El miedo está presente

Renunciar a lanzar publicidad negativa contra Obama bajo el argumento de la falta de tiempo para que el público lo procesara de la forma deseada, podría ser uno de los síntomas de ese miedo que algunas fuentes internas de la campaña de Hillary Clinton están expresando en privado. Aunque siguen confiando en la victoria para el próximo martes, nada temen más que las consecuencias de una posible nueva derrota en New Hampshire. Se sienten incapaces de alterar el amor desmedido que la antes fiel mass media siente por la imagen novedosa de Obama. Lo que complica más las cosas a un equipo que consideraba a los cuerpos de prensa como parte de la familia. Mike Allen y Ben Smith nos lo cuentan en Politico. Hillary advisers fear N.H. loss

(...) “It’s still possible to win or take a close second in New Hampshire, but if the turnout even begins to mirror what happened in Iowa, all bets are off,” said a Clinton adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The adviser added that the campaign has come to accept another reality of the early process, which is that African-American voters are convinced that Obama is viable and shifting rapidly in his direction.

“We’re going to lose South Carolina,” he said.

Clinton officials have urged reporters to think ahead to Feb. 5, Super Tuesday, when she expects to do well in New York, California, New Jersey and Arkansas.

However, a loss in New Hampshire, coupled with Obama’s presumed strength in South Carolina, could leave Clinton without a safe harbor to catch her breath before Feb. 5. Her aides also are pessimistic about winning the support of the powerful Culinary Workers union in Nevada — a crucial force in the state’s Jan. 19 caucuses — which has said it will announce its endorsement the day after the New Hampshire primary.

Also percolating within the campaign is the understanding that if Clinton loses New Hampshire, the press will demand some sort of acknowledgment of failure, and supporters will want a clear signal that the Clinton team got the message.

Officials are debating what that signal could be. New faces would be the easiest way to turn the page, but Clinton’s senior team has been with her for years, and it’s not her style to throw someone overboard. One potential solution: Add some trusted officials to the team, perhaps former Clinton administration officials who have credibility with the press and the campaigns’ key donors and surrogates. (...)