Where did Hillary Clinton's mojo go?

[THE KOD]

November 16, 2007

Rove: Obama missing opportunities to knock Clinton
Rove says Obama is missing chances to knock Clinton off stride.

WASHINGTON (CNN) ? Former top Bush aide Karl Rove said Thursday he thinks Sen. Barack Obama has missed key opportunities to knock rival Hillary Clinton off track.

In an interview with CSPAN, the man behind President Bush's two White House wins cited a recent debate in Philadelphia when Clinton was asked why more of her records as first lady have not yet been made public.

"He missed the opportunity," Rove explained. "If he had stood there and said, 'Senator, with all due respect, it is entirely within the power of you and your husband to immediately order the release of those documents. And your failure to do so reveals legitimate questions in the minds of the American people about what you might be hiding and it's not going to be good for the Democratic party or for you if you allow those questions to persist,' it would have been a moment, it would have been a big moment."

"Instead it was a vague and wandering around, and weak, and insipid," Rove continued. "There have been a number of occasions like that where a sharp and clear and respectful contrast would have created a moment."

Rove also said the Republicans will lose in 2008 unless they "articulate a positive agenda and a positive vision."

"Otherwise," Rove said, "The American people will say, 'You know what? I have got my doubts I have got my concerns and you haven't given me the confidence that I will do better with you.'"

..............................................................

You can bet the Republicans will be waiting to bust Hillary on this when they debate.

Hillary wants to hide the embarressing truths that would show who she really is behind the mask of politics.

America will never vote her in if they find out what was said during that time she is trying to cover up.

Most likely alot of cursing out State troopers, Secret service, Bill and many others.

 

[THE KOD]

Clinton campaign asks volunteer to resign
Linda Olson's resignation the second requested for Obama e-mail hoax

updated 12:41 p.m. ET, Mon., Dec. 10, 2007

DES MOINES, Iowa - Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign on Sunday requested the resignation of a second Iowa volunteer coordinator who forwarded a hoax e-mail saying Barack Obama is a Muslim possibly intent on destroying the United States.

Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ and says he has never been a Muslim, but false rumors attempting to tie him to Islamic jihadists are circulating on the Internet.

"Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential Candidacy," read the e-mail. "Please forward to everyone you know. The Muslims have said they Plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at The highest level."

The Clinton campaign has decried the rumors as offensive and outrageous, and last week forced volunteer Jones County coordinator Judy Rose to resign after learning that she forwarded a such an e-mail on Nov. 21. But it turns out Rose wasn't the only one.

Linda Olson, a volunteer coordinator in Iowa County, had forwarded a similar version on Oct. 5, without comment, to 11 people. One of the recipients was Ben Young, a regional field director for Democrat Chris Dodd's campaign, who provided a copy to The Associated Press on Sunday.

The Clinton campaign responded by asking for Olson's resignation.

?Zero tolerance policy?
"We've made our position on this crystal clear," said Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee. "Our campaign does not tolerate this kind of activity or campaigning. As soon as it came to our attention, we asked this individual to step down."

Asked to explain why two people connected to the campaign would have forwarded similar e-mails and if the campaign was taking steps to find out if it's more widespread, Elleithee replied, "We communicated to all of our paid staff and volunteer leadership that the senator and the campaign have a zero tolerance policy for this type of activity."


Obamas spokesman Bill Burton responded, "Iowans know garbage when they see it and it has no place in this race." Burton said Obama will focus on the debate over issues like health care, education and getting out of Iraq.

Rose has said she did not agree with the e-mail but was sending it to other area Democrats to show them how dirty politics was getting. Olson did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment.
...................................................................

This really pisses me off that Hillary would do this.

Lets face it, if your not stupid you know that this had to come from the highest level.

Its sickening how Hillary will stoop to any level to destroy someone in her way.

And you can say, well not too many people got the email. BS ,,,, this is reported on the news so millions of people read this crap .

Its the very reason why we got to keep the old guard from getting back in the white house.

We have got to change this up.

Our very futures depend on it.

 

[smurphy]

What are you talking about Scott? They made this person resign.

 

[Cie]

What are you talking about Scott? They made this person resign.

Doesn't seem like too much of a stretch that the Hillary campaign would condone this behavior until it became public knowledge, at which time they cover their collective a$$ by immediately forcing out the "scoundrels" who were caught. The damage has been done at this point.

I agree w/ KOD, we need change and Hillary ain't it.

