Clinton’s Message, and Moment, Won the Day
By PATRICK HEALY
Published: January 10, 2008
At first, the moment seemed like a disaster: The televised images of the teary-eyed exchange Hillary Rodham Clinton had with a New Hampshire voter about the rigors of the campaign caused her advisers to express fears that it would badly undercut her message of strength and experience.
It turned out to play phenomenally well, one of several turning points during Mrs. Clinton’s five-day sprint in New Hampshire after the Iowa caucuses that transformed the dynamic of her race against Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Women, in particular, responded: Several said they chose to vote for Mrs. Clinton at the last moment because she had shown a human side of herself that they had never seen.
Based on interviews with a dozen New Hampshire voters, a review of surveys of voters leaving the polls, and revelations from Clinton advisers about their own surveys there, it is clear that Mrs. Clinton’s remarkable turnaround after her loss to Mr. Obama in Iowa occurred because of several key moments — some planned, some not.
She also won support by sharpening her message of experience into concrete terms, casting herself as a doer competing against Mr. Obama’s image as an eloquent talker.
And Mrs. Clinton’s performance in a televised debate on Saturday drew some very positive reviews from voters — especially her reply to the question of why many voters did not find her likable.
“Well, that hurts my feelings,” she said, “but I’ll try to go on. I don’t think I’m that bad.”
Mr. Obama, who had been trading attacks with Mrs. Clinton in the debate, followed her comment by saying, “You’re likable enough, Hillary” — a remark that some voters said was less than gracious.
In an interview on NBC’s “Today” show on Wednesday morning, Mrs. Clinton cited the Saturday debate as the turning point for her candidacy in New Hampshire.
“It was the first time that the leading candidates actually were asked some very pointed questions about what we stand for, what we’ve done to help other people, what our accomplishments are and what we want to do for the future,” she said.
Reporting was contributed by Marjorie Connelly, Ashley Parker, Yardena Schwartz, Sarah Wheaton and Jeff Zeleny.
Excerpts from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/us...linton.html?hp