homelesskennyboy: Clintons Give Ferrer a Hand While Staying at Arm's Length
By PATRICK D. HEALY
For New York Democrats seeking to take back City Hall, it was supposed to be a picture-perfect moment: Bill Clinton in the Bronx yesterday to rally voters behind Fernando Ferrer, the party's beleaguered candidate against Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
But a run-of-the-mill campaign stop turned into a bizarre frenzy after the Clinton team removed the entire sound system during a dispute with low-level Ferrer supporters, who were trying to make the event more dramatic. As a result, a crowd of 1,000 people could barely hear Mr. Clinton praise "this good man."
The moment was a telling example of the odd intersection between the former president and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who are the unofficial royal couple of New York Democrats, and the party's mayoral nominee.
Their star power has overshadowed him at times, and their smoothness has left him looking like a B-list candidate after mishaps like yesterday's, some New York Democrats say. The Clintons like Mr. Ferrer personally and are disappointed that he is struggling, but they also do not want to become entangled in his problems, according to political associates and people who have spoken to them about the mayoral race.
The Clintons are trying to avoid being embarrassed by a lopsided Democratic defeat on their home turf on Nov. 8, these associates say. In a series of delicate calculations, the couple are doing everything the Ferrer campaign has asked of them, but little more than that. Tonight, Mrs. Clinton is to hold what will probably be the single biggest fund-raiser of Mr. Ferrer's campaign, which could bring in as much as $100,000. Yet some prominent Democratic donors say the Clintons have not sent the usual winks and nods signaling that they view Mr. Ferrer as a winner whom contributors should shower with money.
Senator Clinton, who is seeking re-election next year and is a possible presidential candidate in 2008, is concerned that Mr. Ferrer has performed unevenly, and she has nothing to gain by alienating a popular incumbent mayor who holds a comfortable double-digit lead in the polls and is well liked by many Democrats, associates and allies say.
"Like all of Freddy's supporters, she knows this is an uphill battle," said one aide to Senator Clinton, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Mrs. Clinton is officially optimistic about Mr. Ferrer's bid. "But she has seen and been a part of many campaigns in her lifetime, and knows that there's a reason we wait until Election Day to declare a winner."
It is already clear that the Clintons have not worked as hard publicly as they did in 2001 on behalf of the Democratic mayoral nominee. While Mr. Clinton campaigned three times with that candidate, Mark Green, advisers to the former president say it is not clear if he will do anything more than yesterday's campaign stop except record automated phone calls for Mr. Ferrer.
Part of the reason is that the Ferrer campaign has been vague about its needs, Mr. Clinton's aides said; Mr. Ferrer's aides waited two weeks after winning the nomination to reach out to Mr. Clinton, Mr. Clinton's associates said, and even then it was hard to find a good day for an event. Mr. Clinton has been traveling for much of the last five weeks, and he is also trying to stay above the partisan fray and focus on his AIDS and antipoverty projects, his associates say.
On a staff-to-staff level, Mrs. Clinton's top aide in New York City, Karen Persichilli Keogh, speaks nearly every day with Mr. Ferrer's chief strategist, Roberto Ramirez, or other aides, yet the senator has joined Mr. Ferrer at only two events in the five weeks since he won the nomination.
She has stuck to the Ferrer campaign's talking points for her but has chosen not to criticize Mr. Bloomberg's ties to President Bush, though some Ferrer aides wish she would do so. New York's other senator, Charles E. Schumer, has campaigned twice with Mr. Ferrer so far.
"Senator Clinton has worked hard for Freddy Ferrer and has done everything asked of her, and will continue to do so," said Philippe Reines, a spokesman for her. If Mr. Ferrer loses, many Democrats expect blame to be spread around, and Mrs. Clinton, like other prominent elected officials, does not want to be caught up in the recriminations, her allies say. Because of that, and because she viewed Mr. Ferrer as especially loyal during her 2000 Senate campaign, she has been determined to stand by his side, aides say.
Her political camp also wants to protect her good standing among Hispanic and black voters, many of whom want to elect Mr. Ferrer as the first Hispanic mayor of New York. They are a base that would be essential to her Senate re-election effort next year and perhaps to a presidential run. "It's important right now for Democrats to be Democrats and stand for Freddy Ferrer, and it is important for Senator Clinton to be seen doing everything she can to help his campaign," said Steve McMahon, a media consultant who has advised New York Democrats. "In terms of how it affects Hillary Clinton, in '06 or '08, it's obviously better to have a Democratic mayor of the city."
But there are also limits on how much either Clinton can do to help Mr. Ferrer if he cannot help himself and turn around his campaign, some leading Democrats say.
"There's a particular burden that both Clintons carry with them - people think somehow that their enormous popularity is transferable," said Judith Hope, a former chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, who played an influential role in Mrs. Clinton's 2000 Senate race. "It isn't, really, for Freddy, or for any candidate."
The Clintons and the Ferrer camp have sought to tap her popularity to benefit Mr. Ferrer, and Mrs. Clinton even appears willing to do commercials for him. Yet at the same time the Clintons have been concerned with overshadowing a relatively staid Mr. Ferrer.
Such was the case Monday at a Midtown luncheon with about 1,00 women: Mrs. Clinton's staff had gone out of their way to win a speaking role for Mr. Ferrer and they even ignored the printed program so she could fire up the crowd and introduce him. Mr. Ferrer came across as tired and vague sounding, some Democrats said afterward, adding that they were flummoxed that the senator was supporting him.
"What we heard was, 'why is Hillary standing by this guy?' " one friend of Mrs. Clinton's said after the luncheon.
Two New Yorkers who are prominent donors to Democratic candidates, and who are part of the Clintons' fund-raising network, said in interviews that there was a subtle but crucial passivity to the Clintons' support for Mr. Ferrer.
"It's one thing for Hillary to organize a fund-raiser for Freddy and show up at it," said one of the donors, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preserve his relationships with Senator Clinton and Mr. Ferrer. "But she can call up her people for Freddy, mobilize her troops. People close to her or the president can organize fund-raisers so everyone knows Freddy is truly important to them. We know very clearly when she's invested in a race. We get those calls and e-mail, and we aren't getting them in this race.
"This isn't brain surgery," the donor continued. "When a race or a cause is important to the Clintons, they find a way to get it done."
Ferrer aides yesterday expressed delight with the Clintons' contributions. In interviews with other Democrats, some members of the New York Congressional delegation said that the Clintons were not leading a charge on Mr. Ferrer's behalf, but added that they had not done so for other candidates either.
"They're not beating the drum, but that's not their role," said Representative Jerrold Nadler, a Manhattan Democrat. "You offer yourself and you do what they ask you to do."
On a personal level, Mr. Ferrer's campaign presents opportunities and perils for the Clintons. According to their associates and confidants, they believe that a Hispanic nominee is good for New York Democrats, especially at a time when no ethnic group makes up a majority of the city's voters. They are also fond of him personally.
Yet neither Mrs. Clinton, whose team has helped shape the staff and agenda at the state party, nor the former president see Mr. Ferrer as a particularly imaginative or visionary Democratic thinker, her associates say. What is more, both Clintons have a good working and personal relationship with Mr. Bloomberg and do not want to damage it.
These associates say they see Mr. Bloomberg's unlimited campaign spending as a huge obstacle for Mr. Ferrer, but also worry that he does not have a winning political message, even if he had the money for more television ads. Mrs. Clinton has yet to be asked to film a commercial on Mr. Ferrer's behalf; some New York Democrats believe it is because his campaign lacks the money to spend on a major media purchase. |
