Hillary's Iowa Spokesman: She Can Succeed Here Without Winning

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Polls show Sen. Hillary Clinton is slightly behind -- though statistically tied -- with Barack Obama in Iowa and the caucuses just six weeks away. Now her campaign is scrambling to beef up staff in that state, and her spokesman says "coming in first" isn't the Clinton camp's definition of success. While Hillary clearly is outwardly pressing for victory, the comment looks to be an early signal that a finish somewhere near the top would be spun as a win for the New York senator.

Mark Daley, Clinton's Iowa communications director, is not a novice mouthpiece. He was the spokesman for the state Democratic Party, so he knows that words have meaning and every political utterance is closely scrutinized after it emerges from the hothouse atmosphere of a presidential campaign. So it was a bit of a surprise to read that Daley told Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jennifer Hunter that the campaign recognizes Clinton may not triumph in Iowa. Hunter buried the comment in the 13th paragraph of a 17-paragraph piece published today. It was pretty much unnoticed. But here's what the Clinton Iowa communications director is quoted as saying:

"Our definition of success doesn't necessarily mean coming in first. As long as we have a strong showing on caucus night."

Others might be pardoned for thinking otherwise. Clinton has been the front-runner across the U.S., and is largely viewed as the presumptive nominee. Now her own campaign spokesman contends she can be successful without winning? Daley also is pointing out that Obama has built-in advantages -- he comes from Illinois which is next door and shares TV markets with Iowa.

"We're running against a guy from a neighboring state who shares media markets with the state."

Cincinnati Enquirer's Rightwing Columnist: Flunks History And Geography

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- There are those who suspect that Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Peter Bronson has the intellect of a box of rocks. And there are those who would say hush, it is impolite to insult rocks. In a section titled Yankee Go Home, today's Bronson column is full of historical and biographical omissions, half-truths and errors.

Bronson says former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican presidential candidate, was unelectable because he came from a northern state, Iowa. Wrong. Bob Dole is from Kansas. He was born in Russell, Kan., on July 22, 1923 and served that state in the Capitol for more than a generation. Bronson says President Reagan was a southerner like Lyndon Johnson, D-Tex., and Richard Nixon, R-Cal. Nixon truly was a California native, but Reagan was not. To imply otherwise is a half-truth. Reagan was born in Tampico, Ill., and lived in that state until he turned 21. As an adult -- and after working as a broadcaster in Iowa -- Reagan migrated to the movie colony around Hollywood. He was not a California native.

Bronson says the current President Bush is "all Texan." But that statement is all bull. Bush was born in New Haven, Conn in 1946, as his official White House biography shows. Bronson says New York Sen. Hillary Clinton can pretend she comes from Arkansas -- where she lived with Bill Clinton in his home state. Bronson omits that Hillary is an Illinois native who was born in Chicago and grew up in its suburbs.

Bronson's theory is that southerners win presidential elections and northerners lose. He may be right up to a point. But neither Kansas nor California are considered southern states. They are Great Plains and Pacific Coast, or midwestern and southwestern. And Reagan was from the midwestern prairie, a transplant into California. Bronson says Arizona Sen. John McCain falls into his southern theory. McCain now lives in Phoenix, but was born in the Panama Canal Zone. His father was a naval officer and he grew up on military bases all over the place. McCain has the gray hair, but he doesn't speak with a drawl like that famous southerner with a military title, Col. Harlan Sanders.

Ohio Republican Party: Hillary Swipes Edwards' Rhetoric

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Ohio Republican Party is out with a 10-page background document from RNC headquarters that roughs up Sen. Hillary Clinton and contends she has been borrowing her stump themes from others. Specifically, the GOP says she is echoing Democratic rival John Edwards, who trails her in the national polls but has been running strong in Iowa. "In Iowa, Hillary adapted Edwards ideas and rhetoric as her own," the GOP says. (Check page 2 of the document.)

The Republicans point out a handful of standard oratorical flourishes in phrases like "basic bargain" and "play by the rules" that crop up in Edwards campaign appearances over the past few years. And, of course, they both talk a lot about health care, especially for children. The GOP says Hillary has sounded too eerily similar recently -- but the material it cites seems to fall somewhat short of full copyright infringement.

Still, the GOP wisely is monitoring every word and may eventually catch one of the Democrats delivering another candidate's script. Wouldn't that make great TV?