Quotes From Around Yon Blogosphere

There is at least as much hubris in the herd journalism that is trampling the Clintons now as there was in their presumption that the Presidency was theirs by right of succession--and considerably more nastiness.

-- ROBERT STEIN

Hillary is facing tougher competition than her husband did. For all of Bill's legendary political skills, it's important to remember that his '92 rivals in New Hampshire were underwhelming. He was up against the likes of Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas, Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey (whose campaign was already imploding that winter), Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (who was soon to be gone), and ex-California Gov. Jerry Brown. The party's heavier hitters - particularly Mario Cuomo, Georgia Senator Sam Nunn, and a Tennessee senator by the name of Al Gore - had taken a pass on the '92 campaign.

None of Bill's competitors could match his energy or charisma, or his claim that he alone represented the changing of the guard. Hillary doesn't have the same luxuries this time; whereas Bill always billed himself as a generational leader who would draw young voters, Hillary is apparently failing on the front. It's worth noting that the current 21-year-old New Hampshire voter was only five when Bill first charmed New Hampshire - hardly the stuff of memories.

All told, Hillary is now perceived as an establishment player, and she's paired against an energized, charismatic opponent who seems poised to lead an historic movement. The odds of another Clinton comeback seem to be narrowing with each passing hour.

-- DICK POLMAN

Election campaigns are not only a reality show. They are a social laboratory. The news that came out of election rallies in Iowa Thursday is no less exciting than the numbers game. Americans, whether leftist or rightist, rich or poor, are sick and tired of the status quo. America wants a change.

The tragic figure in this story, in the first round at least, is Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her fall from the certain top spot to third place is a stinging failure. It is even worse when it turns out who voted for her major opponent, Barack Obama, and why.

-- NAHUM BARNEA

I know former President Bill Clinton's frustrated that Iowa (and soon New Hampshire) voters aren't seeing in his wife what he sees, but some of his vouching is taking on a rather overstated tone.

Just a few days ago, in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, the former president said, "I have been blessed in my life to know some of the greatest figures of the last hundred years. Because of what you did. You, you gave me the chance to be president. You voted for me twice here, and I'm very grateful.

"I go to Nelson Mandela's birthday party every year and we're still very close. I believe if Yitzhak Rabin had not been murdered in 1995 we would have peace in the Middle East. I loved him as much as anyone I've ever known.

"But if you said to me today, 'I'm gonna give you one last job for your country -- go and do this -- but it's hazardous and you may not get out with life and limb intact and you have to do it alone except I'll let you take one other person,' and I had to pick one person whom I knew who would never blink, who would never turn back, who would make great decisions under pressure and would never forget what the purpose of being there was, I would pick Hillary of the people I've known and I would never even think about it. It would be an easy choice."

-- JAKE TAPPER

I'll grant upfront that my thoughts on misogyny and racism in the campaign are somewhat fraught, since as your run-of-the-mill privileged white dude, I hardly have the most direct window into their effects. Nonetheless, I'll venture an observation: misogyny is a much bigger player in this election than racism.

-- EZRA KLEIN

Desperate to pander to GOP primary voters, Mitt Romney decided to throw them some red meat on immigration: Romney said he will force all illegal immigrants out of the country, but he refuses to detail precisely how and when.

Even assuming for sake of argument that mass deportations made policy sense, there are at least 12 million undocumented immigrants. The reason Romney won’t give details on his “plan” for mass deportations is thus obvious; he knows it can’t be done! At least not without turning the USA into a police state. How do you find them all? Where do you store them? Concentration camps? That’ll make Guantanamo look like small cheese. How do you keep them from coming back? (Fence, blah blah blah.) And what do you do about their kids who are US citizens by virtue of the constitutional right of birthright citizenship?

-- PROFESSOR BAINBRIDGE

There are growing signs that Michigan Democrats could turn out in larger numbers than expected for the Jan. 15 presidential primary — and that may raise the stakes for Hillary Clinton, who could use a lift after her third-place finish in Iowa.

Clinton, the only top contender whose name will be on the Michigan Democratic ballot, has been widely expected to win the state by an overwhelming margin. Privately, Clinton supporters acknowledged that she could be embarrassed if a significant percentage of Michiganians vote "uncommitted" — one of the ballot choices.

-- E.M. ZANOTTI

Barack Obama won Oprah Winfrey's endorsement. But it's John Edwards whose campaign most resembles her famed Oprah Winfrey Show. Edwards has always been comfortable with emotion, with personal drama and narrative. He thanks people for their courage and bravery, comments on their goodness and resilience, bolsters them with encouraging affirmations and applause from the crowd. Where other campaigns routinely feature outside politicians and famed surrogates, Edwards is more likely to tour with the sort of guests you'd see on daytime talk: Ordinary people who have undergone extraordinary hardship. Where the other candidates closed their Iowa campaigns with sincere speeches laying out the arguments for their candidacies, Edwards ran a commercial where a burly Iowan spoke emotionally of the moment when Edwards leaned down, stared his seven-year-old son in the eyes, and promised to fight for his father's job.

-- EZRA KLEIN

Isn't it odd that the leading candidate for change is a Chicago Democrat?

-- TOM ELIA

There are aspects to the Obama candidacy and proposed legislative program that go against liberal orthodoxy and could be embraced by conservatives. And while I believe this man should be defeated if he were to get the Democratic nomination, there is a chance that come January 20, 2009, he will be a reality that must be dealt with. The question then for conservatives will be whether some of his more extreme proposals – universal health care, tax increases, a dubious foreign policy – can be moderated or defeated while working with a president whose mandate was largely based on changing the divisive, poisonous political culture in Washington.

-- RICK MORAN

When Barack Obama took the stage in Des Moines to deliver his impassioned Iowa caucus victory speech, U2's song "City of Blinding Lights" preceded him. On the same night, John Edwards' address to his supporters was also paired with a U2 song, "In The Name of Love?" Since when has U2 become the band to sum up American sentiment? Or is it just that they are one of the biggest band in the world and summing up the zeitgeist is part of their job? I guess with Led Zeppelin's "Lemon Song" not exactly getting the right message across and Rush a little tricky to dance to, U2 is the only monolithic band to embody that perfect blend of informed yet cool.

-- CARRIE BROWNSTEIN

Cartoon by Tom Toles/Universal Press Syndicate