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Last update - 15:17 02/03/2008 Hillary Clinton comes out swinging as Ohio primary nears By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton  Race for the White House: The harder Clinton tries, the more the voters run the other way. OHIO - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni does not yet know which of the U.S. presidential primary candidates she will meet when she visits the United States in 10 days. It is hard to plan such encounters when no one knows whether by the time she arrives, Hillary Clinton will be history, and Barack Obama and John McCain will be the official candidates. How can anyone know? On March 11, Mississippi goes to the polls, and if the battle is not decided by then, the candidates will still be busy campaigning when Livni lands in Washington. The Ohio primary is set for Tuesday, and interest in it grows with every passing day. Absentee voters have shown a historic interest in the contest. In the 2000 primaries, about 10,000 votes were cast before election day. In the 2004 primaries the number was 9,500. This year, in the Cincinnati area alone, 40,000 people filed for absentee ballots. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said Friday that she expected a 52-percent voter turnout rate for the primaries. That is only 1 percent less than the turnout for the 2006 gubernatorial elections, which usually sees many more people than the primaries do. In 2006, Democrat Ted Strickland was elected governor of Ohio, after a series of scandals that embarrassed the Republican party there. Strickland is a Hillary Clinton supporter - and is supposed to be doing for her what Florida Governor Charlie Crist did for McCain. When McCain beat Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney in Florida, that was his great leap forward. A Clinton win Tuesday will bring her back a measure of relevancy. Meanwhile, Crist has been mentioned as a Republican vice-presidential candidate, while Strickland has been mentioned as Clinton's potential running-mate. Advertisement But first, she has to win. That is what Strickland is trying to remind voters with his new TV spot: "We need a president, first of all who's going to be a fighter," he tells viewers. Clinton is certainly that. But the accursed opinion polls show that the harder she tries, the more the voters run the other way. Last week, an American Research Group poll showed Clinton leading Obama by 49 percent to 39 percent. On Sunday, SurveyUSA showed 50 percent to 44 percent in Clinton's favor. By Friday, a Zogby poll showed the numbers were at 44 percent for Clinton and 42 percent for Obama. Clinton has the money for more TV ads. In February, after a short-term economic crisis, she got back on her usual track of more than $30 million a month in contributions. However, that might not be enough: Obama raised $50 million this month and he is also flooding Ohio, as well as Texas, which also goes to the polls Tuesday, with TV spots and with volunteers canvassing neighborhoods and small towns, handing out flyers. Cleveland's Jewish community is also torn between the two candidates. It will have a chance to gauge them as their supporters face off at a debate today: Congressman Adam Schiff from California will speak for Obama, and Congressman Anthony D. Weiner from New York, for Clinton. Both are Jewish, and they are to appear at an event sponsored by the Israel Project and the Cleveland Jewish News. Obama himself courted Cleveland's Jews last week at a function, where he presented his platform at length and responded to questions and claims that have dogged his campaign. Clinton's camp will be playing up those claims and questions both overtly and covertly. A Clinton TV ad, aired in Texas, shows a phone ringing in a household as children sleep. "It's 3 A.M.," the voice-over says. Viewers are then asked who they would want to answer the phone if the call was warning of a world crisis at hand. They are expected to respond Clinton- the more experienced of the two candidates. The message comes across without mentioning Obama's name. This will probably be McCain's message in the presidential campaign - that Obama just does not have the experience to be the commander-in-chief. Clinton is not the only one intimating that Obama does not understand the global reality that decides presidential moves. On Thursday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Straff, Admiral Mike Mullen, announced that he was worried about a rapid withdrawal from Iraq. The army, neutral as it may be, does not like the Democratic candidate's pledges on Iraq. A Pew Research Center poll showed Thursday that 43 percent of voters are concerned that Obama is not "tough enough" to handle U.S. foreign policy. Aware of the numbers, Obama last week told voters: "The notion that this is somehow a precipitous withdrawal that I'm proposing just isn't borne out by facts." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Halimi, relived A Jewish teen is tortured where Ilan Halimi died in similar circumstances. Bus-bomb capital Four buses designed to thwart suicide bombings are tested in J'lem.   1.   Dosen`t matter whom; all 3 do what AIPAC dictates 11:02  |  Chanalau, Tova 02/03/08   2.   CHANALAU you are confusing way British roll over for Saudis 11:58  |  PETER SM 02/03/08   3.   Wall Street Vs. Main Street 15:24  |  El-Birawi 02/03/08   4.   Global realities, Israel and the US presidential race 18:41  |  Julie 02/03/08   5.   El-Birawi 23:57  |  io 02/03/08   6.   Julie, your comparison is wrong 00:02  |  jackie 03/03/08   7.   #1 you are 100% right! 01:50  |  sal-usa 03/03/08   8.   Obama not ready to be a president 16:02  |  anne-marie 03/03/08   9.   sfdfhgkjk 00:17  |  fyfghliujoupi 04/03/08   10.   Hillary will win 21:14  |  Brod 04/03/08   11.   Hillary won`t win 06:57  |  amazed American 05/03/08   12.   hillarystillmygirl 20:34  |  c. schmidt 05/03/08

Today Online MI: Iran arming Hezbollah with missiles via Turkey Responses: 299 Leviev: Zionism is bankrupt due to 'new American religion' Responses: 110 Israel-PA talks 'may resume as early as Thursday ' Responses: 101 Moshe Arens: It was too much to hope for that the IDF would invade Gaza Responses: 83 Rosner: Americans have a favorable view of Israel, especially Republicans Responses: 81 Rosner's Domain Dennis Ross: I am not an Obama advisor (WTR) Americans have a favorable view of Israel. Democrats, less so Poll: Should Abbas and Olmert continue their talks? Rosner's Mailbox: McCain is a trimmer Sharon Factor: What's wrong with Obama? More Headlines 03:01 Olmert: Talks with Syria should be seriously considered 02:21 Settlers agree to evacuate several illegal West Bank outposts 03:19 Israeli, Palestinian negotiating teams likely to meet Thursday 22:01 Hezbollah: We're ready for war with Israel, but we won't start it 04:36 1,000 damage claims filed in wake of recent rocket attacks 01:57 Jewish teen tortured in French town where Ilan Halimi was killed 23:12 Arab League vows to drop out of NPT if Israel admits it has nuclear weapons 23:36 Haaretz.com launches innovative Jewish genealogy service 02:37 British aid groups: humanitarian situation in Gaza worst since 1967 04:32 Public feels unsafe despite police's claims of less crime 21:55 Suicide bomber 'resistant' buses being tested in Jerusalem Previous Editions Select Day 05 mar 04 mar 03 mar 02 mar 29 feb 28 feb 27 feb 26 feb 25 feb 24 feb 22 feb 21 feb

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