From today's Washington Post political column The Fix.washingtonpost.com's Politics Blog.Link the things it said:
But how much of a boost should Clinton expect from receiving Vilsack's nod?
Regular Fix readers know we are skeptical about the power of endorsements, and recent history has shown that they matter little in Iowa.
David Yepsen, the most influential political reporter in Iowa, made that point in a column last Friday. "Endorsement politics mean little in Iowa, especially in presidential races, where caucus-goers are notorious for making up their own minds about whom to support for the presidency," Yepsen wrote.
Vilsick in his e-mail endorsement to Clinton supporters said I am proud to do it because of all the candidates running, she has the best ideas, the most energy, and the values and vision to lead our country in the right direction after eight long years of George W. Bush.
She's going to put an end to the war in Iraq. She's going to make sure every American has access to affordable health care. She's going to make us energy secure. And I know she'll put children and families first -- she has fought for them for decades.
My retort to all of this is, although Vilsick likes his candidate's vision, ideas and energy, he doesn't say anything about her ability to LEAD. It takes more than vision and energy to get things done. It's takes someone who can LEAD people - to get people to do the right things, to influence the members of Congress to pass the right bills. You can have a vision but if you can't work with both sides of Congress, you vision means nothing.
We need to tout Senator's Obama's leadership abilities, his ability to define and address the issues better, and his ability to work with people from all parties and all sectors of the nation. We need to bring to people's attention that we are voting for a Leader - someone who can guide, marshal, steer, usher, direct those who have a role in managing and controlling our government - Congress. The only candidate that has this unique ability is Senator Obama and that is what sets him apart from all others. This is what should be the defining issue. All Presidents come into office with an agenda, but they are defined by how well they can work with Congress in getting their agenda passed. Senator Obama has done that and will continue to do it as our President.
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