Hillary Clinton Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==2008 presidential campaign== {{Main|Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign|Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential primary campaign}} Clinton had been preparing for a potential candidacy for U.S. president since at least early 2003.{{sfn|Bernstein|2007|pp=550–52}} On January 20, 2007, she announced via her website the formation of a presidential [[exploratory committee]] for the [[2008 United States presidential election|United States presidential election of 2008]], stating: "I'm in and I'm in to win."{{sfn|Gerth|Van Natta|2007|p=5}} No woman had ever been nominated by a major party for the presidency, and no first lady had ever run for president. When Bill Clinton became president in 1993, a [[blind trust]] was established; in April 2007, the Clintons liquidated the blind trust to avoid the possibility of ethical conflicts or political embarrassments as Hillary undertook her presidential race. Later disclosure statements revealed the couple's worth was now upwards of $50 million.<ref name="msn090407">{{Cite news |title=Hillary Clinton: Midas touch at work |url=http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/MutualFunds/HillaryClintonMidasTouchAtWork.aspx?page=1 |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |author=Middleton, Tim |date=September 4, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080129065550/http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/MutualFunds/HillaryClintonMidasTouchAtWork.aspx?page=1 |archive-date=January 29, 2008}}</ref> They had earned over $100 million since 2000—most of it coming from Bill's books, speaking engagements and other activities.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7331834.stm |title=Clintons' earnings exceed $100m |work=[[BBC News]] |date=April 5, 2008}}</ref> [[File:Hillary Clinton Speaks to College Democrats.jpg|left|thumb|alt=Photograph of Clinton speaking at a lectern to the College Democrats|Clinton at the 2007 CDA National Convention]] Throughout the first half of 2007, Clinton led candidates competing for the Democratic presidential nomination in [[Nationwide opinion polling for the Democratic Party 2008 presidential primaries|opinion polls for the election]]. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and former senator [[John Edwards]] of North Carolina were her strongest competitors.<ref name="balz-76"/> The biggest threat to her campaign was her past support of the Iraq War, which Obama had opposed from the beginning.<ref name="balz-76"/> Clinton and Obama both set records for early fundraising, swapping the money lead each quarter.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/02/campaign.cash/ |title=Clinton outpaces Obama in fundraising for third quarter |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=October 2, 2007}}</ref> At the end of October, Clinton fared [[Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential primary campaign#Debate performance in Philadelphia|poorly in her debate performance]] against Obama, Edwards, and her other opponents.{{Sfn|Balz|Johnson|2009|pp=95–99}}<ref>Heilemann and Halperin 2010, pp. 145–49.</ref> Obama's message of change began to resonate with the Democratic electorate better than Clinton's message of experience.<ref name="time5mis"/> In the first vote of 2008, she placed third in the January{{nbsp}}3 [[Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2008|Iowa Democratic caucus]] behind Obama and Edwards.<ref>Kornblut 2009, p. 57.</ref> Obama gained ground in national polling in the next few days, with all polls predicting a victory for him in the [[2008 New Hampshire Democratic primary|New Hampshire primary]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/nh/new_hampshire_democratic_primary-194.html |title=New Hampshire Democratic Primary |publisher=[[RealClearPolitics]] |date=January 8, 2008 |access-date=January 9, 2008}}</ref> Clinton gained a surprise win there on January 8, narrowly defeating Obama.<ref>Heilemann and Halperin 2010, pp. 186–90.</ref> It was the first time a woman had won a major American party's presidential primary for the purposes of delegate selection.<ref name="cawp-firsts">{{cite web |url=http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/resources/Firsts.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216234346/http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/resources/Firsts.php |archive-date=December 16, 2014 |title=Firsts for Women in U.S. Politics |publisher=[[Center for American Women and Politics]] |access-date=August 18, 2014}} Also [https://web.archive.org/web/20090430130147/http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/elections/preswatch_clinton.php "The 2008 Presidential Campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton"] from them. See [[Shirley Chisholm#1972 presidential campaign]] for the previous marks for best performance by a major-party woman presidential candidate.