 

[THE KOD]

Doesn't seem like too much of a stretch that the Hillary campaign would condone this behavior until it became public knowledge, at which time they cover their collective a$$ by immediately forcing out the "scoundrels" who were caught. The damage has been done at this point.

I agree w/ KOD, we need change and Hillary ain't it.

................................................................

Exactly

I think smurph gets it , he just is joshn me some.

Hillary sits down with her cronies.

Well Obama is getting closer to me in the polls. we got money, how do we change that.

what to do what to do.

cronie - Well we could put out a false story about him that would make people afraid of him.

Hillary - oh I like that one. any ideas ?

Cronie - well we could say he is a muslim lover and will take down the US from the inside out like Bin Laden said.

Hillary - giggles , excellant. But how do we get it out there. We dont want it traced back to any of my campaign.

cronie - simple we pay off some volunteers to send some emails , get it on the wire, soon it will be around the world . at a pittance. say it will cost us 50 grand per volunteer. You know buy some silence up in this big house.

Hill - and if they are caught.

cronie - we ask them resign.

no harm no foul. By then its too late anyway

hill - oh I do love my politics
...................................................


Its sick and pathetic.

That damn gomer huckabee is looking better and better .

 

[Jabberwocky]

Is there any evidence linking Hillary to this? Oh, why let things like facts get in the way. This outrage is coming from those that voted for GW? This is a joke, right? Meet Karl Rove.

The Education of Karl Rove

Dirty tricks, South Carolina and Lee Atwater

Hey, where was South Carolina? Karl Rove's resignation last week was followed by media reports of the political Svengali's triumphs and dirty tricks, but no one mentioned the Palmetto state. It was a strange omission, considering that the man Dubya dubs "Turd Blossom" learned most of his sleazy campaign tactics courtesy of our beloved sister state. Specifically, Rove learned at the feet of the master, Columbia's notorious Lee Atwater.

At his peak in the 1980s, Atwater was "credited" with dragging national political campaigns into the mud -- a feat he executed by introducing the rest of the country to his own brand of brutal, bare-knuckles, South Ca'lina-style politics. It was Atwater who taught Rove the ins and outs of what the South Carolinian called "strippin' the bark off" an opponent by any means necessary.

Not that Rove needed convincing to try political dirty tricks. This is the guy, after all, who at age 19 used a fake I.D. to enter the office of Illinois' state Treasurer (whose opponent he was working for) and stole a campaign letterhead, which he later passed out at rock concerts and homeless shelters, promoting free beer and women.

Atwater and Rove became friends four years later in 1973 when Turd Blossom ran for president of the national College Republican organization. Atwater, as Republican regional coordinator, drove Rove around the country in a Pinto, lining up support from GOP state chairs. The campaign ended with both Rove and his opponent claiming victory and the opponent crying foul, a dispute that was settled in Rove's favor by Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman George H.W. Bush -- but only after Atwater signed an affidavit vouching for Rove's clean campaign tactics. That's what I'd call a dubious testimonial, but Bush bought it.

During their travels and afterward, Atwater taught Rove some of his gloves-off tricks, such as using "plants" to ask questions designed to make opponents appear unfit for office. Atwater also perfected the devious tactic known as "push-polling" -- using fake surveys filled with lies in order to convince voters that opponents are the scum of the earth.

He gained the admiration of national Republican strategists in 1980, when, as a consultant to GOP congressional candidate Floyd Spence, he engineered a comeback victory over Democrat Tom Turnipseed. At a press briefing, Atwater planted a fake reporter who said, "We understand Turnipseed has had psychotic treatment." Atwater later told reporters off the record that Turnipseed had been "hooked up to jumper cables" -- a cruel reference to electroshock therapy the Democrat underwent as a teenager. The sleazebag tactics worked, and Spence's unexpected victory over Turnipseed led to the RNC hiring Atwater.

His most notorious campaign was the 1988 presidential race, in which Atwater started false rumors that George Bush's opponent, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, had been treated for mental illness, and that Dukakis's wife Kitty had burned an American flag to protest the Vietnam War. Atwater's 1988 coup de grace, however, was the accusation that Dukakis was responsible for Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who committed a rape while on furlough from a life sentence in a Massachusetts prison.

Atwater's career ended in 1991 when he was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer at the age of 40. His impending death led to a religious conversion and heartfelt apologies for his squalid contributions to American politics. He told Life magazine, "My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood."

