The New York Times reports that Hillary Clinton and her supporters, who thought that the 2008 primary race would be a cake walk, are starting to find that's not the case. Some of her husband's former colleagues are deciding to back Barack Obama instead:
As Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton seeks to reassemble the Democratic money machine her husband built, some of its major fund-raisers have already signed on with Senator Barack Obama.
Among the biggest fund-raisers for Mr. Obama’s campaign are as many as a half-dozen former guests of the Clinton White House. At least two are close enough to the Clintons to have slept in the Lincoln bedroom.
At minimum, a dozen were major fund-raisers for President Bill Clinton. At least four worked in the administration and one, James Rubin, is a son of a former Clinton Treasury Secretary, Robert E. Rubin. About two dozen of the top Obama fund-raisers have contributed to Mrs. Clinton’s Senate campaigns or political action committee, some as recently as a few months ago.
A list of Mr. Obama’s top fund-raisers released Sunday showed the extent to which the Democratic Party establishment, once presumed to back Mrs. Clinton, has become more fragmented and drifted into her rival’s camp, lending the early stages of the Democratic primary campaign the feeling of a family feud. Some of the movement would have been inevitable given Mr. Clinton’s former dominance of the party.
Why is the former First Lady losing ground? Probably because she's no Bill; she lacks the same charm and charisma that Bill is famous for. Obama, on the other hand, is a young, fresh face who exudes charm. It should say something that Obama, who has had all but two years experience in national office and no depth to policy questions, is stripping away Hillary's donors despite her having far more political experience. The powers of the party are realizing that Hillary isn't inevitable, and Obama, with his rather thin resume, fits better than Hillary.
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