Howard Wolfson

On a conference call today, the Clinton campaign argued that after her victory in West Virginia–and counting the votes in Florida and Michigan–Hillary Clinton now leads in the popular vote. "Hillary Clinton has now moved ahead in the popular vote," said campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe. (In that calculation, the Clinton campaign is not awarding any Michigan votes for the "uncommitted" choice to Obama, who was not on the ballot there.)  read more »

Asked point-blank by the Post's Anne Kornblut if there had been any discussions about Hillary Clinton dropping out of the race, Howard Wolfson said, "No -- no discussions."

He then did his best to put yesterday's results in a positive light.

"These were two states that Senator Obama predicted victory in," he said, and, "These were two states we were supposed to lose. We won one of them."

"It was Senator Clinton making up ground and Senator Obama losing ground," he said.

Difficult.  read more »

Howard Wolfson is arguing that Hillary Clinton "would be the stronger nominee against John McCain" because she had proven an ability to attract blue-collar Democrats and win swing states. "Senator Obama, on the other hand, has not yet proven that he can win key swing states, has not proven that he can win blue-collar voters," Wolfson said. He called that "the crux of the argument" the campaign would make going forward.

When asked in a question-and-answer period whether media declarations of Clinton's electoral demise would hurt their effort to court superdelegates, Wolfson said, "Obviously superdelegates watch TV and read the newspapers," but they are more influenced by electoral results.

He confirmed that the campaign gave more than $6 million in loans to the campaign in April and May, which he described as a demonstration of the candidate's commitment.

In contrast to the boasting about online fund-raising that followed her Pennsylvania victory, Wolfson said he did not know how much money had come in since last night's results became clear.

He also confirmed a meeting with uncommitted superdelegates on the Hill this afternoon.  read more »

The Clinton campaign is not giving an inch, at least not yet.

Howard Wolfson just said at the top of this morning's conference call that the campaign would discuss how it would go forward to the "nomination and victory in November."

Clinton pollster and strategist Geoff Garin said "Indiana was obviously a close outcome but it was an outcome about which we feel very very good."

He said that Clinton came from behind and overcame Obama's spending advantage, and that it "represents significant progress."  read more »

Not surprisingly, the first words out of Howard Wolfson’s mouth on the Clinton campaign conference call today were about “some recent public polling” that show Hillary Clinton’s strength against John McCain in the general election.

Pollster Geoff Garin then gave a lengthy statement, which began: “The point here is simple. Over the course of the past two weeks, particular since our Pennsylvania victory, there’s been real movement in the polls.”  read more »

On Hillary Clinton's Joycean "yes, yes, yes" answer at last night's debate to the question of whether Barack Obama can win the general election, Howard Wolfson offered the following clarification: "Saying that somebody can win is not the same as saying somebody will win."

The Clinton campaign thinks that the sort of questions Barack Obama faced last night—tough in a way that angered Obama’s sympathizers, but not at all unexpected—were appropriate.

On a conference call now, New Yorker legal writer Jeffrey Toobin just gave Howard Wolfson and Phil Singer the chance to perform some media criticism, asking them if questions about Barack Obama's acquaintances and other "trivia" were a valuable part of the political process.  read more »

In a "kitchen sink" conference call this morning, the Clinton campaign argued that Barack Obama is not as transparent as he says he is, delivered a statement on John McCain's economic policy, and then tried to adjust expectations for the Pennsylvania primary, which Hillary Clinton was always expected to win comfortably. (“If [Obama] fails to win in Pennsylvania, it will be a significant defeat for him," said Howard Wolfson).

Then they opened the call. The first questions came from Jeff Toobin, who referenced the negative ad the Clinton campaign released today and asked, “I wonder if there’s any concern at all in the Clinton campaign whether this is a death spiral that will begin to damage the party?”

“Well first, I appreciate the question,” Wolfson said. “I think I would take some issue with the facts as presented.”  read more »

The day after the campaign announced Penn's titular demotion, it is not clear yet exactly what influence he has lost.

