A Rake’s Progress

Bill Shaheen has quit as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s New Hampshire campaign.

In a statement first obtained by UnionLeader.com, Shaheen said, “I would like to reiterate that I deeply regret my comments yesterday and say again that they were in no way authorized by Senator Clinton or the Clinton campaign. Senator Clinton has been running a positive campaign focused on the issues that matter to America’s families. She is the best qualified to be the next President of the United States because she can lead starting on day one. I made a mistake and in light of what happened, I have made the personal decision that I will step down as the Co-Chair of the Hillary for President campaign. This election is too important and we must all get back to electing the best qualified candidate who has the record of making change happen in this country. That candidate is Hillary Clinton.”

Click here for the complete Union Leader story.

Am I sorry to see Shaheen go? No.

Are I still concerned about the leadership of Hillary’s campaign in New Hampshire? Darn right!

From what I can tell, right now there is no leadership. And if Hillary herself pressured Shaheen to resign over his Obama comments, she made a bad decision unless her intention is to appoint someone who has the energy, enthusiasm, and competitiveness that it takes to win this state.

Shaheen had none of those characteristics and the campaign suffered as a result.

 On October 2 I wrote a commentary warning the Clinton campaign not to take the Granite State for granted. They had just gotten two pieces of great news — an increase in their lead in New Hampshire over Obama, and a better-than-expected fund-raising result from the prior period.

The commentary was picked up by the Reuters News Service. I sent a copy to Clinton Campaign HQ in Manchester. Evidently, no one read it or believed it enough to change their strategy. So they did exactly what they were warned not to do. In two months, Hillary’s campaign –primarily her paid staffers and political surrogates — blew a 20 point lead.

I think they can come back. They just have to wake up, speak up like Shaheen did the other day, and act out — act out of passion for Hillary Clinton’s candidacy and the future of this country. Nominating Obama is the way to ensure another four years of GOP mismanagement in the White House. He is NOT ELECTABLE.

For those of us who remember McGovern, the lesson is clear: the way to make change is from within. The way to the White House is down a middle road, not some side road at the extremes. That’s where Obama wants to take the Democrats. And that’s the one road the Republicans would love to see us travel.

For those of you who are interested, here’s the original commentary, “Hillary Can’t Take the Granite State for Granted.” 

The news for Hillary Clinton’s New Hampshire campaign can’t get much better.

In recent weeks, polls in the Granite State have shown her in impressive leads over Obama and Edwards. Today, we’ve learned that her overall campaign fund-raising far exceeded expectations. More to the point, they far exceeded Obama’s fund-raising during the same period.

Hillary’s campaign was quick to boast about her dual front-runner status in an email to supporters.

This is my eighth presidential primary as a New Hampshire voter. The first one I remember hanging out at the old Concord Highway Hotel and watching Jesse Jackson and Jack Germond sharing an adult beverage in the hotel bar.

What I also remember watching during the past 32 years has been the contrariness of New Hampshire voters, and how quickly they turn on front-runners. As a group, we tend to take pity on underdogs and lash back at the winners who think they have things “locked up.”

My advice to Hillary and her campaign: don’t act like the winner, not around here, and certainly not yet. Front-runner status in New Hampshire is the kiss of death.

The political highway from New Hampshire down to the border we share with that Big Blue State below us is littered with the aspirations of presidential wannabes who left here thinking they had us all figured out.

Earlier today, Obama campaign surrogates in New Hampshire — Ned Helms and Martha Fuller Clark — “decried” Bill Shaheen’s comments that Obama’s past drug use would be a liability in a general election.

I am sorry to hear that Shaheen apologized. First, what he said is true. Obama’s marijuana and cocaine use is a liability and Democrats need to think twice about nominating someone who will become a poster child for “drugged out liberals.” Worse, he has utterly failed to show any moral leadership on this issue when discussing drugs and alcohol abuse with kids.

Second, I have been getting calls here at home in New Hampshire from the Obama campaign. In conversation about their main opponent, they do not hesitate to smear Hillary Clinton and lie about her record as Senator and First Lady.

The last call attacked her leadership skills based on the health care reform efforts back in the early 1990s. Health care reform failed, he said, because of Hillary’s mismanagement of the project. I had to remind the Obama worker that it was the well-financed efforts of the health care lobby and the dirty tricks of Republicans like Bob Dole and Phil Gramm that killed health care reform. It was not Hillary’s lack of leadership.

