"This is me in Scranton,” says the voice of Hillary Clinton over grainy black
and white footage of a beaming little girl in a white 1950s dress. “This is
where my father was raised and my grandfather worked in the lace mill.”
The camera cuts to a shot of a clapboard house, the rustic cottage in the
Pennsylvania hills near Scranton where the Rodham family spent every summer.
“There was no heat or indoor shower, just the joy of family,” says Mrs
Clinton’s voiceover, as the music rises to a crescendo.
“I was raised on the American dream . . . we all need to dream it again and I
promise we will.”
The television advertisement, currently being played and replayed throughout
Pennsylvania, could hardly be more schmaltzy, more obvious, or more
effective: this is Mrs Clinton’s latest, and possibly last, roll of the dice
in her campaign to secure the Democratic nomination.
If Mrs Clinton can persuade enough white, working-class Pennsylvanians that
she is one of them, and win tomorrow’s primary by a substantial margin, then
she may regain the momentum she needs to stay in the race. If she loses to
Barack Obama, or fails to win convincingly enough, Mrs Clinton is sunk.
As the drawn-out Democratic battle heads into what may be its clinching
contest, Mr Obama is also pouring money, time and energy into the state,
outspending his opponent by a factor of nearly three to one. While Mr Obama
is popular in the large cities, among liberals, blacks and students, Mrs
Clinton is backed by older, whiter voters, conservative Democrats, Roman
Catholics, and the blue-collar workers who make up the bedrock of the
party’s support.
Mrs Clinton’s future depends on rediscovering her past, opening up the family
photograph album and displaying her working-class credentials. At every
campaign stop she stresses her links to this gritty, hardscrabble coal town
in northeast Pennsylvania, where her father was born and lies buried.
“My feelings about Pennsylvania are real personal,” she told a wildly cheering
crowd on one of her last campaign rallies before tomorrow’s vote. “My
grandfather worked in the factory from the age of eleven . . . I have roots
in Pennsylvania.”
This may sound like an American version of the Monty Python sketch (“We ’ad it
tough . . .”) and it may be hard to swallow from a woman wearing an
expensive suit who was brought up in privilege and comfort in Chicago, and
who has earned $100 million with her husband since he left office. But it is
also true, and goes down a storm with her Pennsylvania supporters.
Much has been made of the extraordinary Obama story, but in many ways the
journey of the Rodham family is just as remarkable and, for many
Pennsylvanians, comfortingly familiar.
Jonathan Rodham, Mrs Clinton’s great-grandfather, was a Welsh miner who
arrived in Scranton (on a train coach labelled “immigrants”) in 1886 with
his eight children, determined, like thousands of others fleeing European
poverty, to extract a better life from the newly discovered anthracite
fields. He made a living as a mine foreman, though never a fortune. His son,
Hillary’s grandfather, worked for 55 years in a lace textile factory.
Scranton was then a cauldron of America’s industrial revolution, a place of
belching factories, Satanic mills, train yards and, above all, mines. The
tonnes of coal and anthracite carved out of the mountains fed the trains and
factory furnaces: Hillary Clinton recalled, as a child, marvelling at the
Lackawanna River running through the city, black with coal dust, and the
burning piles on the horizon.
Hugh Rodham, Hillary’s father, hopped a freight train to Chicago, founded a
curtain business after the war and began to pull his family towards
prosperity. The coal began to run out at about the same time, and the area
has been in slow but steady decline ever since.
But Hugh Rodham never let his children forget where they had come from. The
family spent every summer in the wooden cabin on Lake Winola, near Scranton,
which Rodham had built with his father in 1921. Here the young Hillary
learnt to shoot, to fish and to play pinochle, the American card game, with
local men with names such as “Old Hank”.