Marc Ambinder reported that Penn participated this morning on an internal campaign conference call, suggesting the highly plausible possibility that his loss of the right to be called “chief strategist” was more about cauterizing the Colombia mess than empowering Howard Wolfson and Geoff Garin to cut him out of the decision-making loop.  read more »

In July 2007, the Clinton campaign’s then-chief-strategist Mark Penn sat in his gleaming white and aquarium-walled chief executive’s office at the global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller talking about a mistake he thought Howard Wolfson had made in responding to comments from a prominent Obama supporter.

“It’s very important in politics not to make the same mistake too many times,” Penn said at the time.  read more »

As he did with the original 3 a.m. call, John Dickerson of Slate just asked on a Clinton conference call what experience with an economic crisis Hillary Clinton could cite that prepares her for a call about an economic crisis.

Wolfson answered, "There is no single moment that tests you for being present like being president." He went on to detail Clinton's expertise in the economy and the speed with which she reacted to Sept. 11 attacks to help the New York economy back on its feet.  read more »

The McCain campaign has finally figured out that the Arizona senator’s remarks on Iraq in New Hampshire in January--that it would be “fine” with him if America is there for “100 years”--need to be dealt with.  read more »

While Hillary Clinton's critics think her inaccurate account of a trip to Bosnia demonstrates a pattern of dishonesty, Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson thinks that the running coverage of her Tuzla visit demonstrates a pattern of media hostility towards his employer.

"It's a very sort of illustrious moment in the campaign," said Wolfson, referring sarcastically to what he said was the press' distorted coverage of the Clinton campaign. He said, as an example, that there had been relatively little attention paid to a Washington Post article detailing Obama's embellishments of his role in drafting immigration reform and housing policy.

Phil Singer jumped in to list a few other apparent exaggerations by Obama, including a New York Times report that he had claimed too much credit for passing nuclear leak legislation which never got out of committee. Singer said that there was a "bizarre reluctance" on the part of the media to report further on those stories.

Howard Wolfson said at the end of today's extra-long conference call (approximately 70 minutes) that he didn't think much of Obama's Iowa co-chair, Gordon Fischer, apologizing for a criticism of Bill Clinton that raised the specter of Monica Lewinsky.

"That's all well and good," said Wolfson. "In my opinion the remarks of Gordon Fisher are very much in keeping with the campaign Senator Obama is running. So I don't know why he would apologize."

And after three attempts by AOL reporter Tommy Christopher, Wolfson said that James Carville should speak for himself about whether he regrets comparing Bill Richardson to Judas, but, added, "If I had said it, I would apologize."

Howard Wolfson, in a conference call that's still going on, just said Hillary Clinton misspoke in part of her account of her visit to Bosnia in 1996. Clinton had said she ran from the helicopter with her head down. (Fellow passengers included her daughter and the comedian Sinbad.) Photos, video footage and news accounts show her greeting a child at a welcoming ceremony.

"She misspoke about the exit from the plane," said Wolfson.  read more »

Howard Wolfson is strictly Old Testament.

The first questioner in today's Clinton campaign conference call, a correspondent from AOL, asked Howard Wolfson what he thought about James Carville calling Bill Richardson "Judas." If Richardson was Judas, the reporter asked, who was Hillary?

"I'm not an expert on the topic to give a good answer," said Wolfson.

Toward the end of the March 17 version of the daily Clinton campaign conference call, with more than 100 reporters around the country listening in, Howard Wolfson leaned back in his chair, folded his hands behind his head and hit Barack Obama square in the nose.

“And that gets back to our original point,” said Mr. Wolfson toward a black phone set to speaker. “Which is, you know the American people can count on John McCain to continue the failed Bush policies in Iraq; they can’t count on Senator Obama to follow through on his policies and his promises.”  read more »

As Hillary Clinton continues to push the idea that Barack Obama is not ready to be president, the Obama campaign seems intent on pushing the message that Clinton is too secretive to be president.

After recently calling on Clinton to release her tax returns, the Obama campaign today released the Illinois Senator's earmark requests in an effort to put more pressure on Clinton.

