Clinton Camp Pre-Spinning Possible Bad News in Iowa

By RICK KLEIN

As the presidential candidates engage in furious pre-caucus spin, one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's most prominent Iowa supporters said Wednesday that she's already accomplished what she needs to in Iowa, and can declare success even if she finishes in third place.

Former governor Tom Vilsack, D-Iowa, told ABC News that Clinton has already accomplished what she came to Iowa to do: Show that she can appeal to a wide swath of Democrats.

"She has done what she needed to do here," Vilsack said shortly before a Clinton campaign event in Indianola. "When she started the process she was way behind -- it's now by all standards a competitive race."

Asked if the order of finish matters, Vilsack deflected the question.

"She absolutely had to be competitive and she's accomplished that," he said. "Obviously everybody's interested in winning, and I think we're going to do well. It's tight. There's no question about that."

Vilsack's comments stand in marked contrast to optimistic predictions he has made in the past, including in May, when he endorsed Clinton's candidacy.

In May, Vilsack was quoted in the Washington Post, saying, "There's no question she's playing in Iowa and playing to win,' said former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, who dropped out of the presidential race earlier this year and endorsed Clinton."


Much more at link-
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=4076176&page=1

Iowa is merely a beauty contest regardless of whomever wins.

No one in the Hillary camp ever believed or said that Iowa would be a cakewalk.

I musta been dreaming that.

whodathunk?

Show me where someone in the Hillary camp has ever claimed that winning Iowa was inevitable.

LOL

Or are baseless assertions what "your debate has devolved to"?

:)

What delegates she loses in Iowa she can make up somewhere else.

http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/state-polls.html

i wonder what their internals look like?

Now it is 30%.

If she doesn't come in 1st, that will be a pretty big deal considering the "inevitability" that so many where touting a few short months ago.

Iowa is nothing more than a beauty contest.

it's a good test of a campaigns staff and the candidates appeal to the voters.

But I agree that 2/5 will be the real battle.

But just watch. After Thursday when the DU manages to get back on line after all the shit flying, supporters will be pointing fingers all over the place.

It will be like watching a bunch of kids in a sandbox.

Shows how bad intrade can be at predicting things, huh? I have made a lot of money off of suckers there.

Iowa is a joke in regards to delegates.

who believes them, except the other Obama supporters.

you might have to be a monty python fan to get it.

:)

expects the Spanish Inquisiton".

The reason HRC and Obama get bashed is because they are on top right now. They are in direct competition with other peoples favorite candidate. If Dodd and Richardson were in the top two then everyone would spew hatred for them instead.