Unfortunately, Atwater's repentance went into one of Karl Rove's ears and out the other. By the time Atwater died, Rove was a rising star in the Republican firmament, picking up where his mentor had left off. By 1994, he was strategist for George W. Bush's gubernatorial campaign in Texas, cranking up "whisper campaigns" that claimed Gov. Ann Richards was a lesbian.

During the 2000 presidential race, Rove truly came into his own, and lived up to Lee Atwater's confidence in him, by masterminding a sordid push-poll campaign against Sen. John McCain in the South Carolina GOP primary. People were asked how they would vote if they knew that McCain's wife was a drug addict, or that McCain was crazy as a loon due to his torture at the hands of the North Vietnamese, or that he had fathered an illegitimate child by a black prostitute. All of those charges were false, but that didn't matter to Rove. The smear campaign derailed McCain and gave Rove's boss, George W. Bush, a crucial win in his campaign for the GOP nomination. If the ghost of the repentant Lee Atwater was watching, he no doubt shook his head at the irony of his former prot?g? working his slimy magic in Atwater's home state.

Eventually, Rove topped even his mentor's level of ruthlessness. Once in the White House, he introduced an approach to governing that Atwater would have been proud of: agencies, officials, and even national policy were all treated as mere opportunities to gain more political power, no matter how badly normal ethics were mauled. In his own way, Rove made certain that the legacy of Lee Atwater, and of vicious South Carolina-style politics, lives on.

 

[THE KOD]

you think because i voted for GW that I am responsible for everything he has done , mostly bad. ? At least I have come to terms with his decisions and know that he was just a terrible president.

I am not saying Rove didnt do it, I am saying they are perpetuating a fraud to gain power and money.
And no one should be able to do that underhanded crap.

Not either party.

That is exactly what we need to stop in this country politics.

I can only pray America will not stupid down in this next election. Hillary is going to get some dirty pool back at her if she wins the Dem.

I have not seen a candidate that gives me hope for our future and the future of our children.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Fair enough Scott, good points. And for the record, I am not a big fan of Hillary either.

 

[smurphy]

Scott and Cie,

You have both made it abundantly clear that you despise Hillary Clinton. This accusation, however, is completely unfounded and unfair. You have no evidence.

 

[THE KOD]

Scott and Cie,

You have both made it abundantly clear that you despise Hillary Clinton. This accusation, however, is completely unfounded and unfair. You have no evidence.

............................................................

Listen milkman.

Hillary is not behind this :142smilie

Hillary is sorry it happened :142smilie

Hillary willing to go to any extent to win:SIB

when are you going to start using your head for something besides a hat rack !

Geez Louise

 

[Cie]

Scott and Cie,

You have both made it abundantly clear that you despise Hillary Clinton. This accusation, however, is completely unfounded and unfair. You have no evidence.

She, like the rest of them, will do what it takes to win, or to cover her tracks. This is not a stretch to think she would try to sabotage an opponent. Its not like I'm saying she wired the WTC towers for implosion on 9/11.

At this point it appears you are simply being a tad naive and seem unwilling to look at the situation with an open mind.

 

[smurphy]

Don't you see how you contradict yourself? Of course it's POSSIBLE, but you guys are all over this like Hillary is behind it - WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm NOT one of the 9-11 conspiracy buffs. ...nor fake moon landing ...nor Brett Favre fixing games ....etc. Yet you guys seem to pick and choose which conspiracies to cling to based purely on political interest.

LOL at Scott thinking that bomb scare guy was hired by Hillary. Good stuff - keep em coming.

As far as an open mind, that's not a problem. The difference is I'm relatively consistent.

 

[Cie]

In case you haven't noticed, I'm NOT one of the 9-11 conspiracy buffs. ...nor fake moon landing ...nor Brett Favre fixing games ....etc. Yet you guys seem to pick and choose which conspiracies to cling to based purely on political interest.

True that I lean right of
center on many non-social
issues, but I don't think my
"attack" on Hillary is
politically motivated. If the
same report came out about
Huckabee or Romney, I think
I would feel the same way. Call
me cynical, but I feel both
primaries are loaded with self-
important, power hungry
candidates who would cross
the line if it would garner votes.

 

[kosar]

Good ol' Michelle Malkin


GOP BORDER BALONEY

WHITE HOUSE HOPEFULS' IMMIGRATION FIBS Huckabee: A most unconvincing convert.