Here are a few “realities” about health care reform that Obama supporters should know about:

Hillary Clinton’s Health Care Reform, Part Two
Who Killed Hillary Clinton’s Health Care Reform?

Obama and his people want to take a “holier than thou” stance in this campaign, but the Senator and his campaign are flawed, vulnerable, and not above playing their own dirty tricks.

Nominating Obama would be like handing the GOP the Presidency on a silver platter.

Bill Shaheen: you did the right thing! And we need more truth-telling about Obama.

It’s been a long time coming.

For months, Hillary Clinton’s surrogates in New Hampshire have been sitting — no, make that standing– on their hands while their candidate took one slap in the face after another from Obama and Edwards. And they did nothing to rise to her defense.

A year ago, when they first signed on to the campaign, they expected a joy ride on Hillary’s back from the Granite State right into the White House. It looked that way, too. They were on cruise control, dreaming of ambassadorships and White House appointments.

The two Shaheens — Bill and Jeanne — have been quieter than church mice. I follow the local press and they have been AWOL. Dick Swett, Katrina Swett — I think they both passed away or moved to Vermont. Again, two so-called Clinton supporters AWOL.

There are dozens of New Hampshire state reps and senators, all of whom must have started an early winter hibernation because I have not heard from them, either.  They have been totally remiss in their support and defense of candidate Hillary. The one exception has been Kathleen Sgambati. At a recent Clinton campaign visit to Gilford, Sgambati was there to introduce the candidate. It was a rather tepid introduction, but at least Sgambati was there.

So, the months have passed while the Idle stood idle, and Hillary’s lead has dwindled from some twenty plus points to a statistical dead heat.

But today, speech after long silence. . . 

In an interview with the Washington Post, Bill Shaheen mentioned, tentatively, that Barack Obama might have a drug issue that the Other Party might exploit. Thank you, Bill Shaheen, for raising an issue that has been on the minds of many of us for more than a few months.

I understand that you and Jeanne had dinner with Senator Clinton over Labor Day. At the time you were probably looking forward to future dinners with Hillary at the White House — just you, the future Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Madame President, and First Husband, Bill.

It might not be too late to make that dream a reality.

Losing New Hampshire does not mean an end to Hillary’s campaign, but it all gets tougher once she leaves here. But to not lose means you have to work to win. I know that sounds like more than you bargain for. You and the rest of Hillary’s friends need to do a little heavy lifting for the next few weeks.

Fancy titles will not get the job done. Speaking out for her will. Educating your fellow Democrats about her strengths and the weaknesses of Obama and Edwards will. Being an example to the rest of us non-famous Democrats who need to get out the vote, make phone calls, stand in the snow holding “Vote for Hillary!” signs — that will help, too.

If Hillary loses New Hampshire, I will never blame her. She has not let me down. She’s been a great candidate. 

Don’t let the blame fall on your shoulders, either.

Barack Obama’s history of marijuana and cocaine use offers a potent attack point for Republicans if he ever becomes the Democratic nominee for president.

Although the Obama campaign wants to dismiss the subject as a Clinton campaign tactic, Bill Shaheen, Hillary’s New Hampshire campaign chair, was right to point out Obama’s vulnerability on this issue.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Shaheen warned of the potential political consequences of Obama’s past drug use:

“The Republicans are not going to give up without a fight … and one of the things they’re certainly going to jump on is his drug use,” said Shaheen, the husband of former N.H. governor Jeanne Shaheen, who is planning to run for the Senate next year. Billy Shaheen contrasted Obama’s openness about his past drug use — which Obama mentioned again at a recent campaign appearance in New Hampshire — with the approach taken by George W. Bush in 1999 and 2000, when he ruled out questions about his behavior when he was “young and irresponsible.”

Shaheen said Obama’s candor on the subject would “open the door” to further questions. “It’ll be, ‘When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?’” Shaheen said. “There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It’s hard to overcome.”

As I commented in a recent posting, Obama’s non-response to questions about drugs at a Manchester, NH, high school visit makes me question his moral leadership. Although he again discussed his own past drug use, he had nothing to say to students about the perils of drugs or the options they have if they need help overcoming alcohol or drug addiction. To me, the visit was an opportunity to offer students some important guidance on the issue; instead, Obama passed.

More on Shaheen’s comments can be found at the New York Times.