The countryside surrounding the town is strongly reminiscent of the 1978 film The
Deer Hunter (the film was set in Clairton, Pennsylvania, to the south);
it is a place where industrial life and rural ways collide and combine. The
wooden cottage with the porch on Lake Winola still belongs to the Rodhams
and Mrs Clinton repeatedly refers to it on the campaign trail: “A big part
of my early experiences . . . it meant the world to me.”
Mining this valuable seam of her past has paid political dividends. “She’s
tough. That’s a real Scranton trait. That’s an anthracite trait,” says
Christopher Doherty, the mayor of Scranton.
In Lake Winola, the Clinton connection is nurtured as a local treasure. “They
are the nicest people, Regular Joe people,” said Barb Jenkins, propping up
the bar of the Blue Pelican, the town’s only tavern, just a few yards from
the door of the house known as “Rodham’s View”.
Ms Jenkins insists: “Everyone has had turmoil in their lives, and so has she,
but she still walks out with her head up.”
Mr Obama’s ill-judged remarks about small-town voters who are “bitter” about
losing jobs and who “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who
aren’t like them” have served to reinforce Mrs Clinton’s appeal among the
gun-owning, churchgoing inhabitants of towns like Scranton and Winola. Some
46 per cent of Pennsylvania voters own a gun, and almost one third of the
population is Catholic.
Few will admit to feeling “bitter” about an economy that has seen the state’s
manufacturing sector lose one fifth of its jobs in just eight years, but
many plainly are. “This area’s really hurting,” declares Barb Jenkins,
ordering another Coors beer from the barman of the Blue Pelican.
Race is another potential factor in the Democratic contest. Polls show that
Mrs Clinton is favoured by 59 per cent of white voters, compared with 34 per
cent for Mr Obama. “There are plenty people, older folks mostly, who
wouldn’t vote for a black man,” says Ms Jenkins. Only 56 per cent of Clinton
supporters in Pennsylvania say they will vote for Mr Obama if he wins the
nomination.
Mr Obama is leading in the national race for delegates, with 1,645 to 1,504
for Mrs Clinton. Roughly 2,025 are needed to secure the nomination, putting
the focus firmly on the nearly 800 superdelegates, party leaders and
officials with an automatic vote at the Democratic National Convention.
If Mrs Clinton fails to win Pennsylvania handsomely, those superdelegates are
certain to start drifting into the Obama camp; if, however, she chalks up
another resounding “come-back” victory, her team will argue that she, and
only she, has the broad appeal to win the big swing states in a presidential
battle against the Republican John McCain in November.
Mrs Clinton returns to Scranton today to rally her troops on what, over the
past few weeks, has become home turf. On the way she stopped at York, in
central Pennsylvania, an old colonial town that was the scene of some of the
fiercest battles of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
“Madam! . . . President! . . . Madam! . . . President!” chanted the crowd.
“We’re not bitter, just voting better,” read the placards; “Make History”
and “We’ve got your back, Hillary”. Yet no amount of noise can obscure the
fact that Mrs Clinton has her back to the wall.
“I have no doubt in my mind we can make this happen,” she declared, having
described, once more, her sense of belonging to Pennsylvania. “I think
there’s a historical pattern here. It took a Clinton to clear up after a
Bush – it’s going to take another Clinton to clear up after
another Bush.”
Yet her remarks also carried the faint whiff of finality, a sense that after
one of the longest, toughest and most fascinating fights in modern electoral
history, the decisive battle is at hand. She has begun to speak of the duel
with Mr Obama in the past tense: “This has been a vigorous contest. It has
been a privilege and an honour.”
Having emphasised historical precedent, and her own past, Mrs Clinton may also
reflect on the history of York itself. During the Civil War the town
famously surrendered to the Confederates, although a young Union officer,
the “boy general” George Custer, valiantly held up part of the advancing
army.
Pennsylvania was the site of Custer’s First Stand. It may be the setting for
Hillary Clinton’s last.
time to get out hillary.
sandra, melbourne, australia
For God's sake, I just hope she throws in the towel and disappears forever!
