Iowa delivered a third place finish to Ms. Inevitable Thursday night, but could that really start a chain of events that could unhinge one of the most impressive campaigns ever built? Hillary has plenty of money, dozens of super-delegates and an amazing ground operation in many states along with the polls to back it all up. Yet those super-delegates can disappear in a moment's notice and it could all be from getting one less delegate in tiny little Iowa. Of course, there's much more to it, and that "more" is exactly why she is at the bottom of my list of choices for the nomination.
From Time:
There are senior officials within the campaign — notably, outside advisers say, media consultant Mandy Grunwald and adviser Harold Ickes — who have been worried for months that Clinton was missing the fundamental shift in the electorate. However, their entreaties have gone nowhere. Bill and Hillary Clinton have put enormous faith in Penn, and given him veto power, aides say, over every word that goes into her television ads and every line in her mailers. "He had her and the President's trust very deeply," says one adviser who is close to the campaign. Adds another: "He's a one-man shop."
If Clinton also loses New Hampshire to Obama, Penn's future with the campaign may well be in jeopardy, strategists say. But that may be wishful thinking on their part. For one thing, there is no obvious candidate to replace him. Hillary's advisers and Bill's have never gotten along — and she has been particularly suspicious of his team. "Who they both trust — that's a very small group," says one former Clinton aide. "She is going to be very, very resistant to all of the white boys coming back."
Another problem is that some of those who might potentially be brought in have already been sidelined. Former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, for instance, is running a 527 organization called the Fund for America and is forbidden by law to even consult with the campaign.
Basically she built a very strong house with a foundation that was set in a swamp. The house may look mighty from the outside, but if there is a tremendous groundswell in the electorate, the money, the strategists and the hype all means nothing when a message of change can sweep people into another candidate's lap. If Obama takes New Hampshire on Tuesday, this thing might just be game, set and match.
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