Clinton says N.H. stories keep her 'fired up' in run
Hillary hearts New Hampshire.
Not surprising since it's the first primary state, but Senator Hillary Clinton stressed her affection for the Granite State, where she and husband Bill will hold rallies in Concord and Portsmouth on Sunday to kick off the fall campaign.
In 1992, it was New Hampshire where Bill Clinton, then an underdog, became the "Comeback Kid" and eventually won the presidency.
Today, Hillary Clinton is leading recent polls in the state, but she said it's the stories she has heard on her 13 campaign visits that keep her "fired up" about running: a woman whose daughter had to stay in college while she was dying of cancer in order to keep her health insurance, a family being evicted from their home amid the mortgage crisis, and sick children she met who might benefit from stem cell research.
"I have seen the need for change in a very real and personal way," she said in a telephone interview. "Their stories will be front and center in my White House."
DiMasi joins Clinton camp
Senator Hillary Clinton pocketed a big-name Massachusetts endorsement yesterday, announcing that House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi is supporting her presidential bid.
"It's time to restore strong, competent leadership to the White House, and Hillary Clinton is ready to do the job from her first day in office," DiMasi said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Clinton won the endorsement of DiMasi's counterpart in the Massachusetts Senate, Therese Murray.
Clinton and Senator Barack Obama, in particular, have been jockeying for the backing of prominent Massachusetts Democrats, hoping they can boost their campaigns in New Hampshire, which is to hold the first primary.
Labor picks announced
The big labor endorsement scorecard now stands at two for Hillary Clinton, one for John Edwards, and one for Chris Dodd.
Edwards yesterday announced he is being backed by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, with more than 520,000 members. The formal endorsement will be made at a rally of union members Sept. 8 in New Hampshire.
Also yesterday, the Clinton campaign announced the support of the 700,000-plus member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which also endorsed Mike Huckabee in the Republican presidential primary. Earlier this week, she announced the support of the 125,000-member United Transportation Union.
Dodd, a senator from Connecticut, picked up the endorsement of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a 280,000-strong group that helped Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry win the Democratic nomination in 2004.
Michigan makes a stand
LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Legislature yesterday approved moving the state's presidential nomination contests to Jan. 15, just days after national Democrats vowed to punish states that vote too early.
Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, is expected to sign the bill, but a disagreement among state Democratic leaders over whether to hold a primary or a caucus is complicating final action.
Michigan Democrats risk losing all their national convention delegates, while Republicans risk losing half. But as a state with a large number of delegates to the nominating conventions, Michigan would command considerable attention from candidates by moving to a mid-January date.
Officials in Iowa and New Hampshire have vowed to move up their contests.