Dave Carnahan, Trenton, Ontario
I am a Canadian and i cannot vote, but if i can vote i will vote for Hllary Rodham Clinton. I pray to the Good Lord that she will win this Tuesday's primary. Good luck to her.
Mila. Toronto, Ontario
Mila, Toronto Ontario, Canada
Colleen O'Brien Australia................For the sake of the world I hope she doesn't win. She is a Scorpio (like Prince Charles) ,that about says it all. Her husband Bill is a Leo - a natural leader, just like Mr Obama.
Jan, London, England
Hillary has been the only candidate to answer questions, not dodge them, and the only candidate with the resume to fill the position. Our country and economy are in real bad shape, she is the only candidate who actually cares enough to do something about it, and can.
Ana, Brea, CA
Why 'for the sake of the world' Colleen? Because Barack Obama is the same as George Bush? Don't be silly - he is an intelligent, capable politician. Clinton, on the other hand, seems to be exercising a 'let's do/say anything to win' policy at the moment which certainly puts me in mind of George Bush in 2000 and 2004.
Gabriel Casey, Belfast,
For the sake of the world- I pray she doesn't
Chris Gillibrand, Brussels , Belgium
"Democrat hopeful is ruthlessly exploiting liberal black roots to fight for the votes in Pennsylvania."
What is the big deal? EVERY politician exploits whatever works best for them to win the votes!
Bob Evans, Anaheim, California
I'm an Obama supporter ; - ) After the father / son presidential period with bush, I don’t like to see a woman being president were she used to be the presidents wife!
I’m for a change in the white house! And that’s why I’m hoping Barack Obama will make it !
Aaron Smith, Auckland,
Shocking!! That so many foreigners think they know all about HIllary Clinton based on the media. Anyone that thinks the Clintons have gotten a dime dishonestly have not followed their careers. The Republicans in Arkansas, not to mention the ones in D.C., conduct ruthless checks on all the money the Clintons earn and spend.
The media has been biased in its treatment of Clinton and McCain. They accept Obama's word for every mistake he makes and every arrogant remark.
Check on the income earned by Obama and his Attorney Wife and you will find it exceeded what the Clinton's earned? But you won't get the media to broadcast that piece.
Hillary and Bill Clinton "worked" hard to earn their income. I was around when they were in Arkansas and saw the uphill battle they had from every angle. If you don't know the truth about them, please don't repeat the media's version.
May God Help America by granting us Hillary Clinton for our next President.
Mary Hardy, Huntington Beach, USA, California
To Andy, Dallas, US. Reasearch actualy shows that you can spend huge sums on adverts and cainpagin material but if your general reception by the public is relative poor it makes little difference. Source New Scientist.
James Cornish, Lancaster ,
This is Clintons last stand just like Ohio.
And we will know if the negative campaigning ah worked.
But the fact that young people are registering in massive numbers and they are are breaking 4:1 in obama's favour and this will shrink her lead to single digits. The opposite is true for people 60+
Pa is a fight between independents, people over 60s and the youth vote. whichever is biggest block will decide the margin of victory of obama or clinton. But it will be tight
obama will win the nomination.
J.Grant, SHEFFIELD, UK
I think that Jonathan Rodham was a County Durham miner rather than a Welsh one...
Matthew, Woodstock, UK
I hate her SO MUCH. Mathematically she can't win anyway, she's just continuing on to sink Obama. She is the Democrat's Rove, schooled in negativity and destruction.
Phil, NYC, USA
I totally agree with colleen from Australia...
For the sake of EVERYONE, I hope Hillary Clinton wins
the Democratic nomination and the presidency. She will
make a wonderful president when she impliments all of
her plans and gets this country moving in a better direction.
Clinton in '08
ann, canal winchester, ohio
and for the sake of the mankind - i just hope she loses!
