her performance
was the end of the road for a woman candidate. It proved, in fact, to
be the exact opposite, showing a personal side of Clinton that voters
had never seen before.

Now
add one more factor: the open hostility Clinton faced, not simply
from Obama and Edwards, who double-teamed her during the debate, but
from mostly male political commentators on television who didn’t try
to hide their infatuation with Obama and their disdain for her.
Nothing like watching men gang up on a sister to convince women that
the sister needed their vote. And women voters delivered New
Hampshire to Hillary Clinton, transforming her candidacy overnight
from all-but-dead to very-much-alive.

It’s
the latest twist in a topsy-turvy political year. Just two weeks ago,
there were eight Democratic candidates. After Iowa and New Hampshire,
for all practical purposes, there are only two left. The Democratic
primary is now a horse race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama,
two superstars, with John Edwards a mere sideshow. Either Clinton or
Obama could win the nomination, but both face significant challenges.

Having
found [her voice] in New Hampshire, Clinton now faces a major test:
not to [lose] it in Nevada (Jan. 19), South Carolina (Jan. 26), and
Super Tuesday (Feb. 5). That means loosening up, letting her personal
side show more, and relying less on her husband to carry the message.
That also means sharpening her questioning of Barack Obama: What does
he mean by "change"? What change has he ever accomplished?
Will he be ready to lead from day one?

For
Sen. Obama, the challenge is to put some flesh on the bones — to
spell out what new priorities he would pursue as president — without
letting program details weigh down the lofty idealism and vision that
make him such an appealing candidate. Obama also needs to prepare for
the hammering he’s going to get from the Clinton camp — and also
from the media, who are starting to feel guilty about giving him such
a free ride.

The
only thing certain about this primary so far: Just when you think you
know what’s going to happen, everything changes.

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "How
the Republicans Stole Religion."
You can hear "The Bill Press Show" at billpressshow.com.
His email address is: bill@billpress.com. His Web site is:
www.billpress.com.