</ref> Explanations for Clinton's New Hampshire comeback varied but often centered on her being seen more sympathetically, especially by women, after her eyes welled with tears and her voice broke while responding to a voter's question the day before the election.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://articles.latimes.com/2008/jan/10/nation/na-newhamp10 |title=Clinton had voters' sympathy – and a message they liked |author1=Decker, Cathleen |author2=Barabak, Mark Z. |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=January 10, 2008}}</ref> The nature of the contest fractured in the next few days. Several remarks by Bill Clinton and other surrogates,<ref name="cbs012608">{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/analysis-bill-clintons-lost-legacy/ |title=Analysis: Bill Clinton's Lost Legacy |author=Ververs, Vaughn |work=[[CBS News]] |date=January 26, 2008}}</ref> and a remark by Hillary Clinton concerning Martin Luther King Jr. and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]],{{efn|When asked for her reaction to an Obama remark about the possibility that his campaign represented false hope, Clinton responded: "I would point to the fact that Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when he was able to get through Congress something that President Kennedy was hopeful to do, the President before had not even tried, but it took a president to get it done. That dream became a reality, the power of that dream became real in people's lives because we had a president who said we are going to do it, and actually got it accomplished."<ref name="nyt-tamp"/>}} were perceived by many as, accidentally or intentionally, limiting Obama as a racially oriented candidate or otherwise denying the post-racial significance and accomplishments of his campaign.<ref name="nyt-tamp">{{Cite news |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/bill-clinton-tries-to-tamp-down-fairy-tale-remark-about-obama/ |title=Bill Clinton Tries to Tamp Down 'Fairy-Tale' Remark About Obama |last1=Hulse |first1=Carl |last2=Healy |first2=Patrick |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 11, 2008}}</ref> Despite attempts by both Hillary and Obama to downplay the issue, Democratic voting became more polarized as a result, with Clinton losing much of her support among African Americans.<ref name="cbs012608"/><ref name="balz-165">{{harvnb|Balz|Johnson|2009|pp=163–66}}</ref> She lost by a two-to-one margin to Obama in the January 26, [[2008 South Carolina Democratic primary|South Carolina primary]],<ref name="balz-165"/> setting up, with Edwards soon dropping out, an intense two-person contest for the twenty-two February{{nbsp}}5 [[Super Tuesday, 2008|Super Tuesday]] states. The South Carolina campaign had done lasting damage to Clinton, eroding her support among the Democratic establishment and leading to the prized endorsement of Obama by Ted Kennedy.{{Sfn|Balz|Johnson|2009|pp=56, 173–78}} On Super Tuesday, Clinton won the largest states, such as [[2008 California Democratic primary|California]], [[2008 New York Democratic primary|New York]], [[2008 New Jersey Democratic primary|New Jersey]] and [[2008 United States presidential election in Massachusetts|Massachusetts]], while Obama won more states;{{Sfn|Balz|Johnson|2009|pp=188–89}} they almost evenly split the total popular vote.<ref>Heilemann and Halperin 2010, p. 223.</ref> But Obama was gaining more [[pledged delegate]]s for his share of the popular vote due to better exploitation of the Democratic proportional allocation rules.<ref name="sizemore">{{Cite news |url=http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/jms2008060501/ |title=How Obama Did It |author=Sizemore, Justin M. |publisher=[[University of Virginia Center for Politics|Center for Politics at the University of Virginia]] |date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> The Clinton campaign had counted on winning the nomination by Super Tuesday and was unprepared financially and logistically for a prolonged effort; lagging in Internet fundraising as Clinton began loaning money to her campaign.<ref name="time5mis">{{Cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1738496,00.html |title=The Five Mistakes Clinton Made |author=Tumulty, Karen |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=May 8, 2008}}</ref><ref name="nyt-recon"/> There was continuous turmoil within the campaign staff, and she made several top-level personnel changes.<ref name="nyt-recon"/>{{Sfn|Balz|Johnson|2009|pp=148–54, 190–92}} Obama won the next eleven February contests across the country, often by large margins and took a significant pledged delegate lead over Clinton.