Srihari R K, Nagpur, India
Hope she sinks like a stone. All she's doing right now is letting the repubicans back in - sort of scorched earth, I can't have the ball so I'll burn the house down spoilt selfish bitch mentality. Someone from party HQ should pay a visit - they must have the equivalent of the British "men in grey suits" ??
Roarke, wembley, Uk
If Hillary care so much for people losing their homes why don't she give, some of that 109 Million Us Dollars to some of the poor and needy, or better still invest some money in PA, the people there would soon know who she is concerned about. None other than her self.
Daphne Kenward, Cambridge, United Kingdom
When whole societies exist predicated on the conviction that women are inferior to men, the opportunity for America to send a message to the world that this is very much not the case should be too valuable to squander.
Obama has proven this week that when put under pressure he is just as happy to play rough whatever his rhetoric might otherwise suggest, and it is all too obvious that he likes working class people just fine as long as they shout the right words at his rallies and don't challenge him. Give him eight years to find some true compassion for people he sees as less worthy of respect due to their education or occupation.
Steven, Sydney,
I have a question. Why do these Primaries always begin with the same state, (Iowa) then run through the other states in the same order but never reach the end. McCain was nominated for the Republicans after only a handful of Primaries and it's usually the same for the Democrats. Usually most states don't get to vote at all. Not very democratic!!
Why not have all the states vote on the same day like a general election, that way everybody gets to have a say.
Dennis, Gaithersburg, USA
Even a sceptic is tempted to pray that Hillary loses.
She's the ugly pink bunny that just doesn't stop beating its drum, boring the hell out of you.
Good Lord, I'm tired of hearing her flat, brittle voice telling us what an experienced leader she is. This person whose experience consists of sometimes donning an apron to bake cookies in the White House and fending off the brickbats of those who find her obnoxious and defending her ultra-sleazy husband.
One wonders if the poor people of Pennsylvania are really that pathetic that they'll vote for claims of visiting the state as a kid to go to a cottage with no modern conveniences. She who was raised in a very rich Chicago suburb. It's enough to make you puke.
Of course, her hollow claims miss the point entirely. People all over the world desperately need a fresh voice in that hellhole called Washington, and she's about as fresh as Richard Nixon.
JOHN CHUCKMAN, toronto, Canada
It is interesting to note that General Custer finished last in his class at Westpoint and accidentally shot his horse through it's head whilst out hunting buffalo and had to be rescued.
Obama has managed to shoot himself in the foot a few times but he stillsomehow manages to walk well enough.
liam gallagher, puerto rico,
"Pennsylvania was the site of Custer’s First Stand. It may be the setting for Hillary Clinton’s last."
That's just beautiful journalism. Great article. GO OBAMA!!
jj, col., usa
My god, I hope she goesn't win tomorrow. Something about her just doesn't sit right with me - her overly aggressive attitude, perhaps? But better Clinton than McCain.
Em, Bakers, California, US
What happens in America affects the rest of the world, please do not vote for her, she is not a role model for anyone especialy not women. People talk about Obama's lack of experience, so what, he will be surounded by experts, the man has integrity, with him America can gain the respect it has lost from around the world.
clare cairns, palma, Mallorca. Spain
Good for Hillary!
She told a story that's true for a change.
How refreshing.
Dan, Portland, US
Good Luck Hillary, I hope you win tomorrow, and then win the entire election.
The one thing this election has shown is the amount of people who see to have more of a problem with a woman being president than a black man. (I think either is peachy, but this has shown there are still some big 'ol sexist boys out there.)
Good Luck Hillary
Emma, London,
For the sake of the American people - I just hope she wins and wins big. She's the best.
Helen Kellinton, Vancouver Island , Canada
I agree with Colleen O'Brien of Blackheath, Australia. For the sake of the world, I too hope Hillary takes Pennsylvania in tomorrow's Democratic primary. Then we can watch with growing delight as the Democratic Party, already split, fragments even further.
