Clinton Camp Pre-Spinning Possible Bad News in Iowa

[sniffa]

As the presidential candidates engage in furious pre-caucus spin, one of Sen. Hillary Clinton's most prominent Iowa supporters said Wednesday that she's already accomplished what she needs to in Iowa and can declare success even if she finishes in third place.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack told ABC News that Clinton has shown that she can appeal to a wide swath of Democrats, which is what she came to Iowa to do.

"She has done what she needed to do here," Vilsack said shortly before a Clinton campaign event in Indianola. "When she started the process she was way behind — it's now by all standards a competitive race."

Asked if the order of finish matters, Vilsack deflected the question.

"She absolutely had to be competitive, and she's accomplished that," he said. "Obviously, everybody's interested in winning, and I think we're going to do well. It's tight. There's no question about that."

Vilsack's comments stand in marked contrast to optimistic predictions he has made in the past, including last May, when he endorsed Clinton's candidacy.

In May, Vilsack was quoted in The Washington Post as saying, "There's no question she's playing in Iowa and playing to win." Vilsack dropped out of the presidential race earlier this year and endorsed Clinton."

Vilsack's comments reflect the widespread uncertainty — and the panicked dash to manage expectations — among both Democratic and Republican candidates as all candidates seek to close strong in the most wide-open set of caucuses in Iowa's history.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=4076176&page=1

[truebrit71]

1. ""When she started the process she was way behind"....oh yeah? Tell that to the MSM...

...

[Raine]

3. That's right

the media said she was a sure thing even before she entered the race.

[goldcanyonaz]

5. A sure thing nationally, not in Iowa of all places. nm

[Vincardog]

2. Hill's "inevitable" ship is on the rocks. There is Hope that the BFEE will be investigated in 2009

FINALLY

[Cha]

4. I hope this is just the first

of many losses for hillary and she can have some time to reflect on how all the bushit enabling votes didn't do her a damn bit of good if she wanted the presidency so badly.

[Yael]

6. "When she started the process she was way behind"

:rofl:

Do these people seriously think that our memory is less than what an egg timer can capture?

Idiots.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. uh oh, Hill folks...

[TheWraith]

8. I'd noticed that too.

There have been a series of excuses coming out over the last 72 hours about how the caucuses are really discriminatory against women, against working people, how they shouldn't mattery anyway, and how screwball they are that a ham sandwitch can win them. Sounds like the Clinton camp is expecting to lose Iowa, and probably lose hard.

[Yael]

9. Discriminatory against women?

Haven't heard that one yet. Not surprised that they are playing the gender card though. No other candidate seems to have an issue with the female caucus goers. Maybe it is an issue of motivation?

[TheWraith]

10. The rationale is that women are afraid to get up in a room and talk about their vote.

It seems pretty ludicrous to me, but that's what Clinton herself put forward on one of the morning shows.