The Clinton’s inevitability for the Democrat Presidential nomination fades as her sense of entitlement is questioned.

Not a good night for the Clinton campaign. Barack Obama has won the Iowa Caucuses with a decisive victory over the supposed front runner, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Hillary was only able to garner 11% of the total votes. The Clinton campaign has rough going for the remainder of this election runoff.

Will Obama be able to hold the lead for the balance of the primaries?

Clinton’s concession sounded strangely as a victory speech:

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, claiming to be unbowed by a third- place finish in the Iowa Democratic caucuses, hailed a “great night for Democrats” and said the strong turnout pointed to the sure election of a Democratic president in November. She said she would “keep pushing as hard as we can.”

But her poor showing here was a searing blow to the former first lady, dissolving her image as her party’s inevitable nominee and setting up a critical five-day race to Tuesday’s leadoff primary in New Hampshire.

Clinton told cheering supporters that she had congratulated caucus winner Sen. Barack Obama and the second-place finisher, former Sen. John Edwards. She promised to take “this enthusiasm and go tonight to New Hampshire.”

“We’re going to keep pushing as hard as we can,” she said, with former President Bill Clinton and their daughter Chelsea at her side. “I am so ready for the rest of this campaign and I am so ready to lead.”

Iowa Democrats delivered a cautionary tale to the New York senator, an established figure on the public stage who is running to be the first woman president.

Caucus goers appeared to reject the central premise of Clinton’s candidacy, favoring Obama’s message of hope and change over her theme of experience and leadership.

More troubling still was her performance among key groups that had been expected to form the core of her support.

Entrance polls in the state showed Obama narrowly beating Clinton among women voters, whom her campaign had expected to turn out in large numbers to support her pioneering quest. She also failed to win a majority of voters who called health care their chief concern, despite her long association with the issue.

Her candidacy also was swamped by a surge of first-time caucus goers who soundly supported Obama. Projections showed a turnout of 230,000 for Democrats, compared to 124,000 who showed up for Democratic caucuses in 2004. The turnout was nearly twice as large as for the Republicans, whose turnout also was up from four years ago.

…

Hopefully this is the end of Hillary’s candidacy.

Andrea Mitchell describes Hillary Clinton’s concession rally on Thursday evening in Iowa:

“This room was, until about five or six minutes ago, completely empty. This is a manufactured ‘celebration.’ It really felt more like a funeral as people started strolling in from upstairs where they had obviously been gathered. This is unlike anything that I’ve ever seen, a completely empty, dirge-like event…”

t/b: Captain’s Quarters, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin

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A restoration of a candidate. The New and improved Hillary. Watch out Barack, she’s on her comeback tour!

A synopsis of her remarks on the talk shows on Monday morning 12/17/2007:

The Old Hillary:

Many of you are well enough off that the tax cuts may have helped you. We’re saying that for America to get back on track, we’re probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”

-Hillary Clinton (At a fund raising speech in San Francisco)

…

The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they’re not.

-Hillary Clinton

…

I’m not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president.

-Hillary Clinton

…

“Come on Bill, put your dick up! You can’t f**k her here!!”

(From the book “Inside The White House” by Ronald Kessler, p. 243 – Hillary to Gov. Clinton when she spots him talking with an attractive female at an Arkansas political rally)

…

F**k off! It’s enough that I have to see you shit-kickers every day, I’m not going to talk to you too!! Just do your G*damn job and keep your mouth shut.”

(From the book “American Evita” by Christopher Anderson, p. 90 – Hillary to her State Trooper bodyguards after one of them greeted her with “Good morning.”

t/b: Hot Air, Michelle Malkin

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Ex-president Bill Clinton appeared on Charlie Rose to explain the problems Mrs. Bill Clinton is experiencing in the Iowa Caucuses. He will be surprised if she wins the caucuses. Hmmm, Hillary is expressing just the opposite. Will the lamps start flying in the Clinton household again?

Hillary Clinton is flying by the seat of her pantsuit. She will forsake her broomstick and fly in the Hill-A-Copter. She will do a 5 day flyover of the 99 Iowa counties in a desperate move to up her favorables and get more votes to win the caucuses.