The long campaign has allowed US voters the opportunity to see the truth gradually emerging; namely how awful both Democratic contenders really are, and how unfit both are to be president. If Clinton prevails, the damage will continues for a few more months.
Good luck tomorrow, Hillary. John McCain and all Republican voters, I suspect, may be echoing my sentiment.
David Allen, Marietta, USA
If I could ask her one question, it would be before the campaign started how often did she visit Scranton?
Phil, McLean, VA
No one seems to have mentioned the ' Super-Duper ' delegates. These are Super Deleg tes that create other delegates via a population count of the State they are in. I believe they number about 74.
Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Tx
This sounds like the Four Yorkshiremen sketch..
http://www.phespirit.info/montypython/four_yorkshiremen.htm
Frank Upton, Solihull,
Aissani a UK i think it's time for the Americans to have a true leader with politics experience a real democrats ho can change the hall politics inside and outside start from the white house. i think Mrs Clinton is the new voice and big hope to give america back to the american.and change the politics of bush administration. i think Mrs Clinton and her family contribution has been over 100 years .if u talking about 100 million she earned she deserved every dollars. there is no compression to Mr OBAMA or McCain. she is the futures is out there she can do it.
a aziz, London, united kingdom
You speak of being fooled? We have an expression "you've been suckered" but not by Sen Clinton instead it's your own man Obama> If he is the Deomocrats candidate , he hasn't a hope in hell of winning in November and I for one say Halleluiah. Arlene, New York
Arlene andazzo, New York and London, US and UK
I've been trying to work out which past presidential hopeful, Hillary most reminds me of..
Intelligence, discipline, pragmatism, grasp of the issues, ruthlessness, toughness (real and proclaimed), self-pity, an attenuated sense of entitlement , a chip on the shoulder, a banal and cheesy populism and a sense of psycho-drama.
And sufddenly it struck me!. Welcome back from the nether regions, Tricky Dicky!
volov, auckland, new zealand
I'm not American but I'm interested in these elections, I would like to say a word about the so called Super Delegate, right now there about 300 Super Delegates uncomitted who should endorse either candidate. Out of these Supers there are more than half who are clearly Obama supporters, well, I continue to ask myself why don't they come out in public and endorse the winning candidate? With the remaining primaries even if he loses PA with much more than 2025 delegates needed, he would grab the nomination by May.
In my opinion if these uncomitted super delegates don't come out and endorse a candidate, the DNC committee should stand up and split the delegates 50/50.
Obama will grab the nomination.
Munyua, PADOVA, ITALY
I think, that at the end of the day, the world will do well with either Clinton or Obama. Lets hope they do not affect the larger campaign with their current derisiveness.
A. Thornley, Victoria, Canada
What her Grandfather did is not relevant to the future.
Like the Blairs, the Clintons have exploited their position and made millions, some of which is given to charity. But she does not relate to the poor anymore than Blair did.
William, London, UK
To J Taylor, London, who questions the Clintons’ credentials as “working classâ€, perhaps more attention should be paid the earnings of Britain’s former prime minister and ostensible representative of the same group, not to mention those of his wife, whose acquisitiveness is well documented. Since June of last year, when Tony Blair resigned, he is estimated to have earned in excess of of £7 million, around $14 million, and that in ten months - and he was the leader of the Labour Party! Americans really don’t need to be told who has their interests at heart - one of the greatest things is that the United States is a land of opportunity, a lesson Mr and Mrs Blair seem to have learned all too well! If complaints about money are to be made, then they should be about the unseemly sums spent on television advertising, a problem not found in the United Kingdom since Party Political Broadcasts are the norm, a model the United States could well adopt.
David Cunard, Los Angeles, United States
Working class roots? Scranton was a vacation home. I grew up near Hillary's hometown in Illinois. Hillary's never had so much as a working blister... aside from a tight fitting pair of heels
r.burns, Tampa, Fl
For the sake of the world, you have to hope McCain wins.
