Reeling from its third-place finish in Iowa, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) campaign sent out talking points Friday claiming it “always knew Iowa would be our toughest state,” according to an e-mail obtained by The Hill.
The campaign e-mail states, “Today the race for the Presidency moves to New Hampshire, where we have a great organization and strong support, including key endorsements from the Concord Monitor and the Keene Sentinel, in addition to 18 other endorsements from New Hampshire newspapers.”
{mosads}The e-mail, drafted by Clinton campaign aide Natalie Jones, adds, “We always knew Iowa would be our toughest state, which is why we built this campaign to compete in states across the nation through February 5th.”
In mid-December, the Clinton campaign dubbed Jan. 4 “Momentum Day” in a bid to capitalize on a possible Iowa win or to recover from a loss. Another e-mail signed by Jones in December scheduled a “nationwide briefing conference call” for Jan. 4.
The Friday e-mail, which is titled “Daily Talking Points – January 4, 2008,” asks backers “to make 10 phone calls asking friends and colleagues to donate…every dollar matters.”
It also says Clinton “is going to work her heart out over the next days and weeks…”
While Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) won over Iowa voters who most wanted change, Democratic voters who sought experience backed Clinton.
In the talking points, the Clinton campaign refuses to cede the change vote and addressed change as it relates to experience: “We’re going to continue to make the case that in these serious times, delivering real change will take a leader with Hillary’s strength and experience. Hillary has spent 35 years making real change and is the candidate in this race ready to make change in the White House on Day One.”
The tone of the talking points is not generally negative, but they appear to take a couple of veiled shots at Obama: “As we go forward we will keep focused on the two big questions: How will we win in November 2008 by nominating a candidate who will be able to go the distance and who will be the best president on day one? Hillary is ready for that contest.”
The campaign e-mail states, “You don’t have to guess what Hillary will prioritize or what she will stand for,” adding that Clinton has been “a passionate leader” on healthcare, suggesting the senator played a major part in the creation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
In her memoirs titled “Living History,” Clinton said she played a behind-the-scenes role with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) to create SCHIP in 1997 as first lady.
Meanwhile, Lanny Davis, who was President Clinton’s special counsel in the White House, did not hold back in criticizing Obama on Friday. During an appearance on the Fox News network, Davis – who is backing Sen. Clinton but does not have a formal role with the campaign – said Obama’s victory speech on Thursday night was “inspirational.”
Davis added, however, that he was “disappointed he never once said anything about [former] Sen. [John] Edwards [D-N.C.] or Sen. Clinton. Most people in that situation would graciously congratulate them for running a good campaign and he literally forgot about anything other than his own speech and I’m sure he regrets that this morning.”
The Clinton campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this article. The Obama campaign declined to comment.