Big Apple of Tom's Hawkeye
Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa even called her this week to give her a heads-up that he was planning to seek the Democratic presidential nomination, advisers to both of them said. Mr. Vilsack is a longtime admirer of Mrs. Clinton, his advisers said, and he is well aware that she has the standing and money to mount a formidable campaign.
This seems fishy, no? "Longtime admirer"? I wonder if Vilsack called John Edwards as well, or any other big name Democrat who may enter the race. But it gets even worse, with our friends at politicalwire.com pointing out an article in Rolling Stone magazine that suggests Vilsack's run would enable Hillary's nomination even more (and thus give Mickey Kaus the upper hand in my mini-e-mail debate with him):
The point is that Iowa is hard to win. It requires time, and more time, and a degree of face-to-face human warmth and interaction to win. Politically interested people in Iowa expect to shake hands with the person they caucus for. Retail politics is not Hillary’s bag, to put it mildly. If she can opt out of Iowa that allows her to plow her mass market media dolars into Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada (which is the number two race on the revamped primary schedule). If she takes the Silver State, she could roll into New Hampshire, where geography is already her friend, the prohibitive frontrunner.
This seems fishy, no? "Longtime admirer"? I wonder if Vilsack called John Edwards as well, or any other big name Democrat who may enter the race. But it gets even worse, with our friends at politicalwire.com pointing out an article in Rolling Stone magazine that suggests Vilsack's run would enable Hillary's nomination even more (and thus give Mickey Kaus the upper hand in my mini-e-mail debate with him):
The point is that Iowa is hard to win. It requires time, and more time, and a degree of face-to-face human warmth and interaction to win. Politically interested people in Iowa expect to shake hands with the person they caucus for. Retail politics is not Hillary’s bag, to put it mildly. If she can opt out of Iowa that allows her to plow her mass market media dolars into Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada (which is the number two race on the revamped primary schedule). If she takes the Silver State, she could roll into New Hampshire, where geography is already her friend, the prohibitive frontrunner.
What's going on? Do my Iowa readers suspect Vilsack is simply throwing his favorite-son wrench into the caucus combine just to pave Hillary's way? On one hand, this is just absurd-- who runs for President as a gesture of goodwill for another's ascendancy? On the other hand, it makes sick perfect sense. Perhaps the answer to my question is: someone who wants to be Vice President or possibly even Secretary of Education.
