NYT frontpage: Somber Clinton Soldiers On as the Horizon Darkens

[DeepModem Mom]

Somber Clinton Soldiers On as the Horizon Darkens
By PATRICK HEALY
Published: February 24, 2008

To her longtime friends, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton sounds unusually philosophical on the phone these days. She rarely uses phrases like “when I’m president” anymore. Somber at times, determined at others, she talks to aides and confidants about the importance of focusing on a good day’s work. No drapes are being measured in her mind’s eye, they say. And Mrs. Clinton has begun thanking some of her major supporters for helping her run for the Democratic presidential nomination. “When this is all over, I’m really looking forward to seeing you,” she told one of those supporters by phone the other day.

Mrs. Clinton has not given up, in her head or her heart, her quest to return to the White House, advisers say. But as resolute as she is, she no longer exudes the supreme confidence that was her trademark before the first defeat, in Iowa in January. And then there were more humbling blows, aides say: replacing her campaign manager on Feb. 10, then losing the Wisconsin primary and her hold on the women’s vote there last Tuesday. If she is not temperamentally suited to reckon with the possibility of losing quite yet, advisers say, she is also a cold, hard realist about politics — at some point, she is known to say, someone will win and someone will not.

“She has a real military discipline that, now that times are tough, has really kicked into gear,” said Judith Hope, a friend and informal adviser to Mrs. Clinton, and a former chairwoman of the New York State Democratic Party. “When she’s on the road and someone has a negative news story, she says, ‘I don’t want to hear it; I don’t need to hear it.’ I think she wants to protect herself from that and stay focused. “That said, she knows that there will be an end,” Ms. Hope said. “She is a very smart woman.”...

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Morale is low. After 13 months of dawn-to-dark seven-day weeks, the staff is exhausted. Some have taken to going home early — 9 p.m. — turning off their BlackBerrys, and polishing off bottles of wine, several senior staff members said....

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Through it all, Mrs. Clinton has not retreated into a shell. She asks her aides about their children, spouses and partners. She tries to keep the mood upbeat on the campaign plane, such as recently joking about how Ohio is so diverse that it sometimes feels like five different states. She looks and seems at her happiest after working rope lines and talking to people after round tables, hearing their stories and receiving hugs....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/us/politics/24mood.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=todayspaper&adxnnlx=1203865532-4EFa+l9uTz4EereaOBM8Cg

[ixion]

1. "Soldiers On"? Oh please

she wants the power of the Unitary Executive. There is nothing noble about her pursuit. She's a career pol who can't wait to get her hands on the throne.

[ConcernedCanuk]

2. "‘I don’t want to hear it; I don’t need to hear it.’" sounds more childish than presidential to me.

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But I just got one of them wee Canuk brains,

Whadda I know?