Stung by Politico Report, Giuliani Puts Up His Dukes

Big Decision

Carol Hunter was impressed with her glimpse behind what she calls "the hard-knocks-sculpted political facade" of Hillary Clinton.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

When Clinton, in Iowa, talked about loving long nature walks with her husband, "it was not the answer so much as her body language that reflected her genuineness," Hunter says.

Hunter may be the state's most important undecided voter. She is editorial page editor of the Des Moines Register, where six out of seven members of the editorial board -- including Publisher Laura Hollingsworth -- are women. And in the next couple of weeks, they will decide whether to back Clinton or one of her Democratic rivals in the Jan. 3 caucuses.

Although newspaper endorsements matter little in presidential politics, the Register's nod is a powerful exception. In 2004, its endorsement of John Edwards helped propel him to a strong second-place finish, transforming him into John Kerry's chief challenger.

That was a different editorial board, though, and political insiders are chattering about whether today's predominantly female lineup will give the former first lady an edge.

"It will cause all sorts of second-guessing," Hunter says. "We can't win. If we endorse her, it will be 'Well, of course.' If we don't, there will be all sorts of questions raised about why."

Perhaps we can look for clues, such as Hunter's column on Clinton's professed love for strolling the hilly green areas around her suburban New York home. Hunter, who grew up on a Kansas farm, writes that America needs a president "committed to leading a green-energy revolution," and that the key is "how much he or she talks about conservation." Hunter has complained that most politicians have "quit talking about poverty" and noted approvingly that Edwards calls poverty "the great moral issue of our time," adding that "a presidential election is no time to think small."

Every White House wannabe except Rudy Giuliani has appeared for questioning by the editorial board. The Register also endorses in the Republican caucuses, but the liberal editorial page has far more clout in the Democratic contest. In that sense, it is the mirror image of the Manchester Union Leader, whose conservative editorial page has substantial influence on the GOP side of New Hampshire's primary and virtually none among Democratic voters.

Richard Doak, the Register's former editorial page editor, says he was surprised by the impact of the Edwards endorsement he wrote. "His crowds doubled overnight after that editorial came out, and tracking polls showed him shooting up in the next week," Doak said. "Caucusgoers tend to be pretty tuned in to the news. They're junkies."

On the other hand, Bill Bradley lost badly to Al Gore despite the paper's backing in 2000. Gore was so determined to get the endorsement that his staff asked for, and was granted, a second interview.

The process is shrouded in secrecy, with the editorial page staff hiding the page proofs so word doesn't leak out early.

Hunter questions whether the paper will have the same impact this year, noting that Edwards, as a second-tier contender in 2004, had plenty of room to rise. "If we endorse Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, who sit atop the polls right now, I don't know whether that would cause any movement. We might be able to solidify support for a candidate."