Campaigning takes toll on Clinton, Obama

CNN: April 24, 2008
Campaigning takes toll on Clinton, Obama


Obama, above, and Clinton often spend 20 hours a day on the campaign trail.

NEW ALBANY, Indiana (AP) — How can they not be tired? Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are undeniably exhausted. They've been campaigning hard for more than a year, and their wall-to-wall schedules won't let up anytime soon. Neither wants to cede ground in their epic struggle for the Democratic nomination. Fatigue, however, breeds unforced errors — and both candidates have made some in the past few weeks....

"Sometimes. Yes, of course," Obama, 46, acknowledged Tuesday when asked whether he was exhausted. The Illinois senator was in the midst of a near 20-hour campaign day. He left his hotel at 6 a.m. for satellite TV interviews in Philadelphia and didn't stop moving until his plane touched down Wednesday in Chicago at 1:30 a.m. Fourteen years his senior, Clinton laughed off a question about how she maintained a grueling schedule. "It's been a 15-month campaign and, if everything had been as much fun as Pennsylvania, it wouldn't feel like 15 years," the 60-year-old said — uncharacteristically showing weariness....

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The next Democratic primaries — Indiana and North Carolina — are May 6, just two weeks away, and the stakes are extraordinary. So, the excruciatingly long days will continue....

The drawn-out race clearly weighs on Obama; he talks about it at every stop. "I've been running for president for about 15 months now, which means that there are babies who are now walking and talking, who were born since I announced for president," he said again Wednesday, campaigning in this Ohio River city. "This has been a long primary season."...He typically started the day at dawn with an early morning stop at a diner and ended with a nighttime rally. Several other events — and numerous interviews with local and national media outlets — were packed in between. To combat exhaustion, Obama catnaps on his plane. Lithe and athletic, he prioritizes daily exercise to keep up his energy. But there are physical signs of the stress; his hair has grown grayer since he began campaigning.

For her part, Clinton is a veteran of her husband's back-to-back White House races and is keenly aware of the toll it takes on body and spirit. She, too, takes short naps on her plane and eats a steady diet of hot peppers, which she believes has helped her stave off illness. But she says she's getting very little exercise. The former first lady goes to great pains to manage and hide her fatigue, mindful of Obama's youth and exuberance. Hair and makeup specialists travel with her to help her look fresh from morning until night....Her schedule is punishing. Clinton usually is up at dawn to prepare for local morning TV and radio interviews, zips to events in far flung cities throughout the day and into the evening, and often doesn't go to bed until after midnight.

In Memphis, Tenn., this month to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Clinton didn't get to her hotel until 5 a.m. after a redeye flight from California. She was onstage before television cameras just 6 hours later.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/24/campaigning-takes-toll-on-clinton-obama/#more-6674