Prominent Clinton supporter criticizes Iowa

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (CNN) – Just days before the Iowa caucuses, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter criticized the state’s privileged role in the presidential nominating process, forcing her campaign to declare that she did not agree with the assessment. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland was quoted in Sunday’s edition of The Columbus Dispatch as saying that it “makes no sense” to grant Iowa the right to hold the first contest of the 2008 race for the White House. "I'd like to see both parties say, 'We're going to bring this to an end,'" Strickland told the newspaper. Competing campaigns seized on the article and emailed it around to reporters to highlight Strickland’s comments late Sunday night. The Clinton campaign moved quickly, and issued a statement shortly after midnight distancing the New York senator from the governor’s remarks. “Senator Clinton has worked her heart out campaigning in Iowa because she knows it plays a unique and special role in the nominating process and that process must be protected,” read the statement. “As she has said many times she is glad Iowans are entrusted with this responsibility because they take it so seriously. On this issue Hillary and Gov. Strickland strongly disagree.” Strickland’s comments came on the same day that WHO TV reporter Dave Price reported that Clinton’s Midwest co-chair Jerry Crawford told him that she would “not be here caucus night.” Price said in the report posted at http://whoiapolitics.blogspot.com/ that Crawford told him it was because she "needs to get to New Hampshire." Asked at an event Sunday night in Cedar Rapids if she planned on spending the night of January 3 in Iowa, Clinton first laughed and then told CNN, "I'm just trying to get through each day here." Pressed to clarify that remark, Clinton said "I've got to figure out what I'm doing." Clinton spokesman Jay Carson firmly denied any notion that Clinton planned on leaving the state early, calling it "totally and absolutely wrong." "She is staying in Iowa until after caucus returns come back, and won't leave until late, late, late that night," Carson added. And in an interview with CNN, Crawford denied making the statement to Price. "There's no way I could have [said] she wouldn't be here, because I never even heard it discussed at the time," he said. Instead, Crawford said Price asked him something along the lines of where the senator might be on caucus night, and he answered by saying he "wasn't sure who'd be in Iowa and who'd be in New Hampshire."

In true Clinton format, Hillary doesn't get her way, so denounce the source, criticize the opponent, destroy the competition.  In this case, she now is denouncing a format that has existed in politics for hundreds of years to suit her needs. This is what's wrong with Hillary. More of the same. -- Xavier