Why Did Hillary Lose a “Sure Thing?” PART III

Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign (cont’d from the last two weeks, posted on Sept. 20th(Open Link in new window) and 27th(Open Link in new window))

MICHIGAN: The tipping point 

In chapter eleven, titled Canary in the Auto Plant, the authors note that “she’d been humiliated in the Michigan primary the night before, a loss that not only robbed her of a prime opportunity to put Bernie Sanders down for good but also exposed several of her weaknesses.”

Michigan – where Hillary lost

All the ups and downs of Hillary’s pursuit of the presidency take a different turn at page 215 when Bill Clinton’s opinion of Trump surfaces for the first time. “Bill thought Trump was crazy, but he never expected the developer to become unhinged. Trump’s attacks on Hispanics, Muslims, even Fox anchor, Megyn Kelly, were beyond the pale.”

“But, at that point, he welcomed Trump’s success because he had long believed either Rubio or Cruz would make a tougher general-election opponent for Hillary.”  

NEW YORK: Getting tougher with Bernie

“On paper, it was a home game for Hillary, who had been elected statewide there twice. But Brooklyn-born Bernie had a claim on the state, too. He was going to fight her, and fight hard, on her own turf.”

“Bernie ridiculed Clinton’s six-figure speeches and her ties to Wall Street, he planted doubt in the minds of even the staunchest Democrats. His thinly veiled allegations of corruption, coupled with the unrelenting crush of the still-unfolding e-mail scandal, kept the pressure on her.”

ENTER TRUMP: No one would listen

“As Donald Trump took control of the Republican race, one of Hillary’s longtime advisers circulated a memo. The very top read ‘FACT: Donald Trump can defeat Hillary Clinton and become the 45th President of the United States.’ Hillary, the memo went on to say, should not ‘underestimate his capacity to draw people to the polls that normally do not vote.’ For the Democrats that worshiped hard data, such musings were the kind of misguided old-school hocus-pocus that had very little to do with winning modern campaigns. The adviser’s memo never gained traction.”

ELECTORAL VOTES: Where numbers count

“At the same time, Trump was taking an opposite tack. Instead of trying to increase the number of competitive states, he concentrated intently on the handful that carried large numbers of electoral votes. He focused on the Rust Belt states where his tough-talking bravado played well with working-class whites, and Florida, where Obama had prevailed by less than one percentage point in 2012.”

The Rust Belt includes New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin

“Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida accounted for ninety-three electoral votes. If Trump won any four of the five and held on to Romney’s states, he would become president.”

HIS CAMPAIGN: On the cheap

“It would take some time before the Democrats realized that Trump’s ability to run a campaign on the cheap was a sign that he didn’t have to run everywhere. They already knew he could rely on his mastery of Twitter and his ability to orchestrate free coverage from television, digital and print outlets – to carry his message.”

Be sure to read our final blog in this series next week.

MAY WE SUGGEST…

We’re heading for fall and that means taking a hard look at one’s closet to see what needs fixing, replacing, updating or tossing. Next, it’s time to tackle one’s shelves and drawers. Finally, take a look at our selection of layering tops and lingerie. We have FREE SHIPPING in the U.S. and Canada. Can’t beat that!

Shaun Nelson-Henrick

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