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Clinton Staffers Walk the Line Between Pessimism and Genius

  • 4/9/08 at 6:10 PM
Clinton

Photo: Getty Images

Here's a Clintonian conundrum. How do you set low expectations for a state as important as Pennsylvania, while still maintaining a lead in the polls? Hillary does better in states where voters see her as an underdog — once they hear her campaign managing expectations, she always does better than expected. It worked very well in Texas and New Hampshire, and even if it does go awry, hey, our expectations have already been managed. But the problem is, Hill's still in the lead in Pennsylvania — even if it's slipping. So what to do? Give a statement like this one, from a Pennsylvania surrogate:
"The fact that we still maintain a lead after Sen. Obama spent six days here and got the backing of [Pennsylvania] Senator Casey, and in light of being outspent, I think it is remarkable that we still maintain a lead," said T.J. Rooney, the state's Democratic Party chairman. "We don't think we have any weaknesses in this state. It has been said before and it bears repeating: we are being outspent financially."

Get it? They're losing even though they are winning! Genius. Sometimes the truth can be a campaign strategy.

Clinton Camp: It's A Miracle We're Not Behind In Pennsylvania [HuffPo]

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