RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Hillary in 2008

Whereas, MEM, is crowing about the endorsements and taking about how "influential" the Des Moine Register is.

...In practical terms what does the Register endorsement mean for Clinton's campaign?
Unlike most newspaper endorsements that are relatively meaningless in the final analysis, the Register still carries real weight -- especially among undecided Democrats. John Lapp, a Democratic media consultant who managed Rep. Dick Gephardt's 2004 Iowa campaign, called the Register endorsement the "gold standard"; Anita Dunn, a longtime Democratic operative, added: "In a race this close, the Register endorsement is the most critical validator and probably the final one pre-caucus."
For Clinton, the Register endorsement should assure a segment of those who are on the fence about her that it's OK to back her. The fact that the Register editorial put such a focus on Clinton's experience and readiness for the office is likely to convince some undecideds that even though they feel little connection to Clinton personally, she is still the right and best choice.
On a symbolic level, the Register endorsement couldn't have come at a better time for Clinton. Whether grounded in reality or not, a sense of slippage in Iowa (and nationally) had taken over reporting about the Clinton campaign. Every day it seemed the campaign was taken off message -- most notably when Billy Shaheen, a former co-chair of Clinton's New Hampshire campaign, suggested to The Post's Alec MacGillis that Obama's past drug use would be fodder for Republicans in a general election.
The Register endorsement offers a break with that past, a chance for the Clinton campaign to close strong. To that end, Clinton's campaign is kicking off a five-day, 99-county blitz of Iowa today that begins in Council Bluffs with former senator and 1988 1992 presidential candidate Bob Kerrey (Neb.) endorsing Clinton.
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