Office of the Independent Blogger

This article, entitled As New Hampshire Dust Settles, New Clinton, Obama Strategies Emerge, raises interesting points, and this was what stood out to me most.

Clinton’s economic policy announcement is a direct outgrowth of the January 8 New Hampshire primary. Clinton’s strategists are convinced that the recent rise in unemployment and the manufacturing slowdown, which voters have been paying growing attention to over the winter, played to her strengths in the Granite State. Aides believe that, combined with a surge of support among women, Clinton’s ‘crying’ incident, and the possible role of race in bringing white voters to the New York senator’s side, they see the makings of a reconfigured strategy to carry the campaign forward.

This approach would emphasize the virtues of her experience and the economic success of Bill Clinton’s two administrations, to undermine Obama’s more abstract message of hope and unity.

Today, Clinton proposed the following economic measures: housing assistance, especially to those threatened by foreclosure; energy assistance to poor and moderate income households; and extended unemployment insurance. This investment in “growing” the economy could, if deemed necessary, be quickly followed by a $40 billion tax rebate for low-income workers which would include cash payments in the form of a refundable tax credit to those whose income is so low that they do not pay taxes.

Of course, a Clinton campaign based on economics might be her best course of action on the highroad and could be especially shrewd if, God forbid, the economy falters in the coming hours (not literally hours) as some are predicting it will, but as it stands it is still a fine decision as the Clintons are known favorably for their economic handling (just or unjust as that reputation may be) and it allows her something concrete and positive to discuss. What’s also interesting in that note is the hint at the racial bias that might be helping Hillary. I imagine it more prevelant in the general election than the Democratic primaries but I’m sure it is there and it is of some significance.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 9:16 pm and is filed under Outside Retort (Current Affairs).