December 12, 2007 -- CONTINUED

It's Gilchrist and those who allow themselves to be snowed by Huckabee's cynical conversion who'll be sorry. Huckabee showed his true colors at the Univision Spanish-language debate over the weekend, when he pandered to the crowd by lamenting "racial profiling" of immigrants - while remaining silent about catch-and-release policies that fail to detain criminal aliens who go on to commit more heinous crimes because politicians and police chiefs are more concerned with being accused of "racial profiling" than protecting the public.

Huckabee isn't the only shameless border-control cross-dresser in the GOP field, of course. Rudy "I supported sanctuary policies before I was against them, but my sanctuary policy wasn't really a sanctuary policy, anyway" Giuliani now quotes "the advice of a great man, Father Hesburgh, who said, 'We must close the back door of illegal immigration in order to preserve the front door of legal immigration.' "

In a Washington Examiner interview, Giuliani now says he really, truly would have deported 400,000 illegal aliens in New York if he could have. Never mind that small matter of the lawsuit he brought against the feds to block them from enforcing immigration laws. Never mind that he was openly inviting illegal aliens into his open-borders safe harbors.


Bringing up the false-convert rear is Sen. John McCain. Earlier this year, he was the most vocal critic of grass-roots conservatives who mobilized against the amnesty bill. He now says he has learned his lesson and supports securing the border. He has learned nothing.

During the amnesty-bill debacle, he called Rush Limbaugh a "nativist." Over the weekend, he repeated such contemptuous "straight talk" at the Univision debate by assailing what he called anti-Hispanic rhetoric. In an interview with The New Yorker, he irritatedly dismissed immigration concerns in Iowa as marginal and irrational - just a bunch of "senior citizens" in Iowa caught up in the "emotion" of a cultural assault.

Bad enough that the Democratic candidates are still stuck in a "Sept. 10" mentality on the nexus between immigration and national security. The question for conservatives is: Would a Republican immigration drag queen be any better - or worse?

malkinblog@gmail.com

 

[THE KOD]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of Sen. Hillary Clinton's top advisers is stepping down after saying Sen. Barack Obama's admission of past drug use would hurt his chances in a general election matchup.


Sen. Barack Obama says he doesn't think his admission of past drug use will hurt his presidential campaign.

"I would like to reiterate that I deeply regret my comments yesterday and say again that they were in no way authorized by Sen. Clinton or the Clinton campaign," Bill Shaheen, co-chairman of the Clinton campaign in New Hampshire, said in a statement announcing his decision.

Earlier Thursday, Clinton personally apologized to rival Obama for Shaheen's remarks.

Obama accepted her apology, according to David Axelrod, the top political strategist for the Obama campaign.

"[Obama] said it's important for campaigns to send a signal from the top. If they say that negative campaigning is fun, they're sending a signal. Or that can say this kind of thing isn't tolerated," Axelrod said.

Obama earlier brushed aside the adviser's remarks, saying they were probably the result of the latest poll numbers, which show the two candidates tied in the first primary state, New Hampshire.

"I just think people are feeling a little worried about the polls," the Illinois senator said Thursday.

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Shaheen told a Washington Post reporter Wednesday that Republicans would exploit Obama's admission of past drug use should he win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination and might even suggest Obama once dealt drugs.

"The Republicans are not going to give up without a fight ... and one of the things they're certainly going to jump on is his drug use," Shaheen said. "It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?' There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It's hard to overcome."

Shaheen, husband of former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, apologized for his comments and said in a statement late Wednesday "they were not authorized by the campaign in any way."

Obama said he did not think it was Shaheen's intent to plant such a rumor. The candidate said he is not worried what Shaheen said may damage his campaign "since it's not true."

"I don't think the American people are concerned about what I did when I was a teenager. They're concerned about what I'm going to do as a presidential candidate," he said.

Clinton on Thursday said she did not approve of Shaheen's comments. "I don't in any way condone that, and it was certainly not authorized or approved at all. It was inappropriate, and he's apologized," the senator from New York said.

Obama spokesman David Plouffe called the remarks desperate, saying the "campaign is recycling old news that Barack Obama has been candid about in a book he wrote years ago, and he's talked about the lessons he's learned from these mistakes with young people all across the country."

Obama wrote in his 1995 book "Dreams of My Father" that he was once headed in the direction of a "junkie" and a "pothead."

Referring to his emotional struggles as a young man, Obama wrote, "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though."

