Hillary campaign statements about Florida from last September, and from yesterday.

[madfloridian]

The difference is startling. The attitude is quite changed since last September's statement. It was even noticed by some local media here, some of the anchors looked odd when they spoke about her win. They were cautious what they said, but you could tell they were not sure how to handle it.

I will say right up front that I agree with Simon Rosenberg. I was surprised he said this, but it is very significant. It indicates people very close to the Clintons are noticing. He was in on the founding of the DLC along with the Clintons and others. It is a statement that shows real concern.

But there is a line in politics where tough and determined becomes craven and narcissistic, where advocacy becomes spin, and where integrity and principle is lost. I am concerned that this Florida gambit by the Clinton campaign is once again putting two of my political heroes too close - or perhaps over - that line. So that even if they win this incredible battle with Barack Obama they will end up doing so in a way that will make it hard for them to bring the Party back together, and to lead the nation to a new and better day.

Hillary's Florida Victory

Here is the statement from her campaign last September whem the first four states asked them to sign the pledge not to campaign in Florida.

Clinton, Obama and Edwards Join Pledge to Avoid Defiant States

Hours after Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina agreed to sign a loyalty pledge put forward by party officials in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York followed suit. The decision seemed to dash any hopes of Mrs. Clinton relying on a strong showing in Florida as a springboard to the nomination.

“We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process,” Patti Solis Doyle, the Clinton campaign manager, said in a statement.

The pledge sought to preserve the status of traditional early-voting states and bring order to an unwieldy series of primaries that threatened to accelerate the selection process. It was devised to keep candidates from campaigning in Florida, where the primary is set for Jan. 29, and Michigan, which is trying to move its contest to Jan. 15.

Here is the letter written January 29 by Mark Penn of the Hillary campaign. Note the difference in tone.

A Penn Memo On Florida

The whole letter is posted there. Here is part of it.

Hillary Clinton won a significant victory today in the Florida primary with biggest turnout in Florida Democratic primary history. She will end up with more votes than John McCain, the winner of the Republican primary. And Floridians cast more votes than were cast in Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina, and New Hampshire combined.

A large, broad, and diverse group of voters came out and voted for Hillary in Florida. She won women, men, and just about every age category. She won nearly 6 in 10 Latinos and nearly 3 in 10 African American voters.

The vote turned out to be far more than symbolic. Well over 1.5 million Democrats cast their ballots, more than twice the number of voters who came out to vote in the 2004 primary.

Most of the voters in Florida fully expect that their votes will not be wasted again -- they too have a voice at the convention, and Hillary has asked her delegates to support their being seated.

I would love my vote to count. However the role Florida Democratic leaders played in this coup to pre-empt the importance of the smaller states and Super Tuesday...has shown they were more about their own desires and preferences. They were willing to take our votes away to get media attention for the winner here.

Yesterday's rally in Davie, Florida, celebrating the win....might have gone without too much comment. But Bill Nelson had to have his say again.

"In this primary, some even tried to silence our state," Nelson said as he endorsed Clinton from the stage Tuesday night. "Hillary Clinton will never let that happen."

That was a direct challenge to the DNC and its rules. It should have not been said.

And the difference in the statements by her campaign are striking.

[madfloridian]

1. Mark Penn demanding. This is wrong.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/hillaryclinton/story/0,,2248846,00.html

"The Clinton camp yesterday renewed efforts to force the Democratic party to recognise the outcome of the Florida primary and allow the state's 185 delegates to be counted in a tight race.

Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's chief strategist, said they would push the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to allow the results of both Florida and Michigan to count at the party convention in August. Any challenge will be vigorously resisted by supporters of Barack Obama."

..""Nothing has changed," a Democratic party source said. "Florida will still have zero delegates. The party has booked no rooms for them at the convention."

..."The Clinton team said that while it was reluctant to get into an argument with the DNC, the votes of a million people mattered. Penn said that while the candidates had not campaigned in Florida - though he accused Obama of breaching the rules by running ads - voters had seen the televised debates and had followed the campaigns elsewhere. "That makes it an election," he said."

I agree with Simon...they are crossing the line. Win at all costs...doesn't go over so big.

[Pastiche423]

2. K&R

[madfloridian]

4. I am changing my opinion about early voting.

I did not realize how much things changed, and Obama drew closer...only 4% by election day separated them. Maybe not so very early.

[madfloridian]

3. Election day votes in Florida...only 4 percent margin.

I can see why the Clinton campaign is planning to fight against the party on this issue of delegates. Here is another comment from Penn...and some interesting statistics on what happened as the election day came in Florida. A lot of the Hillary advantage disappeared.

Florida Results Show Late Momentum For Obama

Clinton did defeat Obama among Floridians who decided on a candidate on the day of the primary. But overwhelmingly, Clinton's support came from those who made up their minds over a month ago (63 percent to 27 percent), and from early voters who used absentee ballots (50-31). Floridians began receiving absentee ballots in late December.

According to the exit polls, those early deciders and early voters made up fully 59 percent of Florida's Democratic electorate.

The results seem to indicate that Obama picked up significant momentum in Florida following his victories in Iowa and South Carolina, as well as his high-profile endorsements (49 percent of Florida voters said Ted Kennedy's support was important to their decision).

"But any momentum seemed to run out today," Clinton strategist Mark Penn countered in a memo emailed to reporters Tuesday evening. "Among those who decided on Election Day, a plurality of those chose Hillary."

True, indeed. But critically -- and perhaps as an indicator of close elections to come -- Clinton's margin of victory among Election Day deciders was the narrowest of all: 34 percent to 30 percent.

That might explain Penn's push to make Florida count. And he and the campaign do intend to have a fight about the Florida delegates.

Election day voters in Florida...margin of four percent. That is close.