<ref name="sizemore"/><ref name="nyt-recon">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/us/politics/08recon.html |title=The Long Road to a Clinton Exit |author1=Baker, Peter |author2=Rutenberg, Jim |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 8, 2008}}</ref> On March 4, Clinton broke the string of losses by winning in [[2008 Ohio Democratic primary|Ohio]] among other places,<ref name="nyt-recon"/> where her criticism of NAFTA, a major legacy of her husband's presidency, helped in a state where the trade agreement was unpopular.{{Sfn|Balz|Johnson|2009|p=196}} Throughout the campaign, Obama dominated [[Caucus#In the United States|caucuses]], for which the Clinton campaign largely ignored and failed to prepare.<ref name="time5mis"/><ref name="sizemore"/> Obama did well in primaries where African Americans or younger, college-educated, or more affluent voters were heavily represented; Clinton did well in primaries where Hispanics or older, non-college-educated, or working-class white voters predominated.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/03/18/pennsylvania-pitch-can-obama-connect-with-lower-income-whites/ |title=Pennsylvania Pitch: Can Obama Connect With Lower-Income Whites? |author=Phillips, Matt |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=March 18, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/us/politics/22age.html |title=In Clinton vs. Obama, Age Is a Great Predictor |author=Seelye, Katherine Q. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 22, 2008}}</ref> Behind in delegates, Clinton's best hope of winning the nomination came in persuading uncommitted, party-appointed [[superdelegate]]s.<ref name="balz-217">{{harvnb|Balz|Johnson|2009|pp=216–17}}</ref> [[File:Hillary Rodham Clinton DNC 2008.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Clinton speaking on behalf of Barack Obama before a convention audience during the second night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. Multiple audience members in the foreground wave white flags with the word "Hillary" written in marker.|Clinton speaks on behalf of her former rival, Barack Obama, during the second night of the [[2008 Democratic National Convention]].]] Following the final primaries on June 3, 2008, Obama had gained enough delegates to become the [[presumptive nominee]].<ref>Heilemann and Halperin 2010, p. 258.</ref> In a speech before her supporters on June 7, Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama.{{sfn|Allen|Parnes|2014|pp=25, 30}} By campaign's end, Clinton had won 1,640 pledged delegates to Obama's 1,763;<ref name="cnn-end">{{Cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/scorecard/#D |title=Election Center 2008: Delegate Scorecard |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=June 4, 2008 |access-date=July 6, 2008}}</ref> at the time of the clinching, Clinton had 286 superdelegates to Obama's 395,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/election_stats.php |title=The Final Math |author=Kleefeld, Eric |publisher=[[Talking Points Memo]] |date=June 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080701201010/http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/election_stats.php |archive-date=July 1, 2008}}</ref> with those numbers widening to 256 versus 438 once Obama was acknowledged the winner.<ref name="cnn-end"/> Clinton and Obama each received over 17 million votes during the nomination process{{efn|{{cite web |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_vote_count.html |title=2008 Democratic Popular Vote |publisher=[[RealClearPolitics]] |access-date=July 8, 2008}} The popular vote count for a nomination process is unofficial, and meaningless in determining the nominee. It is difficult to come up with precise totals due to some caucus states not reporting popular vote totals and thus having to be estimated. It is also difficult to compare Clinton and Obama's totals, due to only her name having been on the ballot in the Michigan primary.<ref name="balz-217"/>}} with both breaking the previous record.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/eye-on-2008/clinton-puts-up-popular-vote-a.html |title=Clinton Puts Up Popular Vote Ad |author=Cillizza, Chris |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=June 1, 2008}}</ref> Clinton was the first woman to run in the primary or caucus of every state and she eclipsed, by a very wide margin, Congresswoman [[Shirley Chisholm]]'s [[Shirley Chisholm#1972 presidential campaign|1972 marks]] for most votes garnered and delegates won by a woman.<ref name="cawp-firsts"/> Clinton gave a passionate speech supporting Obama at the [[2008 Democratic National Convention]] and campaigned frequently for him in fall 2008, which concluded with his victory over McCain in the general election on November 4.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/us/politics/23hillary.html |title=Clinton-Obama Détente: From Top Rival to Top Aide |author=Bumiller, Elisabeth |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 22, 2008}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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