The Feb. 5th strategy is idiotic.  She's probably behind Obama significantly in cash on hand today and will be substantially farther behind within days.  Every win he gets will increase the money advantage.

Clinton's plan completely goes out the window if Obama decides to lay down the money right now in a massive national ad buy, running up his national lead over her.  If he gets to define himself first before her negatives start running, she's finished.  All he has to do is remind voters of her desperation.

And imagine what it will be like for Hillary when the people making the attack responses for Obama are Al Gore, John Kerry and all the national politicians angling to be his Veep?  Not so much fun being the outsider with an insider message, is it Hillary?

This is why I do not contribute to big money campaigns. Why should we donate our hard earned money when we got professionals billing outrageous amounts? Hillary supposedly has been clamping down on consultant fees and still they ran through so much money? Campaigns have become out of hand. I do not believe in public financing. Maybe a cap on spending?

If other candidates can function on $20M total, I do not see why Hillary will give up on some states. They already have put down fixed costs with an infrastructure. So what if they cut downh on the incremental costs needed for future states. They have enough contacts and power to spread the word to a sufficient extent. I see this as news for the sake of news.

At this point, the words "loser" and "Hillary" pretty much mean the same thing, right?

UNDIES SIDED!

Funny name.

Yeah, Clinton won't bail at these.  I think she has an outside shot at SC anyway....

Ann Lewis denied is on MSNBC.

Clinton's African-American support "might" start to flip to Obama? Aren't we already seeing that happen? Isn't that going to happen regardless of whether or not she fights in South Carolina? The truly suicidal strategy would be for the Clintons to keep up the virulent anti-Obama rhetoric after he becomes the prohibitive favorite from the Democratic nomination tonight. Bill's practically writing anti-Obama attack ads for the GOP at every damn stump speech.

Well, I'm not sure competing in NV makes much sense if this endorsement for Obama happens.  As far as SC goes, I suspect she will compete there  but will perhaps allocate less funds as part of that effort as she preps for the 19 Feb 5 contests.  

I really would be curios to know how each of the campaigns are doing in terms of COH.  These "Clinton is low on $" stories are good, from my perspective, but $20 million is still plenty.  Besides, by all accounts Obama spent more on Iowa than Hillary -- so unless he's seen an influx of money lately he could be running low as well.  

That will look awful, especially given the fact of the Dem debate in Las Vegas a week from now:
http://www.nvdems.com/go/homepage-rotate nevada-to-host-democratic-presidential- debate-january-15th

Will she ignore the state, fly in for the debate, and then bail again?

Or will she skip the debate, giving the impression on stage that she's dropped out. (No, she won't skip.)

She has no good options.

Edsall knows absolutely nothing about what's going on in the Clinton camp.

Yes, but shouldn't that apply to Clinton and her insults of Obama too?  If she supports the formation of a 527 committee called Anyone But Obama, do you think we should gleefully support her election should she pull this one out?

I think Obama would gladly take a no-more-negatives pledge today.

Today, I actually read an article about Hollywood celebrities and politics.

ON desks all over Hollywood, there's a note this morning waiting to be sent:

Memo to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: We think you're aces. Really. And we love your husband. But we're running off with Sen. Barack Obama. Hope you understand. It's all about being part of history. We'll do lunch after the inauguration.

The article went on about how celebrities who were definitely in the Clinton camp are now wavering.  Along with their "resolve" goes their pocketbooks.

"It is not a question of loyalty; Barack is simply too close to making history for Hollywood not to be part of it," Quintana said. "For most of us, Hillary was our first choice, but she has come up short. Barack has become a movement."

I get that they need money to be able to continue on.  I get that need big money.  Last week, when news reports were focusing on the Clinton campaign phone calls to donors, I pretty much ignored it.  Who cares?  Right?  Now, that I have thought about it, this article in the LA Times, kind of puts another nail in her money coffin.  These people aren't exactly known for being mavericks.  If you're not part of a crowd, an 'in-crowd', you're over.  Now I'm very interested in seeing what the Westside looks like, at least as far as yard signs are concerned.

I agree with you completely that non-Hillary supporters have been unfair in their treatment of Hillary...but her supporters have been as virulent, inane, and petty. It takes respect to get respect and it hasn't been shown by either side in this argument.

As for 1/3 of the Democratic party sitting out due to this treatment...it won't happen. This is THEIR chance to undo the damage the Bush adiministration has done too and they aren't going to sit it out because they feel slighted... in fact let me go one step further- any who do sit it out because they feel slighted aren't Democrats anyway and the Republicans can have them as far as I am concerned.

...and still think that the public and the press will take you seriously?

I don't get how that makes you more competitive and more electable.

The problem for her is that despite all those gaudy poll #s, she doesn't have that much of an actual ground-level organization here in NV.

She has a lot of electeds backing her but relatively few who have any grassroots supporters that could help at the precinct level.

Mostly she has the support of a lot of older women who are enthusiastic but won't make good soldiers at the precinct caucuses. Her big precinct captain training here a few weeks ago, widely reported on in the press, was really a pep rally for 600 supporters and not a strategy training. IN short, she has been running a primary style campaign here rather than a caucus campaign.

She's only this week getting ground reinforcements from NOW; sthe state AFSCME has not been mobilizing for her, and we don't have AFT here, we have an NEA affiliate that has stayed neutral.

Obviously Obama (whose ground game here has been overrated in the press) will become the overwhelming favorite once he picks up the Culinary endorsement later this week. And he does have some good, grass-roots based supporters among his top leaders (Horsford, Leslie) and they have been canvassing diligently (mostly with out of state volunteers).

But I hope that I'm not just drinking my own side's kool-aid that Edwards has done the best to actually organize at the precinct level, in hopes of a big wave after Iowa (including the coveted union endorsements we now won't get). He's bringing in a large part of his Iowa staff and the support of the volunteer base of union members, enviro activists and other progressives has not flagged (many feel energized by the demise of the Clinton machine).

I still think Edwards, and even Richardson, are in better shape to pick up soft support if Clinton does't campaign hard here but her allies do attack Obama in the media, as Edsall also reports.

I think that combination of a non-campaign on the ground and a negative campaign in the air could actually push her down to third or even fourth here, in a state that she was once picked to win going away.

A few taunts on a website isn't going to do anything to depress Clinton's supporters from coming out...

The funny thing about this thread ... and basically every thread on MyDD ... is that there are all these heated discussions about three candidates who have basically no major policy differences.  This isn't the 68 race where Democrats fought brutally over Vietnam or 80 where Kennedy tried to use New Deal muscle to take down a sitting President.  This is a dispute about style and personality.

Everyone needs to relax.  Given the massive Dem turnout we're seeing, we're 10 months away from a landslide Democratic election.  A year from now, none of us will give a crap which one we chose.