Clinton ally: Dems divided story was 'media created' Nick Juliano

Published: Thursday August 28, 2008





Print This Email This DENVER -- Lanny Davis, referred to as the raging id of the Clinton operation, has been one of the fiercest supporters of the former first lady's presidential campaign who sowed doubts about Barack Obama throughout the primary and beyond.



However, Obama's accolades to Bill and Hillary Clinton during a brief onstage appearance at the Democratic Convention last night were just the right touch to soothe even Davis's still bruised mood, he says.



Waiting on line for a shuttle bus to the Denver stadium where Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination later tonight, Davis began holding court. This RAW STORY reporter was standing nearby and pulled out a notebook for a pleasant half-hour conversation on the way to the gates of Invesco Field.



Davis, who served as Bill Clinton's special counsel from 1996-98, said stories of lingering resentment among Clinton's closes confidants "were media created" and that he would be "working like heck" to get Obama elected in the fall. An outside adviser to Hillary Clinton's campaign, Davis continues to comment on national politics in newspaper columns and television appearances; when RAW STORY spoke to him, he was on the way to an appearance on Fox News.



Acknowledging that there still were some hard feelings among some women who supported Clinton, Davis said he told the campaign that Obama's positions on the issues, and particularly on who he'd appoint to the Supreme Court needed to be paramount. A 5-to-4 Supreme Court majority upholds a woman's right to choose, and that could turn into a 6-to-3 majority overturning Roe v. Wade under a John McCain presidency.



Many mainstream media outlets ran stories implying that some Clinton voters were not fully enthusiastic about Obama's candidacy, and rumors swirled before Wednesday's roll call vote that some Clinton supporters would try to disrupt the proceedings. Hillary Clinton herself moved for Obama's nomination and the response from assembled delegates was exuberant. November could bring '40 state win' for Obama Davis praised Obama's passion and ability to inspire a new generation of voters. He said these characteristics could lead to a "40-state win" for Obama come November.



"I am incredibly impressed with Barack Obama," Davis said, noting that his own son had been a supporter of the Illinois senator even before he was officially a candidate.



He compared 2008 to the 1980 election, when Ronald Reagan swept to victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter on the strength of a refreshing message combined with deep dissatisfaction regarding the direction of the country.



"Sound familiar?" he asked.



Holding on to slim leads in the polls, Obama will still need to reassure voters nervous about electing a candidate with relatively little experience on the national stage, just as Reagan did 28 years ago, Davis said. He said the final debates between McCain and Obama would determine the outcome of the election. Connection with working class voters still needed Obama will address some 80,000 supporters on an elaborate stage adorned with American flags and flanked by giant video screens framed by classical columns Thursday night. Davis said the set up would not help Obama connect to working class voters, whose votes he struggled to obtain in the primary.



"I'm worried about this Roman Empire, 75,000 (people) rock concert that we're about to have tonight," Davis said during the bus ride to the stadium. "I worry that we're walking right into a caricature."



Davis suggested Obama gear his post-convention schedule to scaled down events in small towns to move away from the aloof image he's obtained.



"Think about how you come across to people who work with their hands," Davis advised, noting that former Democratic candidates John Kerry, Al Gore, Michael Dukakis and Walter Mondale all failed to reel in rural and working class voters because of struggles making connections.



Bill Clinton, of course, succeeded with working class voters, Davis said, crediting the former president and first lady with helping Obama during their prime-time speeches Tuesday and Wednesday night.



"Hillary and Bill opened the door to get white working class voters back," Davis said. "[Obama]'s got to walk through it."



