Obama’s using the loan incident to bring up HRC’s not releasing her tax returns (from Salon):
On Thursday, Obama himself raised the issue. Without directly suggesting that Clinton should didn’t suggest that Clinton should release her tax returns, he drew a contrast between himself and Clinton on the issue, saying to reporters, “I’ll just say that I’ve released my tax returns. That’s been a policy I’ve maintained consistently. I think the American people deserve to know where you get your income from. But I’ll leave it up to you guys to chase it down.”
But what a candidate can not say, their surrogates can. The Trail, a Washington Post blog, has more direct comments that Bill Burton, Obama’s press secretary, made Friday. “Why should Democratic voters have to wait until after the primary campaign is over to find out important information about Senator Clinton’s finances that Senator Obama has already disclosed?” Burton asked. “For someone who claims to be fully vetted, hiding a campaign loan from voters until after Super Tuesday and refusing to release your tax returns until after the primary doesn’t seem like the best way to prove that there are no surprises for the Republicans to find once they start digging.”
Clinton staffers have said she will release the returns she filed jointly with her husband if she wins the Democratic nomination.
Kevbo
February 9, 2008, 1:55am
62
Bet on it. She and her staffers are slipping the word “establishment” into every reference to Obama. The irony, it burns.
Knorf
February 9, 2008, 2:05am
63
But how many believe it?
To me, it’s so absurd it seems like a joke when she tries to play the underdog card … is anyone buying it?
Billdo:
Actually the last time that this happened last year, when John McCain, now the nominee presumptive with Romney withdrawing, ran out of money, cut his staff, and had some work unpaid. Despite this, he solidered on, and many analysts have stated that running from a position of relative poverty reinvigorated his campaign (no doubt an analysis from strong hindsight).
McCain flew coach to the New Hampshire primary. He needed that win and it saved him. Which primary will save Hillary? She is not expected to win very many of the primaries in the next month. The next big primary she is expected to win is Ohio or Texas in March.
The lack of wins in February might affect her ability to campaign into the Ohio and Texas primary. If Obama closes in on Hillary’s lead in Ohio and Texas then I don’t see how you can stop him. If he can’t then Dean is going to have to come in and try to arbitrate some sort of arrangement.
I had the same reaction as burundi . When I heard about the loan on NPR, she sounded kind of amused about it, in a, “isn’t life crazy?” way. Poor little rich girl: the fact that you’re loaning yourself $5 million does not in any way engender my sympathy, much less my empathy. I can’t even imagine loaning myself ten bucks. Loaning myself more money than my expected lifetime earnings is beyond the pale. The weirdest part for me is that she is talking about the self-loan at all: what on earth does she hope to gain from talking about it?
A month ago, I was pretty evenly split between Clinton and Obama. Pretty much everything either of them does moves me closer to Obama.
Daniel
Maybe she thinks that pity works in her favor.