Obama has not shied away from bringing up his past use of drugs while on the campaign trail. He spoke candidly about his past experimentation at an event in New Hampshire last month, acknowledging that he did inhale and that "it's not something I'm proud of."

And in a statement that proved popular with the crowd, Obama said he never understood then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton's contention in 1992 that he did not inhale marijuana.

"I never understood that line," he said. "The point was to inhale. That was the point."

The latest back-and-forth between the two Democratic campaigns on the issue of Obama's electability came as a new CNN/WMUR poll showed the two candidates statistically in a dead heat in New Hampshire.

Clinton stands at 31 percent, with Obama 1 percentage point behind, well within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Alex Mooney and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
...............................................................

At reading this one of Obama;s top advisors , a volunteer , screamed out .....

Hillary is a lesbian...... why is Willie never at home.

I guess its a tit for a tat......

 

[Cie]

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 46 minutes ago



CONCORD, N.H. - A top campaign adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton resigned Thursday, a day after suggesting Democrats should be wary of nominating Barack Obama because his teenage drug use could make it hard for him to win the presidency.

ADVERTISEMENT

Clinton herself apologized to Obama as they waited to fly to Iowa for a debate.

Obama's campaign sent out a fundraising letter contending that "this kind of attack is becoming a pattern as Clinton's support declines."

Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman for Clinton and a prominent New Hampshire political figure, had raised the issue of Obama's youthful drug use during a Wednesday interview, published on washingtonpost.com.

"I made a mistake and in light of what happened, I have made the personal decision that I will step down as the co-chair of the Hillary for President campaign," Shaheen said in a statement released by the campaign Thursday. "This election is too important, and we must all get back to electing the best qualified candidate who has the record of making change happen in this country. That candidate is Hillary Clinton."

Shaheen, an attorney and veteran organizer, had said much of Obama's background is unknown and could be a problem in November 2008 if he is the Democratic nominee. He said Republicans would work hard to discover new aspects of Obama's admittedly spotty youth.

"It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?'" said Shaheen, whose wife, Jeanne, is a former New Hampshire governor and is running for the U.S. Senate next year.

"There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It's hard to overcome," Shaheen said.

Clinton personally apologized to Obama when they were on the tarmac at Washington's Reagan National Airport Thursday morning, preparing to fly to Des Moines for a debate, according to aides to both candidates.

"Having been on the receiving end of unfair attacks for years, she doesn't think this is what the campaign should be about," said Clinton spokesman Jay Carson. "She told him she wanted to win the presidency, but not through tactics like that."

Clinton's campaign said it had nothing to do with Shaheen's earlier comments.

However, Ned Helms, an Obama co-chairman in New Hampshire, said he saw a pattern after the recent resignations of two Clinton volunteer coordinators in Iowa who had forwarded e-mails raising questions about Obama's religion.

"When you see a pattern of people making statements and the follow-up statement, 'Oh, that wasn't authorized,' it doesn't take a genius to see that there's a thread going on here," Helms said.
And the Obama campaign sent a fundraising e-mail to supporters asking for donations to help fight such tactics.

"The only way to stop these kinds of tired, desperate attacks is to demonstrate very clearly that they have a real cost to Senator Clinton's campaign," campaign manager David Plouffe wrote. "Make no mistake ? this kind of attack is becoming a pattern as Clinton's support declines."

Obama wrote about his teenage drug use in his memoir, "Dreams from My Father." His rivals have largely remained silent on the subject.

"Junkie. Pothead. That's where I'd been headed: the final fatal role of the young would-be black man," Obama wrote. Mostly he smoked marijuana and drank alcohol, he wrote, but occasionally he would snort cocaine when he could afford it.

New polling shows Clinton and Obama basically tied in New Hampshire. A CNN-WMUR-TV poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire shows Clinton at 31 percent support, Obama at 30. The same poll had Obama trailing by 20 points in September.

Three times in a month:shrug: All while Obama is closing the gap. I'm sure its just coincidence

 

[DOGS THAT BARK]

If I was politician from either side and wanted to get dirt out on opponent what better way than to have your source get the message out in public--then opplogize and fire him, You get to look like a good guy while still getting to message to the public.:shrug:

Have seen it effectvely used by both sides more than once so far.

 

[smurphy]

Three times in a month:shrug: All while Obama is closing the gap. I'm sure its just coincidence

Present some evidence, counselor. Until then, you are just another conspiracy nut.

