How will the release of her documents change the race?

After a very uncomfortable few days for Barack Obama the battle for the Democratic nomination has now moved on with the publication of thousands of documents from her White House years as first Lady from 1993 to 2001. These have been released under the freedom of information legislation and will be used to test her claims to “experience” and “being ready on Day One”.

The ABC news report featured above, sets the scene: “The release of 17,000 pages of then-first lady Hillary Clinton’s daily schedule in the White House has raised questions about her ability to answer the 3 a.m. phone call she talks about in her commercials…the daily schedules released..show many of her overseas trips to be the standard first lady tourist fare, hospital visits and blinis with caviar..On the day U.S. cruise missiles hit Serbia, the schedules show the former first lady was touring Egyptian ruins.”

Taegan Goddard’s Political Insider site suggests that the real danger will be having “having journalists comb through the documents is that unpleasant memories of the Clinton years may soon be back in the headlines.” Thus one news report yesterday was noting “Hillary Clinton spent the night in the White House on the day her husband had oral sex with Monica Lewinsky, and may have actually been there when it happened….”

There are two problems for the Clinton campaign – after having put Obama through it over the Pastor Wright links the media seems to have decided that it is now Hillary’s turn. Secondly the next primary, in Pennsylvania, is five weeks off and there needs to be something that political journalists can focus on in the meantime. Those 17,000 pages might provide the fodder.

Hillary’s pledge delegate position is precarious enough anyway and her main strategy seems to be a hope that enough doubts can be raised about Obama that the super-delegates will go for her. Reminders of the worst days of Bill’s presidency might not be helpful.

The nomination betting has hardly moved.

Mike Smithson