Hillary Clinton suddenly vulnerable as bruises start to show [View All]

[DeepModem Mom]

NY Daily News: Hillary Clinton suddenly vulnerable as bruises start to show
BY MICHAEL McAULIFF
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Monday, November 12th 2007

DES MOINES - Where did Hillary Clinton's mojo go? That's what her campaign has to be asking after a rough two weeks. And more importantly, they have to be wondering how to recapture that fading aura of an unstoppable juggernaut. Top Clinton strategist Mark Penn doesn't own up to his candidate suffering a dip, but he admits it's been tougher of late. "The opponents went negative, and that created a new dynamic and a different set of headlines," Penn said.

The new dynamic emerged at the debate in Philadelphia two weeks ago, but didn't just spring from sharp criticism by her opponents. Clinton stumbled by offering fuzzy answers to some questions and refusing to take a stance on Gov. Spitzer's license plan for illegal immigrants. Then Camp Clinton's damage control backfired as she was pounded for suggesting the "boys" ganged up on her. And Bill Clinton brought more scorn when he said the attempt to get an answer out of his wife on licenses verged on John Kerry Swift Boat territory.

Now Penn and company plan to stick to the high road, talking about Clinton's strength, experience and vision for America, fund-raising at a torrid rate and deploying Bill Clinton more. They're also launching counterattacks, calling her opponents mudslingers. "I think it's sinking in to the electorate that people who had pledges to not attack Democrats were abandoning those pledges," Penn said.

Clinton remains way ahead in national polls, though some have shown a slip and a survey in early voting New Hampshire out yesterday showed a tightening race there. The focus for staving off any Clinton collapse, though, starts in Iowa, where the candidates wooed party faithful at the state Democrats' biggest event of the year over the weekend....

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/11/12/2007-11-12_hillary_clinton_suddenly_vulnerable_as_b-2.html