Her campaign didn't seem ready to respond. At the end of the Clinton campaign's conference call today, Howard Wolfson was asked if Clinton was willing to desist from using earmarks for the rest of the year. "I don’t know the answer," he said, before referring the reporter to Clinton's Senate office.

Here is the memo calling for Clinton to release her earmark requests:  read more »

The Clinton campaign chastised Barack Obama this morning for what they said is his shunning of Pennsylvania, a state that the campaign argues a Democratic candidate needs to carry to win the general election.

On the call, according to Howard Wolfson, were a "great lineup of guests," including Governor Ed Rendell, who talked about "the Obama campaign's attempt to diminish the importance of the state" and Mayor Michael Nutter, who said he would "fire" a staffer who wrote a memo lowering expectations in Pennsylvania.

Mark Penn was on the call too, to make sure the campaign's main message was heard: "[Obama] doesn't seem to be able to pass the commander-in-chief test."

When asked during the question-and-answer period whether the intensifying rhetoric between the Clinton and Obama campaigns is destructive to Democratic chances in the general election, Rendell argued it was actually a good thing, because it takes attention away from John McCain.

More after the jump.  read more »

On a conference call just now, to Howard Wolfson responded to Ben’s inquiry about Keith Olbermann's characterization that the campaign was "awash in filth."

"We obviously vigorously disagree with that observation," said Wolfson. "Although many of us remain fans of Keith and enjoy watching the show on nights other than last night."

In a memo sent out today by the Clinton campaign, the campaign seems to boast that "In Mississippi, he [Barack Obama] won only 25% of Republicans."

I asked Howard Wolfson on today's generals-for-Clinton conference call why he thought Republicans had come out for her. At first he argued that it was their message of Clinton's strength that was penetrating Mississippi's Republican electorate.

"I think you have seen in both Ohio an in Texas and Mississippi some renewed strength and improvements by Senator Clinton among Republicans," he said. "We believe that is due to the more recent focus in the campaign on issues like those being addressed on this call. We believe that independents, Republicans and of course Democrats are concerned about questions related to Senator Obama's readiness to be commander in chief in day one. And as the election turns on those kinds of big issues we have seen our numbers among independents and Republicans increase."  read more »

“I grew up in Lousiana and I learned a little bit about milking a cow,” said Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard on a Clinton campaign conference call today, referring to Barack Obama’s record on Iraq. “Just because you recognize the cow doesn’t mean you know how to milk it.”

“No one can tell you how to milk a cow—you have to learn that yourself,” Ballard went on. “There’s no doubt in my mind that he [Obama] can recognize a cow, but there’s no experience that shows me he know how to milk one.”  read more »

Amidst talk about a joint Clinton-Obama ticket, all of which is coming from the Clinton campaign, at least a few bloggers and journalists have asked the question: if Clinton says Obama is unprepared to be commander in chief, how could she responsibly make him second in line for the job?

Today, on a conference call (still in progress), Howard Wolfson was asked that question and answered: “Senator  read more »

The Clinton campaign gathered Congress members Nita Lowey, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Gregory Meeks on a conference call this morning to demand that Barack Obama sever his campaign's ties to senior adviser and Pulitzer-prize-winning academic Samantha Power after she called Hillary Clinton a “monster” in an interview with a Scottish newspaper.

Congresswoman Lowey of New York opened by saying, “We feel so strongly that this is a long way that we have to go in this campaign, and it's likely to go all the way to Denver. Personal attacks are not the way to go.” She went on, “We’re calling on Senator Obama to make it clear that Samantha Power should not be part of this campaign.”

Lowey later said, “This is an important test for Senator Obama….it’s really a test of character. This comment set a tone.” She then added, “I think Senator Obama has to make a public statement and separate himself from Samantha Power.”  read more »

The Clinton campaign just held what they called an "emergency" conference call to discuss what they claim are examples of caucus "intimidation" and "irregularities" in Texas.