Rob, Sydney, Australia
This woman reminds me of my American neighbour. I think it's the voice that really wears you down.
Colin , Carmarthen, UK
Call me a naive poor man, but if she has earnt 100 million why hasn't she spread some of that around a bit. Like maybe in regeneration and job creation in Scranton, if it means so much to her. Or maybe the holidays do but not the actual people who live there. I mean, how much do you need to spend on trouser suits?
mount, dorset, gb
I like her 'working class' necklace...
Farrukh, Woking, UK
For the sake of the world, I hope she DOESN'T win!
John, London, UK
I agree that it looks like Madam Hilary has had her day...When that plays out, then the democrats will be able to go forward more unified and easily win in November.
G Nicholson, Switzerland
Gordon Nicholson, Le Mont Pelerin, Switzerland
Obama: Nice man but comes across as: regal, a philosopher and not his own man.
Remember his acting as President video? It was of him walking a red carpet compared to Clinton's of a Present in the situation room getting down to business.
Not his own man: Remember his plagiarism? He blamed his speechwriter. When Clinton suggested Bush ought not to visit Beijing he then did the same. When Clinton supported Gay rights he then did the same. Obama would be another puppet in the White House; others would govern him (similar to Bush Junior)
Philosopher: Obama sells himself as not a Washington man but something other than a politician. A Politian with views and guts is what is required to lift it from the Bush mess.
Race: He claims he is not running a race race but clearly he is supported because he is a black man. Remember Oprah stating her support has nothing to do with race? Yet, she has never endorsed any politician. (Only a black man)
Ted, London, UK
Obama not an able man: With so much money behind him (mainly Oprah's) why isn't he clearly leading?
Everyone knows that these competitions largely depend on how much money you have behind you.
Obama just doesn't add-up.
Andy, Dallas, US
This is why politician are almost universally reviled. Hillary Clinton is no where near the bread line; her ancestors may have been poor, but she enjoyed a privileged upbringing and the 'Roots' drama is just that - drama. She is entitled to exploit whichever story that brings in the votes, but empathy politics is what gave Britain Tony Blair. 'I feel your pain,' only goes so far if I am fighting to keep my family afloat while you sail on a sea of cash.
Hillary Clinton is an odd mix of Gordon Brown and Tony Blair: disciplined, tenacious, manipulative and personally unpopular. We know her name because of her famous husband; she demands loyalty to herself while urging delegates pledged to her opponent to 'exercise free will.' For a change, I hope that the inevitable candidate is forced to relinquish power and return to the drawing board.
Diane M, London,
She'll say anything to get elected. 57% of Americans don't trust here and consider her dishonest... And neither do I. She's all things to all people.
her and Bill have filled their bank account with 109$ in the past 8 years. These "small" people in Pennsylvania could not believe the lifestle she has if they could see it.
She's a fake.
Mel Barrows, Tenerife. , Canary islands
I think Pennsylvanias are a little smarter than to fall for one of Hillary's stories...they saw how she duped the people of Ohio who are certainly having buyer's remorse over learning about her decade long support for NAFTA and Bill and Penn's involvement in the Columbian free trade deal that she was saying she opposed................you know the old saying......fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me............
laurie, Pittsfield,
At least her new make-up looks more flattering.
Asta, Hamburg, Germany
Hillary made the same mistake as General Lee. She should have struch hard and struck early but 'misunderestimated' her foe.
Andrew Green, Kingston, Jamaica
Senator Clinton is ready to face the Republican Attack Machine an then restore the United States place in the world. Good luck Hillary.
J. Tater, Point Roberts, WA
Clinton & Clinton earned approximately $100M since Mr. Clinton left office. How working class is that ?
J. Taylor, London,
For the sake of the world - I just hope she wins!
Colleen O'Brien, Blackheath, Australia