Hillary Clinton is not going down without a fight. In the past day, she has visited the Ohio towns of Pomeroy, Rio Grande and Hanging Rock (in Rio Grande she made a pit stop at the original Bob Evans family restaurant, where Chelsea joined her for a meet and greet), as well as Houston, Ft. Worth, and Waco, Texas. After arriving in Ft. Worth on Friday morning at about 2 a.m., Clinton left her hotel bright and early to attend the funeral of a Dallas police officer who died last week in an accident that occurred as he escorted her motorcade to a rally. Her blitz leaves reporters 30 years her junior begging for mercy. And there is no sign of a letup before the polls close in the crucial states of Ohio and Texas next Tuesday night.
But Clinton’s strategy at this crucial juncture is about much more than just endurance. She is using every weapon in her arsenal to try to correct the impression–shared, off the record, in hushed conversations with reporters, by members of her staff–that Tuesday could well mark the end of her campaign. The last several days have been like a microcosm of the entire race–with Clinton by turns talking up her experience, pummeling her opponent, appealing for empathy and outwonking everyone in sight.
The traveling press secretary, Jamie Smith, has been sending a steady stream of e-mails in the past couple of days, all of them brimming with sunny news. Today, the traveling press got a message from Smith summarizing a new Pew poll that shows more Americans believe Hillary Clinton is tough and experienced than believe that about Barack Obama. The poll also showed more voters say Clinton has provided enough information about her policies and plans. Yesterday, Smith sent out excerpts of letters from devout supporters. Ann, of Beacon, N.Y., shared that while her “husband has been out of a job for 6 months … he insisted that I send Hillary a donation. It was only $25 but it comes from our hearts.”
READ THE REST HERE.