In the call, the campaign accused Obama campaign of disenfranchising voters by locking Clinton supporters out of voting places, prematurely filling out sign-in sheets and calling in results before 7 p.m., when caucuses are supposed to start.

"We're here to talk about a tremendously disturbing pattern" said Ace Smith, who is running the Clinton campaign in Texas. "What is happening tonight is just truly an outrage."

Then things got interesting.  read more »

On the Clinton campaign conference call this morning, spokesmen Howard Wolfson and Phil Singer once again directed attention to the fact that the Tony Rezko trial just started yesterday, and said that Barack Obama hasn’t answered all of the questions about it.

“The bottom line,” Wolfson began, “is that as Democrats prepare to vote and begin voting in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont, there are many, many, many more questions for Senator Obama with regard to the Rezko matter.”  read more »

Now, according to the Clinton campaign, it’s “NAFTAgate.”

That’s what Howard Wolfson just called the controversy about Barack Obama’s senior economic advisor, Austan Goolsbee, allegedly telling Canadian officials that Mr. Obama’s sharp attacks on NAFTA were only “political positioning.”  read more »

On a conference call just now, Howard Wolfson again criticized Barack Obama for tacitly receiving support from outside groups after criticizing John Edwards for receiving similar support in Iowa.

"Now when it is in his interest to remain silent, he is remaining silent," said Wolfson, adding, "If this was a moral principle in Iowa it ought to be the same moral principle in Ohio and Texas."

Wolfson was asked whether he has an issue with a candidate receiving money from outside groups, or simply with Obama's unevenness on the issue.  read more »

As Howard Wolfson busts Barack Obama for lifting a speech wholesale from Deval Patrick, and Obama's campaign responds in kind, it's worth noting that at least one other country is considerably less uptight about political plagiarism.

Italy's Walter Veltroni, who just quit his job as Rome's mayor to run for Prime Minister with the newly formed Democratic Party, has actually  read more »

On a Clinton campaign conference call with reporters this morning, Howard Wolfson and Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts presented two events as part of the same pattern: the Obama campaign’s apparent equivocating on a promise to take public financing in a general election against John McCain (whether or not what he said constitutes a pledge is disputed) and the emergence of video evidence that part of a recent Obama speech was almost exactly the same as part of a speech given by Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts.  read more »

In an interminable conference call this afternoon with Howard Wolfson, the Clinton communications director was asked whether Hillary Clinton's $5 million loan to the campaign was "a ploy" to gain sympathy and online contributions from supporters. (The campaign has reportedly raised $8 million since the self-loan was publicly confirmed.)

Wolfson answered that the proof that the campaign really needed the money was Clinton's absence on television before Super Tuesday.

"If resources were available, we would have been on TV earlier," said Wolfson.

He added, "Senator Obama had an accelerated online fund-raising through the latter part of January and into February."

Wolfson said that Clinton "chose to lend the campaign her own money," which turned out to be "a very wise and prudent decision," because the victories won on Super Tuesday "would not have been possible without the money Senator Clinton loaned."

Wolfson said the supporter response to the news of the loan was heartening.

"Frankly, a remarkable thing happened when people learned about that," Wolfson said. "They responded tremendously."

Two things became clear on a conference call held earlier by Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, communications director Howard Wolfson and chief strategist Mark Penn this morning. One: they do not want anyone to forget that Barack Obama’s national media buy means that he has ads running in Florida. Two: they are determined to get Florida and Michigan delegates seated at the national convention, despite the pledge all three top Democratic candidates took not to campaign in those states (and despite the fact that neither Barack Obama nor John Edwards were on the ballot in Michigan).

In her opening remarks, Solis Doyle told reporters that when the D.N.C. penalized the Florida Democratic Party by stripping them of delegates to the national convention—because they defied the national party by moving up the date of the primary—“they thought Floridians wouldn’t vote, but we can see they’re voting in record numbers.” The campaign speculates that a major turnout is an expression of not only enthusiasm and a media-saturated primary campaign, but also, “the signal that they’re sending is that they fully expect to be heard,” as Penn said.  read more »

Clinton campaign communications director Howard Wolfson just sent out a memo that sets expectations very low for today's Democratic primary in South Carolina, and draws attention to the next primary in Florida on January 29.

