Hillary Clinton defends link with Murdoch
Published: May 10 2006 03:00 | Last updated: May 10 2006 03:00
Hillary Clinton defended her warming relationship on Tuesday with Rupert Murdoch, the conservative media mogul. Commenting on Mr Murdoch's decision to host a fundraiser for her Senate-election campaign, Mrs Clinton said: "He's my constituent and I'm very gratified that he thinks I'm doing a good job."
Mr Murdoch's New York Post tabloid newspaper initially attacked the New York Democrat's decision to stand for the Senate, running front-page headlines pleading "Don't Run". Mrs Clinton is the leading Democratic candidate for president in 2008.
But one person involved in the event said Mr Murdoch's decision to support her reflected his opinion of her as a senator for New York rather than as a presidential candidate.
New York is expected to swing even further left in mid-term elections, with Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic state attorney-general, expected to secure the governorship. Mr Murdoch has usually acted as a political opportunist according to his business interests, switching from backing the Conservatives in the UK to supporting Tony Blair of the Labour party.
Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant who worked on Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign, said the alliance makes sense for both Mrs Clinton and Mr Murdoch. "She's not going any place. The only place she goes after this is the White House. Why not have a friend? That's a smart move for Mr Murdoch to make." He acknowledged that "there are some on the left who will feel that this is not a good thing".
But mainstream Democrats who want to ensure that Mrs Clinton wins re-election handily and is in a strong position to run for president will not mind. "They will see it as putting together a coalition that works."
Mrs Clinton has worked to tone down the liberal image she won during her husband's presidency, when she led the failed fight for national healthcare. She has courted Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, appearing with him on a panel on healthcare reform, and Republican senator Lindsay Graham, who was involved in impeachment charges against Mr Clinton.
Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist who managed Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign, said Mr Murdoch's decision showed that Mrs Clinton had "crossover appeal".
But polls show she remains a polarising figure. A recent ABC News/Washington Post survey found that while 80 per cent of Democrats had a favourable impression of Mrs Clinton, 79 per cent of Republicans had an unfavourable view, including 64 per cent who said they felt strongly unfavourable. By comparison, Senator John McCain, the Republican frontrunner, has lower disapproval ratings, at 20 per cent, in a recent Wall Street Journal poll.
Just as Mrs Clinton has been courting unusual political bedfellows, Mr McCain is expected this weekend to give the commencement address at Liberty University at the invitation of Jerry Falwell, a Christian activist. Four years ago Mr Falwell was among those whom Mr McCain denounced as "agents of intolerance".