 

[Chadman]

If I was politician from either side and wanted to get dirt out on opponent what better way than to have your source get the message out in public--then opplogize and fire him, You get to look like a good guy while still getting to message to the public.:shrug:

Have seen it effectvely used by both sides more than once so far.

Yeah, if anything, she has taken a page or two directly from the Bush administration Rovian playbook on this one. Except, it's just stuff being said about someone, and not things being done, which shows what a high level the current fellas are playing at. Oh, that, and Bush lying to us about actually firing someone when he "found out" that they were a part of something illegal. So many sticky wickets around when you are covering your ass, aren't there? Which is worse, doing something and firing them when it's shown to be bad, or doing something, saying you would fire them, and then doing nothing, which ignores/condones/encourages it for future fall-people?

Easy answer, there. Some here aren't defending the Bushies on this, and I agree it sounds dubious, but with no proof, it's nothing, as Smurph says. It's not like we HAVE proof, like the current folks, anyway.

 

[AR182]

Wyo. Dem chief: Clinton would hurt party

Wyo. Dem chief: Clinton would hurt party

if this guy thinks hillary will hurt them...then what about the other dem. candidates ?

By David Olinger
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 12/14/2007 02:29:12 AM MST

Her image as a liberal could be a problem in the West, analysts say. (John Gaps III, AFP/Getty Images )The Democratic Party chairman in Wyoming is predicting that Democratic candidates throughout the Rocky Mountain region will be damaged if his party selects Hillary Clinton for president.

"Every Democratic candidate in Wyoming will be painted with that same liberal, big-government brush. We will also be the target of the locker room jokes that rightfully belong to Bill Clinton," John Millin wrote in a letter to The Denver Post.

"While I don't agree with this view of Mrs. Clinton, I have to accept that this is the truth. It has become the dirty little secret in the Democratic Party," he wrote. "Westerners have an independent, libertarian spirit and Democrats can make Republicans pay a heavy price for years of pandering to the social

The Clinton campaign dismissed Millin's comments as the work of a surrogate for a rival candidate, Sen. Barack Obama. The Democratic National Committee and the state Democratic spokesman in Wyoming hastened to point out that the party is neutral in the primary campaign and that Millin's opinions are his own. Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, a Democrat, declined to comment. Millin is a superdelegate who has thrown his support to Obama.

"Hillary Clinton's been a change agent for 35 years, and she's the only candidate who's taken on the Republican attack machine and won," campaign spokesman Isaac Baker said. "That's why poll after poll shows her beating the Republican candidates in a general-election matchup."

Larry Drake, a Denver volunteer for Clinton and a Vietnam War combat veteran, characterized Obama as a onetime advocate of handgun bans. "We believe in gun rights in the West," he said. "If this guy thinks Obama is more electable than Hillary, I'd like to know why."

Democrats have gained ground in the Rocky Mountain region in the past two elections, winning close congressional races and corralling five of eight governor's offices. They chose

John Millin is pledged to Barack Obama as a superdelegate. Denver as their 2008 convention site in the belief they could capture some of the Western states that previously helped elect George Bush.
In Colorado and New Mexico, Democratic Party chairs disputed their Wyoming colleague's assessment that Sen. Clinton could damage that quest.

"I would disagree with that tremendously," said Colorado chairwoman Pat Waak. She noted that Colorado elected Democrat Ken Salazar to the U.S. Senate in 2004 ? and Democrats now control the legislature and the governor's office ? despite John Kerry's 150,000-vote loss to Bush in Colorado.

Western voters "are looking for authentic, honest candidates" and are not necessarily party-line voters, she said. Clinton "seems to be a target at this point for some people, in part because she's a front-runner."

In New Mexico, Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici's retirement has precipitated a candidate scramble that leaves all three of its House seats and a Senate seat open.

Given that unprecedented situation, "Democrats are going to come out in force, no matter who the nominee is," state chairman Brian Colon said.

National polls have consistently shown Clinton as the early favorite in the Democratic race. But with the first caucus less than three weeks away, some polls suggest Obama is gaining ground in the runner-up spot.

Millin is not the only Democratic leader in the Rocky Mountain states who has been worrying about the local effects of a Clinton nomination, but he was the only one willing to speak on the record.

Floyd Ciruli, an independent pollster in Colorado, said Clinton inspires the most passion ? for and against her ? of any candidate.

"Every national poll shows she's probably the most polarizing figure," he said.

"Her problem in Colorado, and in much of the West, is a liberal image," he said. "At the moment, there is no evidence she will help other Democrats here."