"Despite efforts by the Obama campaign to ignore Floridians," Wolfson writes, "their voices will be heard loud and clear across the country, as the last state to vote before Super Tuesday on February 5th."

Wolfson makes no reference to the pledge taken by all three top Democratic contenders not to campaign in Florida after the state Democratic Party disobeyed the national party and moved their primary to an earlier date.

Just who is violating the pledge, and how, has of late become an issue between the Clinton and Obama campaigns.

Memo after the jump.  read more »

The Clinton campaign has excoriated Barack Obama for his remarks to a Reno paper's conservative editorial board that Republican party was the "party of ideas" over the last 16 years. But it has been long thought that Bill Clinton appropriated ideas usually identified with the Republican Party during his years in office—like deficit reduction, free trade, law enforcement, and welfare reform.

I asked Howard Wolfson and Mark Penn about this in a conference call with reporters yesterday, and here is what they said:

"As someone who was a Congressional aide during the 90's," said Wolfson, "The idea that law enforcement was a Republican idea, I just think is a rewriting of history. What President Clinton enacted during the 90's was the best of Democratic ideas, the best of progressive ideas." Wolfson went on to say he was proud, as a "young person, to be working in Congress, on the Hill, for Democratic members. We enacted so many of the policies that the President put forth. And so I reject the notion that law enforcement was a Republican idea, or that the right kind of welfare reform was a Republican idea. These were good, Democratic ideas. And they were done the right way, and they significantly benefited our country.

Penn added the following:  read more »

In a conference call just now, Clinton campaign communications director Howard Wolfson said the campaign's taking down of their negative radio ad attacking Barack Obama in South Carolina was in no way a result of media pushback questioning the spot's accuracy.  read more »

Towards the end a Hillary Clinton stump speech at a gleaming white hall in Ottumwa, Iowa last month, the campaign’s communications director, Howard Wolfson, marched in out of the cold wearing a white sweater, gray sweatpants and unlaced brown work boots. Disheveled and unshaven, Mr. Wolfson possessed the feral look of someone who had spent the last 17 hours in a car.

Which, in fact, he had.

Mr. Wolfson, the chief architect and overseer of Mrs. Clinton’s communications strategy, does not fly.  read more »

COLUMBIA, S.C.—Howard Wolfson just walked out of a debate-prep session into the lobby of a local Hilton and was handed a phone. It was Representative Corrine Brown of Florida.

The Congresswoman was apparently upset about the Obama campaign’s decision to air television ads in Florida—she was watching TV when one of the ads came on—despite a pledge signed by the Democratic candidates not to campaign there to punish the state for violating Democratic National Committee rules.  read more »

Last night's stunning win for Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire certainly allowed some of her campaign's top staff to breathe easier.

But whether it served as a vindication for Mark Penn's poll-driven, policy emphasizing philosophy (he pointed out to me last night that there were a lot of "economy voters" going to the polls), or a victory for the faction within the campaign which had long advocated for Clinton to show a more personal side of herself, depended on who you spoke to.

Listening to Howard Wolfson after her she won last night, it was clear what side of the argument he fell on.

More after the jump.  read more »

Over the course of a conference call with Howard Wolfson, Terry McAuliffe and a number of high-profile Hillary Clinton supporters, some variation of the phrase "found her voice in New Hampshire" was used at least six times.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez said it first, but it was repeated by McAuliffe, Wolfson and Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell. From Chuck Schumer we heard that Hillary is "in touch with what people need and want," from Cantwell that in the last two days before New Hampshire she saw the "passion" in Hillary, and that the candidate is "connecting and connecting with women."

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas noted that voters were "passionate, they were connected to the Clintons...they see her as having ideas and as being an inspiration." California Senator Dianne Feinstein added that "there is a great emotional connection between woman and Hillary."  read more »

Frustrated by what they regard as press under-attention to negative storylines about Barack Obama, the Clinton campaign is absolutely committed to taking Obama to task on the non-committal "present" votes he cast as a state senator in Illinois.