From the Clinton Campaign website:

The Clinton campaign today announced the “Every County Counts Tour – Working For Change, Working For You,” a five-day, 99-county campaign blitz through Iowa that will start on Sunday, December 16th in Council Bluffs. During the tour, Hillary and her surrogates will mobilize and organize supporters across Iowa, while reaching out to undecided caucus-goers. Hillary Clinton, herself, will campaign in 16 counties in the state in a chopper, called the Hill-A-Copter. Top campaign surrogates, including President Bill Clinton and others, will fan across the state to rally Hillary’s caucus-goers.

“As I have traveled throughout the state, it has been wonderful to see the energy and enthusiasm that people have for this campaign and our shared vision of how we can change America,” said Hillary Clinton. “In the final days before the Iowa Caucuses, I want to tap into that spirit so that every voice is head on caucus night for universal health care, a stronger economy and an end to the war in Iraq.”

…

From the DesMoinesRegister.com:

Hillary Clinton will hop into a chopper dubbed “the Hill-A-Copter” as part of a five-day, 99-county blitz through Iowa on Sunday, according to her campaign.

She intends to visit 16 counties herself, starting in Pottawattamie, Harrison and Plymouth counties on Sunday.

Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, and other top-name supporters will fan out across the other 83 counties, trying to persuade undecided caucus-goers to root for Hillary Clinton, a Democratic U.S. senator from New York.

On Monday, Clinton will hit some of the state’s most populous counties: Polk, Scott and Johnson.

After that, the cities she will visit are: Burlington, Centerville, Clarion, Donnellson, Elkader, Grundy Center, Independence, Osage, Ottumwa, and Tipton.

 

Obama fires back at the Clintons as Bubba misfires:

…Perhaps most telling is the way Obama treats his foremost rival for the Democratic nomination. His references to Clinton are implied — “We can’t poll-test every position we take because we’re worried about what Mitt or Rudy [Giuliani] or our opponents might say about us” — or so dismissive as to be almost patronizing.

In a middle school gym in Oelwein on Friday night, Obama cracked wise about an attack from the Clinton camp that cited a kindergarten essay –”I Want to Become President” — as a sign of his overweening ambition.

“Let me tell you, when I was in kindergarten I didn’t write essays,” Obama said, drawing laughs from the crowd of about 350 people. “I was smart. I could write my name, ‘Barack.’ I could write ‘mom.’ I wasn’t writing essays.”

Winding up a news conference Saturday, Obama was asked how he planned to top Clinton’s intention to skitter across Iowa today by helicopter. He paused. Smiled broadly. “Magic carpet,” he replied.

This whole imbroglio is too delicious. It will be fun to watch the Democrats implode. The Dems are giving the Republicans an early Christmas present.

t/b:Don Surber, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air

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Fred Thompson explains why he refused to raise his hand at the debate in Iowa. Monkeys on the stage reaching for a peanut?

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Carolyn Washburn was a terrible moderator. She reminded me of Nurse Diesel in Mel Brooks movie High Anxiety

The most boring debate ever.

t/b:Outside the Beltway, Stop the ACLU, The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, The Midnight Sun, sTIX bLOG, Shadowscope, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Chuck Adkins, Adeline and Hazel, Pursuing Holiness, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Celebrity Smack, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, Church and State, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, 123beta, guerrilla radio, Adam’s Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, Cao’s Blog, Big Dog’s Weblog, Conservative Cat, nuke’s, Wake Up America, Faultline USA, Allie is Wired, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, CORSARI D’ITALIA, High Desert Wanderer, The Yankee Sailor, OTB Sports Captain’s Quarters, Hot Air, Stop The ACLU, Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Mark My Words, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Right Truth, Shadowscope, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Chuck Adkins, Adeline and Hazel, third world county, , Woman Honor Thyself, DragonLady’s World, Pirate’s Cove, Celebrity Smack, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, Stageleft, Right Voices, Church and State, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, The Random Yak, 123beta, guerrilla radio, Adam’s Blog, Big Dog’s Weblog, The Bullwinkle Blog, Conservative Cat, nuke’s, Wake Up America, Allie is Wired, Faultline USA, The World According to Carl, , Blue Star Chronicles, Republican National Convention Blog, CORSARI D’ITALIA, High Desert Wanderer, OTB Sports, and The Yankee Sailor

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