Hillary

(Newser) - You can thank or blame one Democrat for the rise of superdelegates and demise of the party's winner-take-all primaries—but strategist Harold Ickes, who negotiated the primary system 20 years ago, is likely too busy to hear you. He's calling up superdelegates for Hillary Clinton, and using such a nasty tongue that Time couldn't print what it overheard. More »

(Newser) - Obama likened Hillary's stance on Iran to George Bush's "cowboy diplomacy" on Meet the Press today, while Clinton took to ABC to defend the gas tax and told voters mired in the Jeremiah Wright controversy "We should move on." Tim Russert ignored her advice, however, and devoted his first 18 minutes to the pastor, reports the New York Times . “Obviously, it’s distracted us,” Obama admitted. More »

(Newser) - They are locked in an epic struggle for the nation's heart, the grizzled veteran versus the up-and-comer, both popular, both controversial. No, not Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Tomorrow, the real showdown is between Tim Russert, who is interviewing Obama, and George Stephanopoulos, who is interviewing Clinton at roughly the same time, the New York Times reports. More »

(Newser) - Congress killed hopes of a “gas tax holiday,” but that won't stop Hillary Clinton from running on it. Her camp issued its second Indiana TV ad today blasting Barack Obama’s opposition to the measure, Talking Points Memo reports. Obama responded to her first ad by saying the holiday would save Indiana residents "only pennies a day," the AP reports. More »

(Newser) - Indiana is an especially hard state to suss out ahead of next week’s primary, because its recent fortunes lie somewhere between those of flush Connecticut and struggling Ohio. Racial factors aren’t significant, so the Democratic race likely turns on economics, with prosperous areas favoring Barack Obama and the less affluent helping Hillary Clinton, Politico reports in its analysis of the state's inclinations. More »

(Newser) - The Indianapolis Star endorsed Hillary Clinton today, saying that even though Barack Obama “offers an attractive vision for the way things could be,” the former first lady “offers a clear-eyed view of the way things are.” Four days ahead of Indiana' primary, the state's largest newspaper praised Obama but worried that his “inexperience in high office is a liability.” It was more impressed with Clinton’s “remarkable” depth of knowledge. More »

(Newser) - In the red state of Indiana, the GOP could have a major say in the fortunes of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in Tuesday's primary, the Wall Street Journal reports. Republicans could account for up to 15% of voters in the Democratic race because of the state's open-primary system. As a result, both candidates are venturing into GOP stomping grounds to round up votes. More »

(Newser) - As Hillary Clinton piously chimes in on the Jeremiah Wright controversy, Barack Obama still won't turn the tables and demand a look through Clinton's unsavory associations. And he's not likely to, so Politico digs into the litany of untouched Clinton material. From patronage-happy, prison jumpsuit-wearing Web Hubbell to misfit brothers Hugh and Tony, there’s endless dirt unlikely to be dug up. More »

(Newser) - Optimism is spreading through Hillary Clinton’s once-dispirited war room, Politico reports, as a series of wins accumulate in their candidate’s column: fundraising has rushed in since Pennsylvania, she's collected some well-timed endorsements, she’s bobbed up in the polls, and Barack Obama is once again afflicted by Jeremiah Wright. All of which makes Clinton’s advisers believe that her comeback-kid rhetoric might actually have legs. More »

(Newser) - Joe Andrew, a superdelegate and the Democratic Party chair during Bill Clinton's presidency, has switched his allegiance from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama, reports the AP. Andrew had endorsed Hillary on the day she announced her candidacy, but in a lengthy letter to other superdelegates he says they must rally behind Obama to "heal the rift in our party." More »

(Newser) - Republican strategists are tuning out Hillary Clinton as they ramp up their attacks on Barack Obama, writes Jonathan Martin in Politico. The national party is increasingly focusing its ads and money on Obama, and John McCain's camp also puts a definite emphasis on him. A new daily email to reporters about McCain's schedule features an "Audacity Watch" but has yet to mention Clinton. More »

(Newser) - In her first interview with longtime critic Bill O’Reilly, Hillary Clinton called Jeremiah Wright's comments “offensive,” “outrageous,” “off base” and “far out," ABC News reports. She also got a dig in at Barack Obama by saying she's glad he "finally" clarified his views on Wright, the New York Times notes. Fox News offered a peek before the interview airs tonight on the O'Reilly Factor . More »

(Newser) - Most of the 80 unpledged Dem superdelegates in Congress have privately chosen a candidate, and one of Barack Obama’s key Senate surrogates claims most have swung his way, Politico reports. It’s “a matter of timing,” Missouri's Claire McCaskill said. “They would like someone else to act for them before they talk about it in the cold light of day.” More »

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton is strongly urging her supporters to back Barack Obama if he wins the Democratic nomination. Polls have demonstrated that many Clinton and Obama supporters have become so firmly entrenched that they'd prefer to vote for John McCain over a Democratic rival. That would be "the height of political foolishness," said Clinton, who vowed to continue to work hard for the Democratic cause regardless of who becomes the nominee. More »

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton will sit down for the first time with Bill O’Reilly tomorrow, the Los Angeles Times reports. After months of a virtual Democratic boycott of Fox News, and days after Barack Obama sat down with Chris Wallace, the former first lady will face the network’s most famous anchor in an interview to air tomorrow and Thursday on The O’Reilly Factor . More »

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton has joined John McCain's call for a summer holiday from the federal gasoline tax, but Barack Obama says the move will hurt more than it helps, the New York Times reports. Clinton says she’d pay for it with a windfall-profits tax on the oil companies. “Middle-class families are paying too much and oil companies aren’t paying their fair share,” Clinton said. More »

(Newser) - With an assist from a pesky, unforgiving press, Bill Clinton has turned into a faux pas machine—making him seem more a liability than an asset for his wife. But the former president is in truth the most convincing person on the campaign trail, and is animated by a deep-seated anger at Barack Obama’s attacks on the Clinton legacy, Ryan Lizza writes in the New Yorker . More »