The Clinton campaign is disavowing Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's comments to the Columbus Dispatch that the Iowa caucuses were "hugely undemocratic" because the process "excludes so many people... I'd like to see both parties say, 'We're going to bring this to an end."
Says a Hillaryland spokesman: "Sen. Clinton believes that Iowa and New Hampshire play a unique and special role in the nominating process, and that process should be protected. We're proud to have Gov. Strickland's support, but on this issue they disagree."
So let's think about this: Clinton spends the better part of ten days honing a homey message to Iowans emphasizing her humanity, politeness and deference to their customs -- even apologizing for the volume of campaign calls and door-bell ringing her volunteers make. Here comes Strickland, who was affably bland during his Saturday events with Clinton, nuking the whole process. Nice.
Anyone notice that Clinton's MALE surrogates are always the bulls in the PR china shop (Bill, Kerrey, Shaheen, etc.). Has she ever had to distance herself from something a female supporter said?
-- Glenn Thrush in Des Moines