As expected, that was the message to come out of a Clinton campaign conference call on Dec. 20 in which the Clinton press team and some surrogates used the votes to attack Obama's courage, ambition and experience.

Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio started by mocking Mr. Obama for his "present" votes.

"Yes or no should be an easy answer," she said, adding that the reason the campaign was so focused on this issue was that the "President of the United States needs to take a tough stand on tough issues -- not to say 'I'm here.'"

Representative Anthony Weiner of New York offered especially biting remarks, even bringing up the recent controversial comment of President Clinton regarding the risks inherent in voting for Mr. Obama.

"Clinton correctly framed this as something of a roll of the dice," said Mr. Weiner.  read more »

Clinton campaign officials just held a conference call to explain a letter campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle has sent to Obama campaign manager David Plouffe, in which she demands that Barack Obama take down an ad running in New Hampshire because it falsely claims his health care plan would "cover everyone."

"Your advertisement not only contradicts the judgment of health care experts, but public statements by your campaign and your candidate," Doyle writes in the letter. "Senator Obama has pledged to put 'honesty first' in this campaign. In that spirit I respectfully request that you stop running this ad which is misleading voters in New Hampshire." On the call, Doyle added that the ad should be taken down until "Senator Obama comes up with a plan that covers everyone."

The campaign's communications director, Howard Wolfson, added that voters were "tired of politicians who say they have a universal plan but really don't."

More after the jump.  read more »

Hillary Clinton has used the Democratic debates to lecture Barack Obama in matters of foreign policy. Today she got one from him about the influence of lobbyists.

Responding to a question about whether she would refuse to take money from lobbyists at a debate at the YearlyKos convention in Chicago, Clinton adopted a strident posture rarely seen in the course of her invariably disciplined campaign.

After John Edwards challenged the Democratic candidates never to take "a dime from Washington lobbyists," Clinton was asked why that was not a persuasive position.  read more »

Hillary Clinton may have gone after Fox pundit Bill O’Reilly, but it hasn't translated into an all-out ban on his show.

A Fox official just sent out word that Clinton's top aide, Howard Wolfson, is scheduled to appear on O’Reilly’s show tomorrow, discussing Daily Kos and Jet Blue’s sponsorship of the group’s annual meeting.

The email from Fox:

Programming note: Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's Communications Director Howard Wolfson will appear on The O’Reilly Factor tomorrow (Tuesday 8PM ET Fox News Channel) to discuss the daily kos/ yearly kos/jet blue sponsorship.

UPDATE: A reader contacted me to say there's another way to view Wolfson's scheduled appearance on the show. It is not a departure of Clinton's criticism of O'Reilly, but rather, a continuation of it, since Wolfson is going there to defend Daily Kos.  read more »

Yvette Clarke is about to endorse Hillary Clinton for president today, according to a campaign aide, signaling that the last New York Democratic congress member has put aside what she admitted was a grudge against a Clinton adviser.

Howard Wolfson, a close aide to Hillary Clinton, served as an adviser to one of the candidates Clarke faced in a contentious congressional primary last year. After winning, Clarke balked at endorsing Clinton for president.

In a television interview, Clarke told NBC that, “I think that that needs to be addressed in order for the community to feel like that something like that would not occur again.”

A knowledgeable source tells me Hillary Clinton met yesterday with the only Democratic Congress member from New York who hasn’t endorsed her yet: Yvette Clarke.

The two had a “heart to heart,” according to my source. The meeting comes shortly after Clinton’s closet Democratic challenger, Barack Obama, picked up the endorsement of state Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem, and as other local elected officials are thinking of endorsing him also.

Clarke’s reason for holding out on Clinton, as far as anyone knows, are more parochial than ideological. In an interview a few weeks ago with NBC, Clarke confirmed that part of the reason she didn’t want to endorse Clinton was because Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson worked against Clarke in her four-way Democratic primary for Congress.

I'm waiting for calls back from the offices of Clarke and Clinton.